There are many areas of Vancouver Island that I’ve explored, but far more that I haven’t, yet. Most of my exploration has been near the southern end of the island, but my trip to San Josef Bay, in Cape Scott Provincial Park, took me to the far northern end and was quite an adventure.
Angry clouds hang over San Josef Bay beach
The Olympic Peninsula (and Olympic National Park) is just a short ferry ride across the Straight of Juan de Fuca from Victoria, and somewhere I’ve been meaning to visit for years. I’m glad that I finally did!
Victoria recedes in the distance as MV Coho departs for Port Washington
Tofino is always one of my favourite places to go to get away. No matter what time of year you go, there’s always something interesting to do… or you can just relax in nature and escape the hectic pace of everyday life. This trip I went in search of gray whales, with Jamie’s Whaling Station, onboard the Chinook Princess.
A rainbow over the Tofino harbour
Botanical Beach is located on the south-west edge of Vancouver Island, just past Port Renfrew, BC, and it is one of my favourite local spots to visit for photography.
A weather beaten tree overlooks the stormy sea
Sombrio Beach is a place I’ve been meaning to check out for quite some time. In fact, a few weeks ago I actually drove there (it’s around an hour drive pst Sooke, along a the twisty West Coast Road), but when I arrived, both parking areas were full and the gravel road leading to it was lined with cars on both sides for some distance up the hill, so I decided to try again another day. I’m glad I did, because when I returned this time, there were only a few people camping on the beach and it was a great day to explore.
One of the many small bridges on West Coast Road, heading towards Sombrio Beach
I arranged for a small group from my local photo club to go on a day trip to Botanical Beach. The beach is best seen at low tide, when the many unique features can be more easily observed, and the water doesn’t keep you off the beach. This took a bit of coordination to get the timings right and as the day approached, it looked like we might be more in danger of getting wet from the rain than the ocean.
Moody clouds over Botanical Beach, BC.
It was about a degree below freezing with just enough of a breeze to make it seem much cooler down at Sandcut Beach, but the sun was out and it was a beautiful day for photography. Look out from the beach and on most days you can see the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. I have heard there and many excellent photographic opportunities there and hope to check it out myself some time in the future.
Looking across the water at our American neighbours
