Sailing, Songs and Segway.

We left early for a downtown tour of Vancouver and drove to Horseshoe Bay to catch the morning BC ferry to Nanaimo, sighting an eagle en route.

On board, Vanessa, a very endearing coastal naturalist, gave a talk on the sea kelp forests and finished with a song!

We arrived in Nanaimo and walked around the town - some interesting vintage shops and craft stores as well as the Bastion, built by the Hudson Bay Company in the 1850s to defend coal mining operations.

At 3pm we met the Victoria Segway company at Bowen Park and took a two hour tour - fantastic! A bizarre sensation to begin with, but we all got the hang of it quickly, led by Margaret's excellent example from her previous Segway tour in Cheshire. Mark and Marian were the mischievous members of the group keen to speed at any opportunity and it was a great way to see the park - very addictive!

We headed north on the island via some lovely beaches were we saw deer and black Brant Geese. We arrived in Courtenay in the early evening for dinner at the hotel and some BC wine and local IPA beer.

The island is lovely - a stunning coastline and mild climate.

Cave tours are on the agenda for Tuesday!