Vancouver Island
Sidney-by-the-Sea
I had never been to Canada, yet I had always felt a quiet pull all the way across the Atlantic. I was fortunate enough to scratch the surface of this vast, enchanting land in the summer of 2024, spending two weeks on the alluring Vancouver Island in British Columbia.
Smog-filled air was replaced with crisp, salty ocean mist. Days were filled with wandering quiet streets and wooded trails. Never rushing, mornings started slowly, watching the sunrise with coffee by the water and evenings gifted us orange hues and stillness.
“The forest is blanketed by the greenest ferns and moss and bonsai-like trees, a wild majesty that beckons hobbits and pixies and elves and dreamers.”
Tofino
A few days after arriving on the island, we ventured north to the laid-back surf town of Tofino – a bohemian nomad’s dream. An unapologetic town frozen in time, brimming with surf shops, independent cafés, outdoor adventures, and stretches of wild unspoiled beaches. It’s also home to some of the largest existing temperate rainforests in the world (!) making it one of the most ecologically diverse places I’ve ever visited, teeming with unique flora and fauna.
On one side, you’ll find a vibrant main street buzzing with energy, whilst just down the road you’re transported to a secluded white sand beach tucked behind a towering wall of old growth forest.
We stayed at the idyllic Long Beach Lodge resort for a few days, nestled right on Cox Bay Beach. This felt like a dream. Waking up to the misty waves and moody fog to watching the best sunset we had ever seen, lying on the beach, with surfers casting silhouettes with the waves. It truly felt like an escape from reality and I count down the days until we’re back.
The Tla-o-qui-aht Nation
The community of Tofino is located at the tip of the Esowista Peninsula in Clayoquot Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Long before the establishment of modern-day Canada, this land has been and continues to be home to the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations. For over 5,000 years, the Tla-o-qui-aht Nation have lived, moved, and thrived throughout the region, sustainably harvesting the resources of both land and sea.
Tofino offers several spaces where visitors can engage with the area’s rich Indigenous history and culture, which I encourage anyone passing through to do. There are various museums and galleries, such as the Clayoquot Heritage Museum and The House of Himwitsa Native Art. We had the chance to visit the Roy Henry Vickers Gallery during our short stay, which was a truly humbling experience.
Learning more about the First Nations people really touched me and I found myself resonating with their deep respect for the natural world and feeling sorrow for the injustices that Indigenous communities have faced, and continue to endure.
Ancient Forests
Cathedral Grove
During our two weeks on the island, we were lucky enough to visit various old growth forests, but one that stood out to us was Cathedral Grove (now called the slightly less ethereal MacMillan Provincial Park). The park hosts, preserves and protects a variety of some of the oldest and tallest trees in Canada – some aging nearly 1000 years old. Within the park you’ll be greeted by ancient forest guardians, draped with moss and surrounded by wild residents. I have a thing for trees – so this was an otherworldly experience for me. To be in a temperate rainforest looking up at these giants, engulfed in stillness is a meditative feeling every nature lover longs for. You’ll find Douglas Fir’s, Western Hemlock’s, Western Red Cedar’s (British Columbia’s ‘official’ tree) amongst others such as Maples and Grand Fir’s.
Stepping into this forest actually does feel like entering a living cathedral. It’s quiet, awe-inspiring, and deeply grounding. This rare pocket of ancient coastal Douglas Fir forest is one of the few remaining places like it. The trees here have stood for centuries, nearly millennia, having survived a major wildfire around 350 years ago, as well as the dramatic changes that came with European colonisation. For anyone who values forests, these trees carry deep cultural and historical importance. Western Red Cedar also grows in the grove and holds deep significance for Indigenous communities on the Northwest Coast. Cedar is not just a resource but a vital part of First Nations culture, traditions, and daily life.
In 1944, timber magnate Harvey Reginald MacMillan donated the land to the public, and the area was later named MacMillan Park in his honour. Although he had originally planned to log the forest (which begs the question as to why it was later named after him), strong opposition and protests from local residents and Indigenous groups led to its protection. The preservation of Cathedral Grove became one of British Columbia’s first major conservation successes, proving the power of grassroots activism and environmentalism!
K'ak'awin Petroglyph
We then made our way over to another very special landmark. Only a 15 minute drive from Cathedral Grove, you will find Sproat Lake which hosts the K’ak’awin petroglyphs. This was high up in my had-to-do list for our trip as I’ve always had a deep love for ancient rock art and coming face to face with the First Nations was one of my favourite moments, ever.
The petroglyph is named after the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations word for “Killer Whale”, and one of the prominent figures in the rocks is an orca, which holds great significance in Nuu-chah-nulth beliefs.
According to traditional stories, they were seen as powerful beings. They were sometimes believed to be reincarnations of great chiefs, able to shift between human and animal form. The petroglyphs are thought to symbolise such ancestral beliefs.
It was a privilege to witness history preserved so beautifully, embedded quietly amongst the nature.
Strathcona Provincial Park
The oldest park in BC, where coastal rainforest meets glacier carved mountains. We had been dreaming about this place for a while. Residing in the UK at the time (one of the most depleted countries in terms of biodiversity in Europe), our trip to Canada was centred around finding the most nature rich spaces – which led us to Strathcona Provincial Park. Located almost in the centre of Vancouver Island, Strathcona Park is a rugged mountain wilderness comprising of more than 250,000 hectares.
We set off before most of the island had awakened, and made our pilgrimage to the ancient greenscape.
It was wet and moody, and for the average person this might be disappointing – but rain is what makes the forest come alive. You can hear the flora share their lifeline, and the rivers flow more ferociously than ever. The smell of bark and the opportunity to see species we had never seen before spurred us on our trail.
We were greeted with dense forest and no marked trail route, the only directions to follow was that of previous hikers. After a long trek we were met with a humbling landscape of jagged mountains overlooking one of the parks many bodies of water, Bedwell Lake. Yes, the sky was grey and although you can’t see the lakes true colour of turquoise in the photos we took, the scene was awe-inspiring. We took some time taking in our 360 views, feeling connected and disconnected from the world at the same time – my favourite paradox.
There’s something about feeling self sufficient, having no amenities, one backpack each and getting lost in the wild. It takes you back to a primal state that I think everyone would benefit from every once in a while.
Hours spent driving between towns, through roads surrounded by massive, moss-covered trees that overhung above us. Visiting the hectic city of Victoria and mainland Vancouver. Kayaking around lakes and fitting in as many different forest visits as we could. Even after exhausting our 2-week itinerary, we were still devastated to leave the island behind. From the quaint colourful towns to the raw landscapes and prehistoric-like forests, we found ourselves feeling strangely at home in a place we had only just met.
Although, one of my main takeaways was noticing how many First Nations territories have been renamed and stolen through colonial history, a pattern that carries throughout the world. The attempted erasure of deep histories, cultural knowledge, and Indigenous identities that have existed for thousands of years. When names and stories are overwritten, it becomes easier to overlook the communities who still live there and the stewardship they continue to provide. It dulls the connection to cultures that have shaped the land for millennia and makes it harder to truly see the island for what it is, not just what the West remade it to be.
I can only hope that one day, the colonial names are stripped away and the original First Nations names reinstated and recognised.