From a young age, travelling was something I've always loved, even though we never really travelled as a family. I used to go out of town for precision skating competitions (aka synchronized skating), mostly within Ontario where we lived but we had travelled as far as Calgary, Alberta. I loved the idea of being away and in a new place (the farther the better) and was fascinated by new...everything!
Fast forward to 2022 and my family and I now live on Vancouver Island. We moved here during the pandemic as my husband received a job offer in Nanaimo so we took the opportunity and left Edmonton for something new. In the last few years, we have explored a lot from Victoria to Campbell River alongside Tofino and Ucluelet. Since Vancouver Island is filled with so much beauty and places to explore, we are so lucky to have immense variety at our doorstep!
Recently, we decided to explore more of the West Coast to switch it up a little so we started our daytrip through Lake Cowichan from Nanaimo all the way to Port Renfrew, on some winding roads, for about 50km, but it took a while as we weren't driving too fast being newbies to this route. On the way back, we drove the coast South towards Sooke, then back home to essentially complete the Pacific Marine Circle Route.
On arrival in Port Renfrew, we drove past the town and went straight to Botanical Beach as the goal for the daytrip was to scan the beach as close to low-tide as possible. We had a picnic planned, I had my camera bag loaded with gear and we were good to go. The short walk to the beach was forested and beautiful. It was filled with funky trees, several little bridges and was an easy descent, yes a little descent.
Once we approached the ocean, we could start hearing the waves more and more creating a feeling of anticipation and excitement knowing what might lie ahead. As expected, we were greeted to stunning views and we felt in awe but also mostly, we felt privileged to be able to experience this beach, which is located on the land of the Pacheedaht First Nations Peoples. Privileged but also vastly grateful. The sun was shining, the waves were crashing and the gratitude was totally flowing.
We explored the tide pools to see what we could find as I had previously seen a lot of cool photos from other photographers on social. This time around, there wasn't as much as expected but exploring these pools was still a fun family experience that was well worth the minor ascent back up to the parking lot and the whole trip overall.
This is a great place where you can get lost in in the views as you take in all the elements around you. Also an excellent place to meditate, forest bathe or lay in the sun on the beach. Not-to-mention, photograph (obviously)! After exploring around for a while, we sat for a little picnic lunch (let's call it what is was; a snack) and then headed to Sooke, about an hour and a half away on more winding roads, for an early dinner.
We stopped at Route 14 in Sooke after gawking at the random ocean views that popped up between here and Port Renfrew; simply stunning. We had a long, chill dinner with a pint (ok, I had a pint AND a schooner but I wasn't driving!) and enjoyed being out out on the patio in the sun after such a lovely family day on the West Coast.
Sun-kissed faces and immense feelings of gratitude are what made this a successful daytrip.
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