Tofino Tourism

23rd Annual Pacific Rim Whale Festival 2009 Articles

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:10:00 -0000

Have A Tipple, Help Research
By Westcoaster.ca Staff

TOFINO â Enjoying a tipple at this yearâs whale festival will help marine-mammal researchers.

Pacific Rim Whale Fest Announces Line-Up
By Tom Mureika

UCLUELET â More than 75 events, many of them free, will be on offer during the 23rd annual Pacific Rim Whale Festival.

Whale Festival Button Winners Named
By Westcoaster.ca Staff

TOFINO â Organizers of the 23rd annual Pacific Rim Whale Festival have announced the winners of this yearâs button design contest.

Business Woman Combines Yoga, Kayaking

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 01:30:00 -0000

Long Beach Lodge staff participated in the yoga part of a kayak excursion June 8. (Submitted Photo)

By Kimberly Johnston

Yoga and kayaking make a great business idea for Natacha Radojevic.
A trained Hatha yoga instructor and experienced kayak guide, Radojevic, of Tofino, is now offering both activities as part of the Paddle West program.
âItâs a business thatâs not at all harming the earth,â said Radojevic.
The program is $105 and includes an hour paddle to Sloman Island, an hour of Hatha yoga, free time on the island, and a leisurely paddle back.
âI want people to take their time once they are out here on the island. I donât want to put scheduling pressures on anyone â just give people the chance to wander around.â
Radojevic said she was inspired to combine yoga and kayaking last year while offering overnight tours to Vargas Island.
âIt is so inspiring out here. I think itâs a natural evolution. Weâre doing something (at Paddle West) thatâs grounding us back to being human.â
Last Friday, Radojevic took four employees from Long Beach Lodge on a complimentary trip.
Pascale Felx, a breakfast server, said the experience was âpeaceful.â

Henry Nollaâs Legacy In Tofino

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 03:40:00 -0000

The late Henry Nolla is seen working on this carving inside his carving shed on Chesterman Beach.

By Jacqueline Windh

Recently, a group of old-time Tofino locals gathered at Roy Henry Vickersâs gallery to honour someone who had affected them deeply and personally.
Henry Nolla â master carver, teacher and mentor, beloved father, and dear friend to so many â passed away in September 2004. In his time here, he touched so many of us.
But Henry Nollaâs sphere of influence is far greater than just the lucky few who knew him personally because Henry has touched almost everyone who has ever set foot in Tofino â whether they realize it or not.

Henry arrived here, with a long trailing beard, at the height of the hippy era, but he always insisted that he was not a hippy.
âI was too old to be a hippy,â he told me many years later. âI was already in my thirties.â When Henry first arrived here, he worked on repairing wooden boats at Wingenâs boat shop â now long gone.
During the â70s he shared a house with some friends. Finally pushed to the limit by room-mates who refused to wash their dishes, one day Henry threw all of the plates into the forest and carved each person an individual bowl.
âYou can wash your own bowl and hang it up, or you can just hang it up,â he told them. And thus, a carver was born.

Searching For Stoke In Tofino

Tue, 29 May 2007 08:50:00 -0000

Mutsuko Tajima, from Japan, catches a wave at South Chesterman Beach under the instruction of Mark Herzog, a teacher with Bruhwiler Surf School Ltd.

