That day, island hopping to Vargas Island and Meares Island was on the program. Two uninhabited islands off the coast of Vancouver Island near Tofino. Wolves are found on both islands. BC Parks asks that they certainly do not feed the animals and store food in sealed containers. We had been looking forward to this trip for a long time. I had arranged the boat via email and had agreed that it would pick us up at Crab Dock in Tofino at 10u00. We first sailed to Vargas Island to cross the island on foot to Ahous Bay on the other side of the island.
Parking
We parked in a small parking lot at the beginning of Olsen Street. At 10u00 I started to become a bit nervous, because there was no boat yet and I could not see one in the bay.
Tofino Water Taxi
I then called to the office of Tofino Water Taxi and there they said that I actually had to come to the office first to pay the bill (268 $). This was also possible via the telephone, but for one reason it was 7 more expensive than agreed by email. I did not want to waste time and wanted to leave for Vargas Island as soon as possible.
Vargas Island
At 10:15 am an employee of the Water Taxi company came to pick us up and took us to Vargas Island in the rising fog. It was chilly, but how beautiful it was to see the boats and wooden houses on the water through the mist. After a 20 minute boat ride past Clayoquot we arrived at Vargas Island and the driver of the boat dropped us off at the beach on the East side of the island. The walk through the island is 3 km long and runs with an enormously varied fauna and flora.
Wolves on Vargas Island 🐺
As I wrote, wolves are on the island, but the Tofino Water Taxi operator guaranteed me that they are shy. The wolves are mainly active for food at night and search along the coastline for washed up carcasses. There are signs on the beach that you should watch out for food when camping in tents. It is recommended not to sleep outside your tent and not to bring pets. The wolves, meanwhile, have learned how to open sea kayak hatches, prompting BC Parks to ask for all food to be put in a container. To stop the habituation behavior of the wolves, you are also asked to remove food from the hatches of sea kayaks, leave the hatch up and / or turn the kayaks over.
Camping on the beach
When we arrived at Ahous Bay we saw a few tents on the side of the beach. Camping is allowed on the beach for free. For the rest we saw unspoiled nature. The water was a bit green and that is because of the algae in the sea. From this beach you can see whales passing on their route from Alaska. We ate our lunch there and walked a little on the beach. I would have liked to have stayed longer, but after an hour along the same road I had to go back through the forest to the other beach to be picked up again.
Ahous Bay - Vargas Island
The water taxi came to pick us up at 2.30 pm to sail to Meares Island. We were right on time. The driver of the boat asked if it was good to pick up someone on the other side of the island. I then thought: "Ahous Bay, right ?!" And yes, it was a girl we saw sitting on one of the rocks on the beach. She had stayed there for the weekend and had called from Ahous Bay to pick her up. We didn't mind because we had an extra boat trip along the islands. We have therefore even seen our only water otter float. Next time I would ask to pick us up at Ahous Bay so that we could spend more time on the beach.
Meares Island
After he dropped off the customer in Tofino, we sailed on to the southwestern point of Meares Island. This part of the island is full of tall, old trees. There are trees more than 1000 years old. Once they were almost cut down, but thanks to protests from the local population and supported by Greenpeace, the mastodons have been preserved. The path winds, up and down between those old trees. At the end of the walk you will come across one of the oldest trees, the Hanging Tree. From there you can walk further in a loop or make a turn back to the jetty.
We had already walked enough that day, found the children and went back to our pick-up point in the same way. In the meantime several people were already waiting on the jetty to be brought back to Tofino. On the whole route to the Hanging Tree we only met these people at the start of the walk, but we didn't see anyone else. The walk on Meares Island is definitely recommended.
Tofino
When we arrived back in the harbour of Tofino we drove to Tofino village and drank something in the Shed. One of the cozy restaurants outside on a heated terrace. Tofino was really something for us. Quiet, cozy, a not too busy village with an abundance of nature. What should it be nice to live here.
Green Point Campground
Tired but satisfied we drove back in the evening to Green Point Campground (place 88) to enjoy the sunset on the beach. All of a sudden, mist came from the sea, where the sun could just shine through. Another magical evening. After the beach we sat down for a while at the campfire and after dinner we fell asleep to the sound of the sea. Wow, what a successful day! The next day we went back into nature and went for a walk along the coast at Ucluelet.
Wild Pacific Trail
Day 17: The first hikes we took were Rainforest (loop) Trail A & B. The Lighthouse Loop walk at Ucluelet is only 2.6 km long, but is one of the most beautiful hikes we have ever taken.
Read moreVargas & Meares Island Map
- Road Trip West Canada & Vancouver Island
- Travel program overview
