{"id":5825,"date":"2014-07-25T00:02:20","date_gmt":"2014-07-25T07:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=5825"},"modified":"2014-08-09T15:37:05","modified_gmt":"2014-08-09T22:37:05","slug":"travel-b-c-unique-places-unique-views","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2014\/07\/25\/travel-b-c-unique-places-unique-views\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel B.C.: unique places, unique views"},"content":{"rendered":"

A ziplining selfie: Dangling over river gorges in Clayoquot Plateau Provincial Park.\u00a0(photo by Baila Lazarus)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The mission: to explore British Columbia from as many geographical perspectives as possible. The means: a 10-day road trip on Vancouver Island. The locations: whatever would take us off the city or country roads. The result: eight ways to see the province like you\u2019ve never seen it before.<\/p>\n

From the air<\/strong><\/h4>\n

1. Nothing says \u201cnew perspectives\u201d like sleeping in a ball suspended from three trees about 15 feet in the air. Making Lonely Planet\u2019s 2014 list of top 10 extraordinary places to stay, the Free Spirit Spheres near Horne Lake, about 45 minutes north of Nanaimo, are just that. Designer Tom Chudleigh has built three round wooden \u201crooms\u201d about 10 feet in diameter, so guests can feel like they\u2019re sleeping in a tree, but with all the amenities of a hotel room. A perfect \u201cglamping\u201d scenario, the rooms have electricity and are outfitted with dishes, a small fridge and a few appliances, and the site has showers, a full kitchen and even a sauna. Prices start at $155 per night. freespiritspheres.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Having a ball: The Free Spirit Spheres near Qualicum Beach provide hotel room comfort 15 feet in the air (see below). (photo by Baila Lazarus)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"photo<\/a>
(photo by Baila Lazarus)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. Search ziplines on Vancouver Island and you\u2019re bound to come up with three: WildPlay, south of Nanaimo; Adrenaline, west of Victoria on the way to Sooke; and West Coast Wild, 45 minutes east of Ucluelet. We chose the latter due to its number of lines (six) and lack of suspension bridges (a request by my co-traveler). The $99 cost was a great deal for two hours of stunning scenery, a guided nature walk and exhilarating zipping. Even for non-risk-takers, this is a great adventure. Sit and hang on for a smooth ride or test your mettle by hanging upside down and striking a pose. wcwild.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. One of the best values of the trip was a floatplane tour from Victoria Harbor with Harbour Air Seaplanes. The $100 30-minute tour takes off from in front of the Empress Hotel and flies over the Capital District, passing over the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Saanich, offering a glimpse of Butchart Gardens from the air. harbourair.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

From the water<\/strong><\/h4>\n

4. Tofino and Ucluelet \u2013 indeed, much of coastal British Columbia \u2013 are known for their whale-watching excursions. For an alternate option, try a bear-watching trip instead. These boats ply the inlets and shorelines, giving passengers a more varied view of the topography and making it easy to spot and follow wildlife. (Unlike trying to anticipate in which square metre of ocean a whale might breach.) On a tour with Jamie\u2019s Whale Watching, we spotted a mother and two cubs and were able to watch them forage for food right by the water\u2019s edge for about 45 minutes, giving everyone the opportunity to get a good look \u2013 and good shots. jamies.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Bear essentials: A mother and her cub stake out the shoreline in Clayoquot Sound near Tofino. (photo by Baila Lazarus)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

5. It\u2019s not often you can get a view of the shoreline from a kilometre out without standing on a boat or floating platform of some kind, but at low tide near Tigh-Na-Mara in Parksville, it\u2019s a mud-walker\u2019s dream. Meander through ankle-deep puddles or stick to the muddy flats, examine tracks left by crabs or other marine life and lose yourself in the vastness. Turn around, and the buildings on the shoreline look like miniatures.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
The views at Tigh-Na-Mara are expansive and beautiful. (photo from Tigh-Na-Mara)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From underground<\/strong><\/h4>\n

6. Don a helmet with headlamp, some sturdy shoes and gloves and you\u2019re ready for caving in Horne Lake Provincial Park. About an hour from Nanaimo, these tours \u2013 offered through the park \u2013 give a glimpse into the world of beautiful crystal and rock formations, and geological history. Tours range from a Family Cavern 1.5-hour tour for $26 to a High Adventure four-hour tour for $125. Note this is not a walk in the park. There is very rough terrain and the caves are very cold. hornelake.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

From high above<\/strong><\/h4>\n

7. If you\u2019re interested in getting a bird\u2019s-eye view, but still want to be standing on terra firma, two locations near Victoria offer outstanding vistas. Driving up the Island Highway about 30 minutes from Victoria, take the turnoff to Whittaker Road and keep right to go up Ebedora Lane. At the top \u2013 where the Aerie and Prancing Horse are located \u2013 you\u2019ll have stunning views of Saanich Inlet.<\/p>\n

8. Across the inlet, stand in the shadow of history as you make your way up Observatory Hill. Built in 1918, the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory was, for a short period, the largest functioning observatory in the world. The road winds up the hill, offering lookouts with views to most of Saanich.<\/p>\n

Baila Lazarus<\/strong> is a freelance writer, painter and photographer. Her work can be seen at orchiddesigns.net<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A ziplining selfie: Dangling over river gorges in Clayoquot Plateau Provincial Park.\u00a0(photo by Baila Lazarus) The mission: to explore British Columbia from as many geographical perspectives as possible. The means: a 10-day road trip on Vancouver Island. The locations: whatever would take us off the city or country roads. The result: eight ways to see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[1637,1639,1642,1640,1641,1638,1636],"class_list":["post-5825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-free-spirit-spheres","tag-harbour-air-seaplanes","tag-horne-lake-provincial-park","tag-jamies-whale-watching","tag-tigh-na-mara","tag-tom-chudleigh","tag-west-coast-wild"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}