🍂 Vancouver Island: An Autumn Holiday Breeze

🌲The arrival on holiday island 🌊

From the beginning Vancouver Island felt like one long autumn holiday. 🍁

Getting there with luggage sounds at first sight like a hassle: metro, bus, ferry, another bus, car rental—and seemingly a different ticket for every step. 😅

But then Mamabear discovered the ultimate travel hack: the ferry connector bus! 🚌⛴️

Pickup right next to our Airbnb, luggage safely onboard, the bus drove straight onto the ferry, drove off again at the other side and dropped us right next to the car rental.

Honestly, travel luxury! 👌

The only complaint? According to the Young Pandas, the ferry ride was far too short. 😂⛴️

Then came the moment Mamabear had been slightly dreading: the car rental. After the Calgary trauma, understandably huge nervousity. 😳

Completely unnecessary.

Everything went smoothly, our favourite travel credit card was accepted without a single question, and the car was ours. 🚙🎉

Wait… what happened in Calgary?

Never mind. No more talking about Calgary. 😂

Instead, we enjoyed a wonderfully hassle-free arrival on this beautiful island. 🌲

And luckily we had a car, because getting around without one is pretty much impossible—especially when your Airbnb is high up on a mountain, with 5-star view overlooking a beautiful lake, sunset and autumn all around us. 🌅🍁

Now that is how you arrive on Vancouver Island. ❤️

🐋 The Beach Detour  🌊

Today the plan was simple: sleep in, take it easy, drive to a sandy beach with  a playground and enjoy a warm, sunny days before autumn arrived. ☀️🍂

Naturally, we were already running late into the day.

And then there is Mamabear’s driving philosophy: GPS?

No, thank you.
Look at the map, remember roughly where to go, trust your instincts… and occasionally enjoy a little creative detour. 😅🚙

This time, the detour brought us to a completely different beach.

A rustic little spot, surrounded by enormous wooden logs. 🌊🪵

Finnibear immediately started chatting with some locals, and before long they were building a huge beach fortress. He naturally took on the role of project manager, while Nicobear was put in charge of the water supply. 😂🏗️💦

One of the locals mentioned that, occasionally you might spot one of the two large ocean inhabitants around there.

Less than ten minutes later came a collective:

“OHHHH!” 😲

And there she was.

A little way out, but clearly visible: an orca hunting. 🐋

For around 15 minutes, she treated us to an incredible wildlife show before disappearing.

And just when we thought the wildlife encounter was over, about an hour later Nicobear was still happily playing in the water when a very, very well-fed seal cruised past—less than 20 metres away. 🦭😂

Completely unexpected. Completely unforgettable.

At least for Mamabear. The Young Pandas found the spectacle too far out and were anyway too busy with their projects.

Well you need to set your priorities.

So much for our quiet beach day.

Apparently, the best adventures happen when Mamabear takes a wrong turn. 🐋🌊✨

🌊 Coastal Discoveries & Very Loud Neighbours 🦀🦭

The following days were all about discovering the incredible marine life of Vancouver Island and enjoying the wonderfully untouched beauty of the West Coast. 🌲🌊

Every beach seemed to have its own little treasure hunt: colourful crabs, shells, sea creatures of all shapes and sizes and plenty of curious finds for the Young Pandas to investigate. 🐚🦀

Luckily, the local marine education centres were incredibly welcoming and happy to explain what the Young Pandas had discovered. 😄🔎

And then came another lucky encounter.

A whole colony of seals decided to take over the harbour at Cowichan Bay. 🦭🦭🦭

They didn't exactly arrive quietly either. Their very, very loud barking made sure that nobody could possibly miss them! 😂

Another few days of nature, discoveries and the growing feeling that Vancouver Island might just be impossible to explore without stumbling into wildlife. 🌊🍁✨

Meanwhile, Mamabear thoroughly enjoyed the long drives through the autumn scenery. 🍂

Instead of Belgium’s usual brownish autumn colours, Vancouver Island was putting on a spectacular show of fire-red and golden leaves against endless deep-green evergreens. 🔥🌲✨

And then there was the driving itself: automatic gear, huge roads, generous parking spaces and a wonderfully relaxed Canadian driving style. 😌🚗

Mamabear started wondering whether she would ever manage to readjust to Belgium’s tight roads, tiny parking spaces and slightly more… enthusiastic driving style. 😂

🌲 The Final Week: Homeschooling Made Easy 🍁

The final week once again proved that homeschooling doesn't have to look like school. 😄

At the famous Skywalk, what the Young Pandas thought would be just another beautiful lookout turned into a proper nature treasure hunt. 🌿🔎

They answered nature questions, touched and collected natural treasures, and even tested their courage on a spider web suspended 250 metres above the ground. 😳

And because stairs are apparently far too boring, they took the 20-metre slide back down. 🛝😂

Another day brought a visit to Victoria's famous museum, where the Young Pandas travelled from the Egyptian underworld to the underwater world, discovering something new around every corner. 🏺🌊

The sweetest surprise was an otter film  following a little otter called Finn. 🦦❤️

Apparently, even the museum knew exactly which panda to cast as the main character! 😄