Blog: My own 'private' paradise (sort of...)

Blog: As I write this blog, I am sitting in the sunshine overlooking the very calm and peaceful Pacific Ocean at Campbell River on Vancouver Island, writes Rebecca Lawrence.

A seal is sunning itself on a nearby dock and a goose and its goslings are swimming up and down in front of the bay. There are a pair of bald eagles nesting in a nearby tree and they occasionally swoop across the water.

Vancouver Island is an idyllic setting, with breathtaking beaches and a wild coastline. It is the perfect location to experience the true outdoor nature of the Canadian way of life.

We began our trip with a visit to Victoria, which has a very British atmosphere. There are boutique stores and British flags everywhere.

After a delicious meal at Spinnakers Gastro Brew Pub, where I tried an unusual pizza of brie, red onions, blackcurrent coulis and salmon, we headed to the inner harbour area in front of the Parliament building.

It's a great place to sit and people watch. We ate our ice-creams as we listened to a man play about six different guitars and watched another carve native indian sculptures from wood.

We enjoyed wandering the windy streets but also paid a visit to Thetis Lake Regional Park which has calm, beautiful waters. We were able to find a good spot and enjoyed a brief dip.

Victoria is the first port of call for many tourists but it certainly shouldn't be the only place you visit on Vancouver Island, which is the largest populated land mass off the North American coast.

We began our drive from Victoria to Tofino, which takes about six hours. We stopped in Nanimo, mainly because I wanted to eat at a Nanaimo bar in Nanaimo.

It's quite a famous Canadian treat and is made with a wafer base, custard butter middle and chocolate top.

It was perhaps a bit sickly for 10am but is still worth it. Nanaimo has a small old town area, which is fun to explore, and also has its own ferry link to Vancouver.

Our next stop on our journey was Cathedral Grove, near Port Alberni, where we drove past huge lakes and waterfalls. The area is part of MacMillan Provincial Park, home to huge cedar and Douglas Fir trees.

It's impossible to take pictures of the giant trees as they sore way up into the sky but there's plenty of opportunities where you can squeeze into cracks and crevices.

Along the way, we stopped at the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve visitor centre to buy our pass so we could begin exploring the many beaches and trails.

We first walked the South Beach trail from the Kwisitis Visitor Centre. We spent a long time watching the waves crashing to the shore against the rugged rocks. We then walked the Schooner trail to Schooner Cove, which took us through a lovely, mature rainforest.

Arriving in Tofino, we relaxed in our condo, which had spectacular views over the ocean, before wandering around the surf-inspired town. We began the next day by exploring a few of Tofino's own beaches, including Chesterman Beach, which seemed to go on forever.

It was very atmospheric at 9am, with very few people around. We did bump into a photographer, Szymon, who offered to take our picture. It's worth a look at his website www.szymonphotography.com to see some spectacular shots of the area.

We returned to the national park to take advantage of a few more trails, including Coombers Beach and rainforest, where we saw gigantic trees and ancient fallen logs which act as nursery trees to support the intricate ecosystem.

We headed back to Tofino for some lunch at the Common Loaf Bake Shop (delicious cakes) before heading out with the Tofino Sea Kayaking Company, which was a fantastic experience. During the paddle over to Meares Island, we spotted several bald eagles. We secured our kayaks and our guide took us on a walk along the island's Big Tree trail, which winds its way through impossibly large cedar trees. It's hard to date the trees but our guide said some could be more than 2,000 years old.

Meares Island is also the site of the 1984 Clayoquot Sound anti-logging protest. The Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Council declared the island a Tribal Park and gained an injunction against MacMillan Bloedel, who was preparing to log it. Until land claims are settled and a treaty is signed, no logging can take place on Meares Island.

The next day we made our way to Ucluelet, just down the road from Tofino, to walk the famous 8.5 km Wild Pacific Trail. It runs through untamed rainforest and coastline, with views of the Broken Group Islands and Barkley Sound. It's also a great location for storm watching, although it was relatively calm when we walked the trail. It will eventually continue northwest along the outer coast to reach Pacific Rim National Park.

After tucking into some fresh and very tasty fish and chips at the Driftwood Patio Restaurant, we went whale watching with Jamie's Whaling Station, which was a fantastic experience. We went out in a high speed zodiac and even if we hadn't seen any whales, just bounding across the waves clutching onto the rails was great fun. We first spotted different kinds of sea lions, including California. We got up very close to one rock - in fact a little too close as the smell was very poignant. Then our guide spotted a huge splash on the distance horizon and the zodiac whizzed across the water to find a whale.

Amazingly we saw a mother and baby humpback whale playing in the waves. They kept diving down and then waving their tails in the air before exhaling their breath with huge plumes of water. We stayed watching these whales for quite a while before our guide moved off nearer the coastline and we spotted some grey whales. There were three swimming very close to our boat. "Do you smell that?" our guide asked. It was whale's breath, which we smelt as he swam under the boat. It wasn't as pungent as the sea lions.

The next day, we began our trip to Campbell River, where we stayed at the Dolphins Resort. It is a beautiful complex with rustic cabins overlooking the ocean. On the way, we stopped at Coombs Old Country Market. My husband and I were amazed, as unfortunately, Moose Jaw does not have a permanent farmer's market and we miss out on a lot of local produce. This farmer's market had everything, including a selection of British cheeses. There were even some goats on the roof of the main building. They like to live up high and eat the plentiful roof grass.

Our first activity was the Canyon View Trail, a six kilometre hike across a canyon with an 80 foot walkway and whitewater rapids. We then explored the town, which is full of driftwood carvings.

The next day, we made our way to Strathcona Provincial Park, where we walked a number of trails and found many waterfalls. It is the island's largest and BC's oldest provincial park. We spotted quite a few deer, including a baby lying by the side of the road with its mother.

Vancouver Island has so much to offer and explore. During our trip, we also visited Comox and Courtenay, which are very pretty towns with lots to offer.

We definitely hope to return some day to visit one of the most beautiful coastlines I've ever seen.