A trip to Gold River
So that the girls can say that they saw the west coast of Vancouver Island, we decided to do a day trip to Gold River …
Reason # 2: we need to restock our fridge!!! So it's either Gold River or Campbell River
Reason # 3: Gine was never in Gold River either
Reason # 4: we have to recharge the battery on the motorhome, so we can use the lamps again


 Lady falls and the geo cash
So we learned that the Douglas firs around here are 250 years old likely growing after a forest fire in the early 1700s – and that here is the area where the Western Hemlocks and the Douglas fir compete here for territories.

If it is on the way, then we have to stop there, they say the Lady falls are awesome. So we stop learn about the water shed and walk up to those super beautiful falls. As where Gine and Paul could admire the falls, after a quick peak to the falls, the girls found it way more important to find the geo cache here… and Paul only shakes his head and likely thinks: when is this nightmare over.
But we did find the cash and we saw the falls


 Lunch at the waterfalls – the Tsuxwin viewpoint of Gold River
Where’s the best sport for a lunch: how about at a picnic table with a no-name waterfall close by… and watching the huge wood trucks come by.

 Gold River at the Muhalat Inlet
One supermarket – one tiny town: After shopping we went down towards the harbour to check it out, that’s where we learned about the tame whale Luna

Luna
A killer whale born in 1999, born in Puget Sound and separated young from her mom, he arrived in 2001 and then spent 5 years in the Nootka Sound. People loved her and came to see here – there were concerns about endangering people, so the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Ocean decided in 2004 to capture him and place him in capacity – because even the whale was first shy, he began to interact with the boats and played with them to push them around – especially since killer whales are extremely social. Then he came and visited the Gold River docks, people started feeding him and he damaged a boat and a float plane. The playful young whale needed the connection – he wanted eye contact and physical contact
First nations were against it, they believed he was the reincarnation of a former chief: the Mowachat & Muchalat people called her Tsux’iit after a chief.
In 2006 he was killed by a tug boat: it was thought that he came to the tug boat intentionally to play with it and was pulled into the blades.


 A round flight over the west coast
We saw the inlet and mountains… and that’s when we discovered the float planes… you know how you wish you could fly.
And wishes can become true… should be go on a flight? Let’s go in and ask how much… so for a ½ hour each pays something we could fly with the float plane over the mountains and the Strathcona park to the west coast, see the islands, maybe some whales and come back through the fjord…. Sounds awesome… and so we decide we will do it.
And it was amazing – you cannot even take that many pictures to take all in. If you wonder if there is a lot of forest… now you will believe it, forest, forest and more forest: and you see when you fly over areas where they cut forest and when you fly over the Strathcona park with the undisturbed forest.
… over inlets, lake – seeing the snow-capped mountains and we reach the west coast, see remote sandy beaches like you only dream about, the endless ocean, lots of little islands and we come to the lighthouse which looks like a dream. We circle and check for the whales – I couldn’t see it, Paul said he did… whatever – I think the islands of the west coast were amazing. Maybe one day we can come out here by boat. And down the Muhalat inlet and we set down on the river again and are back.

 It was super!!!
It was one amazing day… so let’s go back and relax again at the Buttle Lake.