Vancouver Life: Tofino

On our last full day on our break to Tofino we decided we would take a scenic flight tour on a seaplane with Tofino Air. The company said reservations were not required so we decided to wait until the morning to make sure the weather was good.

As we made our way into Tofino at around 11am the weather was great, clear blue skies and sunny. We checked in the Tofino Air office and they could accommodate us on a flight at 11.30 - perfect.

This is the view across the bay around 11am.

However, by about 11.10am or 11.15am mist had started to roll into the Bay.

Then at around 11.25am we watched another seaplane take off.....

.....and disappear into the mist

So, we decided to postpone the flight until 4pm in the afternoon when it was very likely the mist would have burned off.

For the remainder of the morning and early afternoon we decided to head to Incinerator Rock at Long Beach. Long Beach is 25km of sandy beach in a huge bay. It's a busy spot for surfers to converge and catch the big waves.

Views North along the beach

Mr C is happy having found a rotten old piece of fence post

Early in the afternoon there are signs the sun is starting to break through

Being fussed both ends is definately the best way

More beach views.

Then we headed back to the house for some lunch before going back into Tofino for our flight.

When we got back into the town we were pleased to see that all of the morning fog had gone and left us with clear views.

This was our seaplane, it was a de Havilland Beaver. We don't know when it was built but the last one made was in 1967 so it wasn't new.

The pilot and familiar co-pilot

Shortly after take off the view back over Tofino

Again looking back with Tofino on the far side of the water and an Indian Reserve community on the left.

Now, lots of views as we flew North from Tofino into the Strathcona National Park

Because the weather was great, the pilot was experienced and had flown this route many times he took us very close to the mountain sides as we flew. This is a view through the cockpit of the rocky mountainside just in front of us

And the glaciers that were so close you feel you could reach out and touch them (Mum's photo)

A beautiful glacial lake

We had been advised by our pilot that our flight was going to be a bit longer than planned as we had an extra stop to make along the way. We landed in the remote First Nations community of Marktosis to pick up a doctor & nurse who had been working there. While we were on a sight-seeing trip this was their commute home !

Looking forwards as we approach the dock in Marktosis

Then we took off again and headed back towards Tofino, but this time along the coast rather than over the mountains. This route took us over Vargas Island, half of which is designated a provincial park. There were sandy beaches but not much else to speak of on the island. It's definately a remote get-away location and you have to bring your own boat or kayak to get there and accommodation to stay in.

This image shows people camping on a secluded bay

Then we flew over another longer sandy beach on Vargas Island where a whale-watching zodiak was stationary in a bay. Our pilot advised us that there was a whale down there and sure enough Mum managed to catch this perfectly timed photo of it spouting.

After this we flew back into Tofino, stopped for a beer and some prawns before heading back home.
The perfect way to then end a great day and indeed holiday, was a final dip in the hottub......