No passport required: Discovering the magic in our own backyard

Paris Independent travel columnist Karon Sinning pauses for a photo at the iconic Tofino sign on Vancouver Island, marking the final stop on her cross-Canada staycation that took her from Ontario’s fall colours to British Columbia’s breathtaking coastal views.

Karon Sinning

Paris Independent Travel Columnist

I never in my life thought I’d thank the orange menace for anything.  However, making travel in Canada much more appealing than south of our border is probably the one and only thing!

First, it was an early summer trip to Kincardine and area, then a late summer trip to Ottawa, our capital, followed by a trip to Toronto, Pumpkinfest in Port Elgin and to top that off a family wedding in Muskoka. 

The final destination of my staycation was outstanding; however, not in Ontario. 

In late August, we travelled to Ottawa with friends and saw the city as tourists.  A tour of the House of Commons and yes…a red bus tour.  Currently, what I thought of as Parliament (the Centre Block) is closed for renovations and wait for it…not reopening until 2032!  The House of Commons is currently in the West Block building and located in a renovated courtyard. The outside of the building is visible from inside the room. We had a booked tour and were really pleased that we did: very informative. 

We were very lucky with the weather that day. When we finished the Parliament tour, we headed over to the Red Bus tour.  There are 15 stops on the tour, with the option to disembark at any stop and catch the next bus. Buses run about every half hour. Stops 1 and 15 are at the starting point. Stops 2-14 include many museums, Dow’s Lake, ByWard Market, the National Gallery of Canada and InterZip Rogers (a zip line between Ontario and Quebec). 

When we returned to the hotel after a full day out, we were a little blindsided by new hotel rules. As we’ve stayed at the Hampton Inn many times, returning to find the beds unmade, no clean towels and garbage still full was very unexpected. When I checked out, I complained about this telling them I had stayed last November and this hadn’t happened.  They then explained that it had changed since then and someone should have explained that when we checked in. They refunded each of us for 1 night's stay, which I thought was fair. Now I know what to expect. 

The next day, and since it was raining, we visited the Canadian War Museum.  Fortunately they have underground parking. Arriving in the lobby, I was struck by the sheer size of the building. The displays are laid out in chronological order starting with native tribes in conflict, through to modern wars. 

There is a book of remembrance on display listing each name of a fallen soldier. The page is turned daily. I found visiting this museum a sobering experience; however, it does leave you with a sense of pride in the men and women who have served our country. 

Since my cousin was visiting from North Carolina, it gave us reason to visit Toronto as tourists. It was Jackie’s first trip up the CN Tower. While I’d visited it within the last year, the cost of refreshments was still shocking. Two glasses of rosé wine, a beer and a couple snacks—$90!  

Because we were tourists, we decided to ride the Red Bus tour in Toronto. It covers most of the downtown area, with 13 stops. We chose to just ride it without getting off. It was a nice day and the guide was good, having grown up in the city. 

My cousin's wedding in Huntsville was more or less the icing on our Ontario, Canada cake!  The colours on the trees were almost fully turned and the outdoor ceremony was very picturesque.  We stayed at the Hidden Valley Resort. While the resort itself is a bit dated, they did an excellent job on the wedding and the dinner/reception. 

A stop on the way up to Huntsville on highway 11 isn’t complete without a stop at Webers. An iconic burger place with a bridge spanning the highway so it’s accessible from either the north or south bound lanes. Often lineups are long but we were lucky and didn’t have a wait. They have repurposed old train cars for indoor dining and restroom facilities. 

Next on the itinerary was Pumpkinfest in Port Elgin. We stayed at my sister-in-law’s cottage in Sauble Beach.  Pumpkinfest is a huge car show and Roy and Gary were in car heaven!  While Colleen and I enjoyed the old cars, the great boutique shopping was more our style.  Once again the weather was spectacular! Temps during the day reached 29C!

