Vancouver Island |Cowichan | Mt. Washington| Cathedral Grove

Canada does not immediately come to mind when one thinks of an island paradise, but there is an island in the Pacific off the coast of British Columbia and within sight of the US west coast that fulfills that description to the many who move there each year from the US and many other points as well.

You know you are coming to something special the moment you step onto a BC Ferry and thread your way through the incomparable scenery of the gulf islands en route to Vancouver Island. Emerald islands in an azure sea with glimpses of Orcas and sea lions. Sea gulls wheeling overhead and squadrons of sea ducks skimming the waves. Clean fresh air with the scent of cedar on the breeze.

You are approaching Vancouver Island, one of the most magical places on earth. Close enough to the US to be familiar but different enough that you know you are on foreign soil. Friendly people. Same language ---- almost! We don’t rhyme missile with whistle or fertile with hurtle! We have other peculiarities!

Vancouver Island is the largest and most populated of the Gulf Islands (32,261 sq km - 19,356 sq mi) stretching 300 miles north and south off the west coast of the British Columbia mainland. Victoria is located at the southern tip of the island and the fishing village of Port Hardy is located at the northern tip.

The island is remarkable not only for its beauty and its rugged west coast but for its wilderness as well.

There are numerous beautiful national and provincial parks. The island is home to Victoria, British Columbia's capital city, the flower capital of Canada, which is considered one of the world's most beautiful cities. The distance by car between the south and the north is of 502 km (301 mi). Travel to Vancouver Island is fast, convenient and relaxing. Many types of transportation are available throughout the island, such as ferry, air, motor coach and rail. BC Ferries provides transportation service between Vancouver and Vancouver Island, as well as to the Gulf Islands, the Sunshine Coast, the Inside Passage, the Discovery Coast Passage, and the Queen Charlotte Islands. Mayor airlines have frequent scheduled flights from Seattle and Vancouver directly to Victoria International Airport or Victoria's Inner Harbour which connect with major cities to other Island communities. Charter flights reach the most remote fishing camp.

Vancouver Island has a population of over 750,000, half of whom live in Victoria, and stretches southeast to northwest along the western coast of British Columbia. The rugged West Coast is cut deeply by fjords lined between high mountains with many communities located along the shores of protected bays. The eastern plain is rich with timber, farmlands, fishing streams, lakes, villages, and modern cities.

Vancouver Island attracts people from the world over who are drawn to her spectacular and varied scenery. There are hundreds of deserted beaches. Fiords to challenge Scandinavia and New Zealand. There are mountains and myriad lakes and rivers. Many visitors are so enthralled that they never leave or they just go home just long enough to pack their bags and return for good.

The Provincial capital of Victoria is the principal city of the island and reams have been written of the beauty of that city by the likes of Rudyard Kipling and many other luminaries who have visited there.

You will not be culturally deprived anywhere in the Island as you are in easy reach of three world class cities, each with a superb symphony orchestra that has hosted the likes of Luciano Pavarotti. Live theater abounds and some of the worlds most celebrated restaurants call the Island home. Who has not heard of the sumptuous high teas at the Empress Hotel or of the magnificence of the renowned Butchart Gardens?

The real treasure of Vancouver Island lies in her many smaller towns where living is good and property is still very reasonable. You don’t have to live in Victoria to enjoy her charms when many of these towns are an easy drive away.

The Cowichan Valley, which lies about 30 miles north of Victoria at the other end of the Malahat Drive, is the focus of this article.

We approach the Valley from Victoria, over the Malahat Drive, a high point on the highway overlooking Saanich inlet which affords the visitor a vista of a typical Island fiord, majestic in size and depth, unforgettable for its grandeur. From here one can see the fiord with the Coast Mountains and Mount Baker in Washington State as a backdrop.

This is truly an extravagant paradise for anyone captive in a large megalopolis looking to start a new life in gorgeous surroundings.

Many are the legends of brutal Canadian winters and while this is true of most of Canada and also much of the US, it is simply not true of Vancouver Island. Being surrounded by the Pacific brings a climate so mild that any accumulation of snow is a rarity and newsworthy. People fish and golf year round here.

Speaking of fishing. Wader equipped fly fishermen here routinely cast to cruising Coho, Pink and Chinook salmon off our beaches. They can be seen fighting these splendid game fish all along the coast. There are thousands of lakes and many rivers with good trout populations. It is a fisherman’s paradise.

Golfers are well served here with many beautiful courses that kept Bob Hope returning here annually. People golf here every month of the year.

Gardening is a favorite past time on this island as homeowners take advantage of the mild growing conditions. Spectacular gardens are everywhere with a riot of colour showing most of the year. Roses have been known to bloom near Christmas and the first bulbs are up in February.

The Gulf Islands, inland waterways and other boating destinations such as Desolation Sound draw boaters from far and wide many of whom state with conviction that there are no finer boating waters anywhere. There are many full service marinas dotted about the coast.

You don’t have to be a boater to enjoy the plentiful seafood landed daily from these waters. There is a fresh choice from the many seafood shops and restaurants in the area. However if you were to launch a small boat in Cowichan Bay and drop a crab trap you would likely be rewarded quickly with a haul of succulent Dungeness crab for your supper.

Cowichan Bay is ... more

Vancouver Island Food Reviews ... More

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