VANCOUVER ISLAND: day 1

22nd June

Despite having the whole of lock down to get ready for this trip (as well as semi handing my notice in at work), we seem to have left everything ’til the very last minute. 

Isaac has been v busy putting in the last lil’ van details this week, i.e. the fold out table on the door, covering up the electrical bit where the battery is. She is finally finished and I am obsessed. In love. Wow. What a good looking van. 

I have managed to squeeze way too many clothes into my cupboard. Doubt I will wear half of them, but it’s nice to have the option, y’know? The space under the bed and the new roof box are also stuffed to the brim, full of mountain biking stuff, sleeping bags/tents in case we camp somewhere, chairs, a huge box of tools. Definitely a case of chronic over packing, but also when you have the space, why not cater for every eventuality? Surely nothing has been forgotten (turns out Isaac forgot to pack his beard trimmer thing, so will be forced to fully embrace the hobo chic, nomad style. I have definitely forgotten a lot of things but I’m not sure what they are yet, only time can tell).

We got the ferry from Tsawwassen to Victoria, starting the trip at the bottom of the Island and working our way up, hopefully avoiding accidentally spending weeks in Tofino/Ucuelet. We thought COVID would force us to stay in the van the whole ferry, but you were allowed to walk about the decks. The views were honestly breathtaking, the whole way. Dramatic, but kind of what I imagine the entrance of heaven to look like. Endless hazy seas and skys, scattered with some misty mountains. Saw a humpback whale in the distance too, which was mad.

When we arrived on the Island, we drove around for ages checking out spots we’d scoped out on google maps, but all of them had aggressive ‘NO TRESPASSING’ signs. It was getting dark too, so we just picked a campsite for some ‘Potholes in Sooke’ (not 100% sure but I assume not the kind you find on the road). Annoyingly, the gates were closed by the time we got there, so we just parked up next to the entrance. Not the most successful first night ‘wild’ camping, nevertheless, we cracked open a bottle of red to celebrate it. Cooked some grilled veggies on the new flip out table for dinner, then passed out shortly after, exhausted.