Mackenzie Beach, Tofino… paradise found
Meeting up with family, we head over to Richmond, BC and spend the night before our early rise to catch the ferry. We booked an early ferry in order to maximize our time in Tofino at the beach, but when it came time to wake up and get on the road to catch the ferry, the early morning rise didn’t seem like the best of ideas….
Ferry to Nanaimo
We reached the ferry terminal within 20 minutes and pass through the check in point with no issues and hardly a line. We’re about 45 minutes ahead of embarking time so plenty of time to do quick potty breaks, grab a cup of joe and of course, add yet another playground to our journey. The playground at the terminal was great! New, modern equipment in great shape and even new equipment that we hadn’t yet come across…. I forgot the count of playgrounds we’ve been to, but with a 6 and 4 yr old we have been to probably about 50 at this point. That should have been a separate posting, but I don’t think I even remember where they all were.
We board the ferry and with our trailer, we have to board with the transport trucks and other trailers/boats. They really do pack you in there! Car safely parked, we get out and make our way through the maze of trucks up a few decks to the cafeteria where 99% of the passengers have headed since it’s about 8 am and most likely no one has eaten a proper meal yet. Full hot breakfast and java fueled, we make our way to the top of the ferry to breathe in the fresh air and get blown around in the crazy winds. A short stay atop the ferry to capture a few photos and we’re clamoring back to get into the warmth of the ship.
And where to we head!? They playground aboard the ferry.
A short 2 hours and we all head back to our vehicles for disembarking which was a quick smooth procedure. Another glorious drive through mountains, lakes and beautiful Vancouver island.
Who knew there were so many mountains on the islands. The road is a winding narrow, one lane in most places and so we go the right speed to match safety, with reducing the amount of braking as we had overdone it driving to whistler. Our brakes got so hot that we actually had to pull over and let them cool off a bit.
TOFINO
We arrived at Tofino almost 3 hours after our arrival to the island. Bella Pacifica Campground is just outside Tofino and is right on Mackenzie Beach. Sites are in two areas, one more forested for mostly tents and a more open area for RV’s and campers. We were in the open area at the back row, so not quite right on the beach but just a few rows back but a 2 minute walk so really convenient. We wanted the national park nearby but here’s a tip. I looked early January 2017, like maybe the 2nd week and all the spots were taken for the year!… insane. That instigated a month of mad planning and booking of sites across the country for this Canada150 trip. I digress… but it’s an important note. If you want to travel across the country and need to keep to a schedule (we had to keep to daddy’s work schedule), book far in advance so that everywhere you want to go will be able to fit you in.
A quick set up and we’re ready for it… the kids have been waiting for the ocean.
Its approaching high tide when we get there but there’s lots of discover! The beach is fine fine fine sand! The beach is really deep and wide so there’s lots of room for everyone and it’s pretty much limited to guests at the various properties along the beach so it’s not crowded at all so I would highly highly highly recommend this location for access to this beach alone is worth it.
The wind along the beach is quite strong and while the sun is beating down, the wind is cool enough that most of us are covered up with a few extra layers. The kids on the other hand… have found paradise and are digging in the sand, running into the water and enjoying all the beach has to offer.
A gourmet meal at our campground courtesy our cousins… and a nice roaring fire and marshmallows to end out the night. It’s a nice return to campfires after a few weeks of campfire bans.
Day 2 Tofino
The next morning we refuel with a full hearty breakfast and run to the beach to catch low tide. With the tide out, we were able to walk to the nearest island across a sand bar. The water was FRIGID…. I gave up the crossing half way only to have my guilt persuade me that if my 6 yr old can do it… I can too.. so I braved the water and made it to the island and back….. and I think it my feet finally thawed a few hours later!…. the ocean is definitely CCCCOLD!….
A few finds of sand dollar, crazy slug like clamish creatures and a few girly screams later, we decide to head into Tofino to see what the town is like… And what do you know!?!?… There’s a playground!!!!…..
We stopped by Big Daddy’s Fish Fry for some take out lunch to eat at the park and restocked on supplies at the local grocery store which is by far, one of the biggest I’ve seen for a small town!
Back at the campground, we find ourselves a perfect spot on the beach and spend the afternoon burying toes, kids, dads and such… waterplay is always fun! A few kayakers came in with cage atop their kayak so I send my 6 yr old over to investigate…. They had placed baited cages out in the ocean to capture crabs! And did they ever yield a haul! 8 in one and 6 in another. All but 2 were the correct size to keep, so the fortunate small guys were left back to return home to the ocean
A quick dinner back at the site and we head out to the beach for an evening campfire as the previous night we didn’t realize that people did that! We counted about 39 fires along the beach, people waiting for the sunset and just overall enjoyment of the beautiful weather and scene of Mackenzie beach!. As our cousin said, “if you’re not out here on a beach and you’re in Tofino tonight, you’ve got to be crazy!…”
A few fisherman were over by the waters and sure enough, across the horizon you could see fish jumping out of the water here and there. It was too dark at that point to try and capture it with my phone but it delighted young and old to see the fish jumping out! And they were large! An osprey had captured a fish earlier in the day but dropped it on the beach, an opportunistic crow attempted to haul off the fish but 2 girls down the beach took pity on the fish and returned it to the ocean where it promptly swam away with a tale to tell it’s other fishy friends. It certainly was crazy to see fish falling from the sky. Like something out of the bible…