We arranged a day tour to Victoria on Vancouver Island.
This is a large island off the coast and was the site of the first settlement. The names are designed to confuse. So, Vancouver isn't on Vancouver Island. The main city on the island is Victoria. But, it's Vancouver Island, not Victoria Island. By the way, Victoria is the capital of British Columbia (Vancouver, the largest city, isn't).
Apparently, the original settlement was at Victoria and this was quite prosperous. Later, Vancouver was established and grew to be larger than Victoria, particularly as businesses moved from Victoria to Vancouver. However, Vancouver Island only agreed to be part of British Columbia if Victoria was adopted as the capital (otherwise the people muttered about joining with the US).
It's a 45 minute ride to the terminal and then a 90 minute ferry ride to Vancouver Island. these are large ferries, as the island has about 700,000 inhabitants.
A major tourist attraction is Butchart Gardens, set in the countryside between the ferry terminal and Victoria. These are one of the world's major show gardens. The passion of one woman, they we developed from about 100 years ago, particularly in the area of an abandoned limestone quarry.
Apparently, flowers are regularly re-planted to ensure the best show given the season. It attracts over 1 million visitors annually and has over 85 full-time gardeners. It is still run by the family of the original couple that created the gardens.
The gardens are really very attractive, with various garden spaces and themes. It must be very busy at the height of the season, but as we were towards the end, the numbers were not an issue for us.
From there, we headed for Victoria and spent a couple of hours walking the town. This involved walking down the main area, starting in the old Chinatown and heading down towards the area around the Fairmont Empress hotel. This actually means browsing and shopping. Bernadette managed to buy a shawl at the smallest shop we have ever seen (about 1.5m x 3m).
The main town is a compact area, with an attractive harbour outlook and the architecture reflects the prosperity of the town in the late 1800's. An impressive provincial assembly building is very evident and there is a striking heritage hotel nearby.
Returning is the reverse. Half and hour to the ferry terminal, 30 minutes waiting, 90 minutes on the ferry and 45 minutes back to our Vancouver hotel, to arrive at about 9:30 pm after a long day.
Our driver/guide was an interesting character. He was First Nations (means that he is a member of a local Indian tribe - in fact, one from the western part of Vancouver Island). He certainly had plenty of knowledge and he could certainly talk!
One fact - if there are roadside billboards, then the land adjacent is reservation land. Apparently, roadside billboards are banned, but the Indians are allowed to install them on their reservation land - and they are a source of income.
This is a large island off the coast and was the site of the first settlement. The names are designed to confuse. So, Vancouver isn't on Vancouver Island. The main city on the island is Victoria. But, it's Vancouver Island, not Victoria Island. By the way, Victoria is the capital of British Columbia (Vancouver, the largest city, isn't).
Apparently, the original settlement was at Victoria and this was quite prosperous. Later, Vancouver was established and grew to be larger than Victoria, particularly as businesses moved from Victoria to Vancouver. However, Vancouver Island only agreed to be part of British Columbia if Victoria was adopted as the capital (otherwise the people muttered about joining with the US).
It's a 45 minute ride to the terminal and then a 90 minute ferry ride to Vancouver Island. these are large ferries, as the island has about 700,000 inhabitants.
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| Butchart Gardens flowers |
Apparently, flowers are regularly re-planted to ensure the best show given the season. It attracts over 1 million visitors annually and has over 85 full-time gardeners. It is still run by the family of the original couple that created the gardens.
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| In Butchart Gardens |
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| In Victoria's smallest shop |
The main town is a compact area, with an attractive harbour outlook and the architecture reflects the prosperity of the town in the late 1800's. An impressive provincial assembly building is very evident and there is a striking heritage hotel nearby.
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| Provincial Assembly - Victoria |
Our driver/guide was an interesting character. He was First Nations (means that he is a member of a local Indian tribe - in fact, one from the western part of Vancouver Island). He certainly had plenty of knowledge and he could certainly talk!
One fact - if there are roadside billboards, then the land adjacent is reservation land. Apparently, roadside billboards are banned, but the Indians are allowed to install them on their reservation land - and they are a source of income.
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