Day trip from Victoria BC on Vancouver Island: Pacific Marine Circle Route and Avatar Grove - a podcast by Dr. Melissa West

Pacific Marine Circle Route



This Easter weekend we decided to take a day trip from Victoria BC around the Pacific Marine Circle Route from Victoria BC. This time we decided to follow the route counterclockwise and started out through Goldstream, the Malahat lookout points and stopped in Duncan at Garage cafe for coffee and cinnamon buns. We continued on our drive across the island through Lake Cowichan. Our next stop was Fairy Lake.



Our main destination this day was Avatar Grove. We managed to drive our small compact Yaris on the 1 km of logging roads up to the old growth forest. The short hike up to the gnarliest tree in Canada is totally worth it. The energy in that forest is incredibly calming and healing. There are a lot of stairs on this hike and at this time of year after all the rains of winter, the trails can be quite slippery, so although the hike is short, the elevation and terrain may not make it for everybody.



From Avatar Grove we drove into Port Renfrew to find food. We stopped at Bridgeman's restaurant adjacent to the marina with incredible views of the water and the mountains. We saw sea lions, and seals while we were eating our dinner. One of the most fun things about this great place to eat is that you can bring the fish that you catch and they will prepare fish and chips for you. It is a gorgeous location and we will definitely be back.



#bridgemansrenfrew



At this point, we had definitely run out of steam, despite a good dinner. You can do Pacific Marine Trail in one day, but I would recommend three. We missed out on all the beaches close to Port Renfrew: Botanical Beach, Sombrio Beach, China Beach, Mystic Beach. We didn't even stop at Shirley Delicious.



We did stop at Sheringham Lighthouse in Shirley, just outside of Sooke to close out the vlog. It is a beautiful location and a shot hike from a new CRD trail designed to protect private property. Interesting. This makes it less accessible for individuals who cannot walk that far.



On this trip of Marine Circle Route, we entirely missed all the stops in Sooke: Whiffin Spit, Sooke Potholes and East Sooke Park.



Please thank Tim for editing this vlog by giving it a thumbs up and put I love the Marine Circle Route in the comments. Thanks for watching.



Namaste, Melissa and Tim



Botanical Beach Vlog



Mystic Beach



Sooke Potholes and Aylard Farm



 

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