By Keven Drews
Alberni-Clayoquot Tourism.ca

For Laresa Czervenatis, catching her first wave at Tofinoâs South Chesterman Beach was like opening her eyes for the first time. Under the instruction of Mark Herzog, a teacher with Bruhwiler Surf School Ltd., Czervenatis recently waded waist-deep into the Pacificâs frigid waters and paddled into her first knee-high, white-water wave. With a sunny blue sky above and a westerly wind rippling across the water, Czervenatis popped to her feet. âYou canât easily describe it,â said Czervenatis, a tour guide with Vancouverâs Club ESL Tours, following her first session. âItâs exhilarating.â That exhilaration, known as âstoke,â is the natural high behind the sport of surfing, which, like an addiction, keeps drawing novice and expert surfers back to this small town on the central west coast of Vancouver Island. Year round, rain or snow, surfers are searching for stoke at the handful of beach breaks inside the District of Tofino and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. To serve this demand, three surf shops and four surf schools now compete for business in this town of 1,500 full-time residents. Another surf shop and school are located 40 kilometres down the road in Ucluelet. âI feel really blessed to be able to do what I do,â said Raph Bruhwiler, the owner of Bruhwiler Surf School and one of Canadaâs top professional surfers. Raph said heâs seen the sport grow from nothing when he was a child to the point where he can make a living off the sport. A surfer since the age of eight, Raph recently placed fourth in an international tow-in competition in Oregon, where surfers tackled waves as tall as 15 metres. âIâm addicted to it,â he said. âI love it. Itâs very addictive. Itâs a high. âIâll surf until Iâm old and canât walk anymore.â

Tofino Annual Events

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:20:00 -0000

The great community spirit in our little towns means that we have a lot to celebrate â with each other and with visitors.
Aside from the annual events listed below, there are always community events such as arts and craft displays, music and dance shows, or film festivals, so it pays to check in with the local tourism websites before you travel.

Spring

Whalefest (Tofino, Ucluelet). Late March: A week of interpretive and cultural events, as well as the start of the whale-watching season, celebrating the return of migrating grey whales. Read Whalefest articles.

Shorebird Festival (Tofino). Latest April or earliest May: a weekend of shorebird viewing, as thousands of sandpipers pass through the area on their way north, with free bird-watching tours and talks by local and visiting naturalists.

Clayoquot Days Garden Festival (Tofino). Mid-May: A weekend where visitors are invited to the original island settlement of Clayoquot, founded as a fur-trading post even before Tofino and now privately owned, to recall times past and visit the extensive gardens, with free boat transport provided.

Summer

Tofino Food and Wine Festival (Tofino). June: a weekend with all sorts of events for culinary and wine enthusiasts, focussing on local Vancouver Island products.

Edge to Edge Marathon (Tofino/Ucluelet). June: a marathon run from Tofino to Ucluelet, with half-marathon, and marathon-relay events as well.

Aboriginal Day events (Pacific Rim National Park Reserve). Late June: displays and performances about traditional native culture, held at various venues in the park on national Aboriginal Day.

Pacific Rim Summer Festival (Tofino, Ucluelet). July: two weeks of live music.

Lantern Festival (Tofino). Late August or early September: an evening with hundreds of hand-made lanterns on display in the Tofino Botanical Gardens, not to be missed.

Fall

Oyster Fest (Tofino). November: one of the most looked-forward-to weekends of the year, with a Mermaidâs Ball and all sorts of events showcasing the many ways one can enjoy an oyster.

National and Provincial Parks

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:20:00 -0000

All of the parks, whether road-accessible or not, are habitat for wildlife including bears, wolves and cougars. Make sure you are aware of how to travel safely in wildlife habitat.

The Long Beach unit occupies a narrow strip of coastline between the villages of Tofino and Ucluelet. The wave-washed beaches and short, well-maintained walking trails are all road-accessible. Camping is permitted only at Green Point Campground.

For more information, contact:

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, 726-7721, fax: 726-4720, pacrim.info@pc.gc.ca
www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/bc/pacificrim/.

National Park information line 1-888-773-8888.
For camping reservations: 1-877-737-3783, www.pccamping.ca.

Provincial Parks: Tofino area
None of the 17 provincial parks in this area offer vehicle-accessible campsites. Most of the parks are remote wilderness areas and, where camping is permitted, it is back-country camping with little or no facilities. Some of the more accessible of these parks are:

Kennedy Lake Provincial Park. Two day-use areas, great for sunning, swimming and fishing, along the highway on the south side of Kennedy Lake, 16 km from Ucluelet.

