Vancouver Island - Victoria

We pack up our stuff from Gordie's trailer and head off in his truck back on the ferry to Vancouver and then south of the city to catch a second ferry over to Vancouver Island, which lies just off the west coast of British Columbia. The ferry trip from the mainland to the island takes an hour and a half and on the way passes close to several of the Gulf Islands. As we are passing between islands we pass another ferry coming the other way. Interestingly the Canadian/US border diverts from its usual dead straight line to incorporate the whole of Vancouver Island within Canada.

Ferry to Vancouver Island

Victoria is the main city on the island and the capital of British Columbia. It is located on the south east tip of the island, just a short drive from the ferry port. My guidebook says that Victoria pre-dates Vancouver and it was the focus of the earliest white settlement in the area. It was established in 1843 as a fort for the Hudson Bay Company. It is a small Anglophile city (with double-decker buses) and it has many grand old buildings. Gordie says that possibly all the grand old buildings in the whole of British Columbia are here. On this warm and sunny afternoon, we wander around the downtown area and the pretty inner harbour and soak up the laid-back vibe.  

Victoria Harbour and the Parliament Building

City Hall

Work of a Pavement Artist

China Town

Along the promenade by the harbour local aboriginal artists sell their handicrafts. Man carve wooden masks with knives and women thread beads, or knit garments in the local Cowichan pattern.

Artists by the Harbour

One of the main and most impressive buildings is the Empress Hotel, which sits in formal gardens just behind the waterfront. We take a look inside at the people taking afternoon tea in the ornate tea  rooms.

Afternoon Tea at the Empress Hotel

Sitting in front of the Empress Hotel is a statue of Emily Carr, who is Canada's most celebrated painter. She was born in 1871. My guide book says, 'She led an almost caricatured artistic life - one that was eccentric, thwarted, ridiculed, bohemian and impoverished by turn, but also one that was ultimately successful and triumphant.'

Statue of Emily Carr and the Empress Hotel

The house where she was born is close by in a street that has many such beautiful historic houses.

Emily Carr’s House

In the grounds of the museum there is an old house. The right hand portion was built in 1852 and is one of the oldest surviving buildings in British Columbia.

Helmcken House

In the park nearby there are several totem poles. A small boy walks around the base of one, gently touching the carvings.

Totem Poles

Boy and Totem Pole

There is lots going on on the water in the harbour. Little bath tub ferries zig zag from bank to bank, seaplanes taxi in and out and people paddle canoes back and forth.

Sea Planes in the Harbour

Harbour Ferry

The next day we take a walk up nearby Mount Douglas to get a view back to Victoria, inland over the island and across the strait to the US, which is very close.

Me and Gordie on Mount Douglas