It has been a wonderful summer and fall season, enjoying much of what Ontario has to offer but I saved the biggest adventure for last…experiencing Tofino and Victoria, British Columbia. 

My friend and I had our trip booked for a few months, which allowed us to research a few things we especially wanted to do.  Once we picked up the car rental, we headed to a B&B in Nanaimo for our first night. Nanaimo is about 1.5 hrs from Sydney airport in Victoria. After a bit of confusion getting in (we tried the wrong door), we found the accommodation to be excellent. 

There was a great restaurant just across the street; so we headed there for dinner.  MGM Restaurant is a family owned business, (open since 1984).  It’s like a step back in time; excellent service and basic, great food. When we walked in, I was carrying a duotang which I’d put together with our itinerary.  As it could have looked like a resume folder, the hostess walked up to us and asked if we were looking for work!  The lighthearted atmosphere was just what we needed after a long (4.5 hour) flight and the drive. 

Next morning, the time change of 3 hours played in our favour. We were up early and on the road to Tofino. 

Of course the drive is picturesque, but I would embellish that to breathtaking!  In general, it is a winding, curvy road running along lakes, trees and mountains. While the distance from Nanaimo to Tofino is 206 km, you are travelling most of the time at 60 km an hour or less. The good news is there are several passing-lane points along the route.  

We left Nanaimo about 9-9:30 am with our first stop being a forest walk at Cathedral Grove. This old growth forest boasts a 9 meter circumference Douglas Fir. The trees are massive!  Very little sunlight reaches the forest floor, so it could be a mucky walk, but there is an excellent boardwalk throughout. 

We chose to do the Big Tree Trail, which was about a kilometre in length. The vegetation is lush and the boardwalk even meandered by a good sized creek. It was the perfect spot to stretch our legs!

Back in the car and on to our next stop, Goats on the Roof country market. Freda had sourced this stop out and I immediately penciled it into our plan!  

Goats on the Roof originated in the 1950s. The owners were from Norway where many structures were built into hillsides, so this was how they built their market. Originally just a stand selling fruits and vegetables to locals, it quickly grew into a destination in its own right. 

The goats ended up on the roof when the sod was getting long!  It may have also been suggested after a glass or two of wine.  This was immediately successful. The goats are still there!

The market today is a very large store with foods from all over Canada and the world: grocery, deli, bakery, souvenir and a really great little restaurant.  Adjacent to the main store is a donut shop and a fresh fruit and vegetable market.  

The road to Tofino is very winding and speed limits are mostly 30-60 km per hour. As we had no schedule, this allowed for a great scenic drive. Our accommodation was booked at the Himwitsa Lodge, an Indigenous run establishment. There are only 5 rooms upstairs with a museum/gift shop on the main floor. This is also where you check in. 

Booking from the internet can be a little nerve racking about what the accommodation will be like and just before we arrived we read that there is also a fresh fish store on the main floor; we had a little chuckle and hoped for the best. We were not disappointed.  The room and the view couldn’t have been better!  Two queen beds, a small kitchen, an oak kitchen table and chairs, deck chairs on the balcony overlooking Clayoquot Sound and Meares Island. No fish smell anywhere!

Once settled, we chose to head out and see what there was in Tofino. The town has about 2,000 residents so it is quite small.  There does seem to be a “hippy” vibe about it and most of the staff in various businesses have a decided “out of Canada” accent. New Zealand and Australia figure most prominently. There were also a lot of people from central/eastern Canada who came for a trip and never went back!  We heard this described quite often. 

In “it’s a small world” moment, in a store where we stopped, the clerk asked where we were from. When I mentioned Paris, she said her brother used to teach there. Who?  Peter Crosby!  Pete was the phys-ed teacher at the high school for many years! I knew him well from his booking ice time for the hockey program. 

With only a few days ahead of us, rather than flying blindly, we asked at the museum desk which tours they would recommend. Ahous Tours offered a few different options but we chose the boat trip to the hot springs. We booked this one and the meeting point was only a short walk from our hotel. 