Vargas Island Provincial Park and Flores Island Provincial Park, spectacularly wild sweeping surf beaches, accessible to experienced kayakers (or less experienced paddlers accompanied by an appropriately trained guide) from Tofino.

Maquinna Marine Provincial Park (Hot Springs Cove), a series of natural hot pools fed by a hot waterfall at the oceanâs edge, accessible by tour boat or float plane from Tofino, day-use only but campground and lodge-based accommodation nearby.

For more detailed information on BC Parks visit www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/

For camping reservations, call 1-800-689-9025 or visit www.discovercamping.ca

Hiking in Tofino

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:20:00 -0000

The Pacific Rim offers numerous walking trails that pass through all of our ecosystems: beaches and headlands, coastal bog, rainforest, and high alpine. The trails range from easy walking paths near town, some of which are wheelchair-accessible, to scenic day-hikes, to challenging multi-day backpacking routes suitable only for the most experienced wilderness travellers.

Whether you are on a short walk in or near town, or hiking in remote wilderness, make sure you are aware of how to travel safely in wildlife habitat.

Short walks and day-hike

Around Tofino: Over 20 walking trails around Tofino and within Pacific Rim National Park Reserve are described in âA Hiking Guide to Pacific Rim Trails,â available through local tourism visitors centres or through the Rainforest Interpretive Centre in Tofino.
Some of the highlights include the short rainforest walk right from Tofino town out to Tonquin Beach, the many walking trails within the national park, and the Big Tree Trail on Meares Island. The Big Tree Trail is the highlight of many visitorsâ west coast experience, and some of the worldâs largest and oldest western redcedar trees can be found along it.

This article was written by Jacqueline Windh.

Travelling In Wildlife Habitat

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:20:00 -0000

The entire west coast region is wildlife habitat. Bears, cougars and wolves all swim, even to small islands surprisingly far from the mainland, and they also wander into all of our towns. When travelling through wildlife habitat, a little knowledge goes a long way in avoiding encounters that can be dangerous for both humans and for wildlife.

Once animals learn to get food from people, that behaviour can never be unlearned. They become habituated and then they are shot. Whether you feed animals intentionally, or whether it is just through messy camping practices, the end result is the same: you are condemning them to be killed. Please help us to take care of our wildlife as well as ourselves, by keeping the following guidelines in mind.

Clean camping

Animals such as bear and wolves have a keen sense of smell, and quickly learn to approach campsites if food, garbage, and other smelly products such as toothpaste or soap are not stored securely.
When car camping, make sure the campground has secure bear-proof storage for both your food and your garbage before you book your site; if they donât, go elsewhere and explain to management your reason.

Nature Tours and Charters listings

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:20:00 -0000

Tofino Nature Tours and Charters company listings

Tofino Accommodations listings

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:10:00 -0000

Tofino Accommodations listings:The Wickaninnish Inn
The Wickaninnish Inn offers direct access to Chesterman Beach, panoramic ocean or beach views from every guest room. We also have 75 deluxe guest rooms and suites (with fireplace, soaker tub and individual balcony), a 720 sq. ft. meeting/banquet room (accommodating up to 60 people). Our Pointe Restaurant seats 75 and our full-service Ancient Cedars Spa is an AVEDA Destination Spa that offers extensive body and esthetic treatments.
The Wickaninnish Inn story begins way back in 1955, and is closely tied to the modern-day history of Tofino and the Pacific Rim National

Ph: 250.725.3100
Toll Free: 1.800.333.4604
The Wickaninnish Inn
Box 250, Tofino, BC
Canada
V0R 2Z0
wickinn.com

Tofino Tourism

23rd Annual Pacific Rim Whale Festival 2009 Articles

Business Woman Combines Yoga, Kayaking

Henry Nollaâs Legacy In Tofino

Searching For Stoke In Tofino

Tofino Annual Events

National and Provincial Parks

Hiking in Tofino

Travelling In Wildlife Habitat

Nature Tours and Charters listings

Tofino Accommodations listings

Henry Nollaâs Legacy In Tofino