Van Pick Up & Onward Travel to Vancouver Island

Summary

Outlining the journey to pick up the van & how we went to VancouverIsland & the sights we saw while we were there.

The quickest way to get to the van pick up was by the shuttle bus that the hire company provided. This had the advantage of being picked up from the hotel & not having to battle the traffic at rush hour.

Once there & the paper work was sorted we got our first glimpse of the van. I have to confess it was a thing of beauty as it clearly wasn’t very old. Going by the standards of previous hires this was practically brand new.

Having rented a few vans by now this certainly seemed the best in so many ways. The size was great as it was roomy inside but easy to drive in around towns. It was well equipped & I believe a lot of thought had been given to the design of the interior.

Van with Its Own Axe!

Whilst we never found we needed it the provision of an axe presumably for fire wood collection was extreme in terms of equipment provided. The van had a form of central heating a well as air con. There was plenty of cupboard space & I liked the velcro blinds as these were really practical.

This video clip was taken as we collected the van & I walked around with my phone while listening to the assistant going over the key elements of Dazzle Camper Van

The van was virtually brand new & had every mod con that you could hope to find in a rental van.

Off We Go

From the depot we travelled back towards Vancouver & boarded a ferry that was to take us to Vancouver Island. The various delays meant we had to source a campsite on the way but thankfully reached there before dark. It proved a brilliant spot to stay as we were close to the local bus route which was a cheap means of getting into Victoria.

We planned to explore & meet up with a New Zealand friend who was working in Canada at the time. The sun was shining & we had a lovely walk around before settling for a beer & poutine in a local bar.

The next morning we packed up & set off for the Malahat Sky Walk which is located about 35 minutes drive along Vancouver Island’s Malahat Highway (TransCanada Highway) if heading north from downtown Victoria and 1 hour south of Nanaimo.

The view from the top was awesome & because it was such a clear sky you literally could see for miles. The spiral staircase is awesome & you can take the spiral slide back to the ground if you want to.

There are a number of things to do at the Skywalk site but it’s best to check before you go & purchase tickets in advance in the busy season.

I had fun with my Seek apps there are some short trails to walk along where I discovered some plants I didn’t know.