The trip is 5.5 plus hours, travelling either up the ocean side or the inland water route. On the day of our tour, waves and wind on the ocean route required us to travel on the sheltered side between the islands. The trip there also included spotting humpback whales, seals and sea otters. 

Arriving at the dock, you disembarked onto a wooden boardwalk. This excellent path leads 2+ km through the bush to the hot springs. By no means is it a flat walk. There are just over 700 stairs on this route, both up and down! The hike took us just over 30 minutes each way. 

You can smell the hot springs as you approach:  sulphur!  Supposedly the hot springs have natural healing qualities. The actual spring flows from a creek, down a rock face and into rock-lined pools. The pools are very small, fitting only about 4 or 5 people in the upper one. The rocks are extremely slippery and water shoes should be worn. We toughed it out in bare feet and did manage a nice soak. The lower pools decrease in temperature, with the final one offering both hot and Pacific Ocean cold. We could hear the screams!

While in Tofino, we spent more than a few hours on beach walks, watching the surfers and finding great little places to eat. The Surfside Grill on Cox’s Beach had the best fish and chips ever; fish is caught fresh daily and lightly breaded with panko. 

Freda enjoyed a morning of sea kayaking.  I watched as she went through all the safety talks and geared up in waterproof outerwear.  The trip lasted 2.5 hours and the guide who accompanied the group shared a kayak with Freda. She enjoyed his stories and all the information he provided. 

On October 14, we headed out from Tofino back to Victoria. We stayed at the Chateau Victoria; the accommodation and staff were both excellent. Victoria is a modern, ocean-front town and the capital of British Columbia. 

Again I can’t stress this enough, when you are planning something in an unfamiliar location, hotel staff or hosts can always offer useful assistance. Whether it’s where to eat or which tour to take, we were always pleased with the advice we were given. 

Our time in Victoria was more of a relaxed stay. We had massages and facials booked at an excellent spa.  Heaven on the Rock Spa was a great spa and accommodated our schedule even when we decided to change our facials for another type. They stayed open on Friday and customized a facial for us. 

Wednesday evening we had tickets to the Sarah Mclachlan concert. We had booked the VIP Sound Check ticket. This allowed us early entry and a more intimate experience with Sarah. Her voice is still amazing!  She had to cancel her last tour due to problems with her throat; but after a few months of “vocal” rest she seems to be back in full voice. 

While in Tofino, I tried to book a whale-watching tour in Victoria from what appeared to be a good website.  After 2 days of waiting and no response, I called the Chateau and was directed towards Eagle Wing Tours. This group actually answered the phone and provided all the information we needed.  We booked immediately with them. 

Eagle Wing Tours were very accommodating when we had to change our trip, when I accidentally hadn’t allowed enough time between the tour and the concert. Thursday morning, we headed out to do some whale watching. This tour group was excellent, from the knowledgeable staff, providing the gear required to spend 4+ hours outside in the cold and wind to see these amazing animals! 

Within the first hour, we were spotting Humpback whales!  Or at least their tails and blows. Not long after, one was actually swimming alongside our boat. At another point there were 3 of them grouped together, possibly playing. 

Along with the whales we also spotted a bald eagle, sea otters (which are quite rare around Victoria) and plenty of seals. Our guide Derek is a college instructor and some of his students were crew members for this trip. He was extremely knowledgeable about all the animals and the waters we were travelling through.  This was truly the highlight of my trip!  

Our last night in Victoria was spent closer to the airport where we would be returning the car.  The Quality Inn was also a great place to stay and offered an onsite Pub for dinner and even a liquor store attached. 

British Columbia is amazing and I kept saying that “I can’t believe that I’m still in Canada!”  I think staycations are my new normal now. At least for three seasons of the year. 

Winter this year will have us travelling back to Europe and Malta.