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Victoria Area, February 2018

Pawistik

Paddler
Joined
Apr 28, 2010
Messages
614
Location
Saskatoon, SK
Hi folks,
I know I haven't been on WCP much lately but I wanted to mention that I'm heading west for a vacation in a few weeks and will be in Victoria from about February 16th to 25th. My family is coming out so the purpose of this post is 2-fold:
  • Anyone want to go for a paddle while I'm in the area?
  • Any suggestions for activities and things to do with my kids (12 & 15 year old girls)?
Currently, we're actually flying out on the night of the 17th and flying home on the 25th, but I'm probably going to change my flight to come out a little early before the rest of the family since I now know my work schedule. I'll be bringing my drysuit and not much else (well, a few clothes, too). A while ago I had chatted with Dave at Blue Dog about doing some playing around in the water with them, but we haven't gotten very specific.

Cheers,
Bryan in Saskatoon
 
Hi Bryan,

New member to the community here. I live in the lower mainland and am always game to do an overnight trip out to my favourite campsite Osprey Creek on Pitt Lake (There are a few trip reports on the site). I've got two Elie Strait 140XE single 14' boats and a Classic Necky Tofino 21' double that we could use. Along with all of the necessary camping gear for you to use (-5 Sleeping bag, Pad, Tent, etc.). Saturday the 17/18 of February would probably work best. Let me know if you're interested and we can look into setting something up.

Cheers,
Paul
 
Nootka, good to know. Not convenient but good to know. I have a cousin in Campbell River, another in Ladysmith, and friends in the Courtney area so that might be worth a trip up there if I can figure out how to make it work.

Paul, thanks for the note - I'm still figuring stuff out so that's a good option to keep in mind. I hadn't thought about camping as an option.
 
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Ah, now that I see where Pitt Lake is I'll have to rule it out. It might be a stretch for me to get to Surge, let alone the mainland. I'll keep it in mind for the future on one my Vancouver-area visits. I'll check it out as we fly over it heading into Victoria.
Cheers,
Bryan
 
... will be in Victoria from about February 16th to 25th.
Update: I changed my flight to stay a bit longer after my family leaves. Though I was preferring to come earlier than our originally booked flight on the evening of Feb 17th, to change that flight was too expensive. Instead, I'm now staying 2 days later so that I leave on the evening of Tuesday, Feb 27th. The rest of the family flies home on the Sunday so that gives me about 2 days to do stuff that they wouldn't want to do with me. :cool:

Nootka, how does Surge Narrows look on Monday, Feb 26th? (If I can figure out how to get up that way from Victoria.)

A while ago I had touched base with Dave Nichols at Blue Dog Kayaking and he had suggested an excursion to Jordan River while I was in town so I will see if that's still an option as well.

Cheers,
Bryan
 
surge on Feb 26th is a small wave, max 5 knots. starts at 9am (4 knots) and ends 11:00 or 11:30
IMHO too small to bother with but depends on what you are looking for.
 
For the kids (and me) poking around on the beach and exploring intertidal life, where is good to go around Victoria? BigandSmall mentioned Port Renfrew's Botanical Beach. Any other great areas to check out closer to Victoria? I remember seeing something about Whiffin Spit at Sooke.

My nephews & niece will be along, too, so we'll have kids of about 3, 6, 9, 12, & 15. Any other highlights for families to explore in cool weather? Some of the stuff will be just my family - my wife & I and the 2 oldest kids, so some things that are a little more adventurous is OK too - it doesn't all have to be toddler friendly.

We're staying in a hotel a couple of blocks east of the Empress and the less driving around we have to do, the happier I'll be. I am planning to do some driving, however.

Cheers,
Bryan
 
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