Navigating Nanaimo

Bob and I are currently making the most (according to our unbiased standards) of our visit to Nanaimo, British Columbia. Nanaimo is located on the eastern side of Vancouver Island up the coast from Victoria in the central portion of the island. With a population of about 82,000, Nanaimo is the second largest city on Vancouver Island and the third oldest city in British Columbia. It is known as the “Harbour City,” and was officially so designated by Charles and Di in 1986. Not sure what Camilla calls it.

See below for some highlights of our first three days:

Nanaimo Harbour (local spelling) Walk

Boat Storage facilities at the start of the walk — near Departure Bay where we will take a ferry to Vancouver

A view of the walking path as we head into downtown Nanaimo

Pedestrian bridge along the walk in the downtown area

“I believe I can fly. . .” — art along the walk

This crab seems desperate to get out of the sea

The Bastion, a defining symbol of Nanaimo that is even included in its coat of arms, was originally built in 1853 to assist in the protection of the new settlement

Newcastle Island

Newcastle Island is the largest island in the Strait of George off the coast of Nanaimo. It is about a 15-20 minute ferry ride from downtown after a stop at Protection Island. Newcastle Island is reserved now as a park to be used only for camping, hiking, etc. We spent 4 hours on Saturday hiking around the island.

We waited inside this moored ferry to catch another one just like it. The ferry was pretty full but most of the passengers were going to Protection Island which is a residential island.

Bob, myself, and another passenger were welcomed to the Island. We had to tell the ferry boat driver what time to pick us up or we would have been there until someone else decided to visit.

We were spotted by some masked creatures! We also saw a couple of beautiful bald eagles, but we didn’t get a good shot of either one.

Looking back at Nanaimo from the island. I think we could almost swim across.

One of the cargo ships anchored out in the Salish Sea

Garden Memorial to Chinese Pioneers

This memorial garden is located in a small park near where we are staying

Old City Quarter

Vancouver Island University

Vancouver Island University has about 16,000 full and part-time students across 4 campuses, with Nanaimo being its primary campus. It is located on a hill overlooking much of the city.