I am going on a wilderness course around victoria,end may til mid june,last week i have to myself to explore t

Question

I am into the outdoors and really excited about this wilderness survival course iam going on.Two whole weeks away from the city,I fly in from London and i am soooo looking forward to visiting.So if anyone can give me ideas to fit in,as i have a whole week to myself after the course and would love to make this a very special trip

Answer 1

What sort of things are you into to? Touristy c**p or more "out there" type things?

Tourist:

    * Abkhazi Garden

    * Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

    * Beacon Hill Children’s Farm

    * British Columbia Aviation Museum

    * CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum

    * Glendale Gardens and Woodland

    * Hatley Park National Historic Site (Gardens)

    * Pacific Undersea Gardens

    * Marine Ecology Centre

    * Mineral World & Scratch Patch

    * Miniature World

    * Royal London Wax Museum

    * Sidney Historical Museum

    * Sooke Region Museum

    * Butchart Gardens

    * Craigdarroch Castle

    * The Gatsby Mansion

    * The Fairmont Empress

    * Fort Rodd Hill & Fisgard Lighthouse

    * Gray Line Tours

    * Great Pacific Adventures

    * Great Canadian Casino

    * Hyack Air Floatplane Tours

    * Irish Times Pub

    * Maritime Museum of British Columbia

    * Mineral World and Scratch Patch

    * National Geographic Imax Theatre

    * The Original Christmas Village

    * Prince of Whales

    * Rogers’ Chocolates

    * Royal BC Museum

    * VIA Rail

More adventurous:

Sooke Ziplines: http://www.adrenalinezip.com/

Wild Play Element Parks (1 hour out of Vic) http://www.bungyzone.com/

River Rafting (2.5-3 hrs out of Vic...Campbell River)

www.destinyriver.com

Answer 2

are you hiking the west coast trail?

Answer 3

Eating is fine around the area, but I recently read of some unusual fungal stuff in the wilderness area there, that if you get it, starts with a rash, it needs attention right away!  It was an article in the news paper in the Seattle PI, and kids hiking got it, one died.  Where proper clothing, and I think i recall it was on the trees, (not entirely sure)  Oh, and pick up the book, Ghost Sea----to read on the plane, an adventure story set in early Victoria 1850's and supposed to be historically acturate in details (great read!)

Answer 4

Well, maybe you will have had enough wilderness by the end of the two weeks, maybe not. You might want to soak in a hotel bathtub for a while. The above poster gave a fabulous list, there is a lot to see and do on Vancouver Island. If you can fit it into your budget, rent a car and you can see more things outside Victoria though you could spend a week there and in the near vicinity too. After a wilderness survival course, driving on the wrong side of the road should be a piece of cake. Buses aren't bad outside of Victoria but somewhat limiting.

You might like to take a Gulf Islands ferry(BC Ferry Corp) and do some sightseeing that way. You can do it so you don't have to go out and back the same way.

Something I would highly recommend is something I did last year, which is a daytrip on the Lady Rose(they have a website) which leaves from Port Alberni and goes out to Bamfield on the west coast of the Island. It's a freight and passenger boat, stops here and there to drop both, it will stop long enough in Bamfield to stroll about there, it's a charming place. The boat ride is a bargain, only $60 for the day. You could meet some interesting passengers, I did. By mid-June, tourist season is well started but not in full swing so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding accommodation at short notice except if you want to go to Tofino area, that may be booked up. If you think of driving to Tofino, be forewarned that the road is pretty hairy in places.

In Victoria, don't miss the native exhibit at the Royal BC Museum. I've been there a dozen times and never get tired of it.

Oh, and the fungus the first poster mentioned is called cryptococcus gatti, if you want to check it out. It's mainly on the east coast of the island. A scientist was quoted as saying you have a far better chance of dying in a car accident on the way to the park than you do of  dying of the fungus if you catch it at the park, but it doesn't hurt to be aware.