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This article appeared in the WestJet
Inflight Magazine
July 2002.
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Kidding around Victoria
Travelling with children has its challenges. Remember, what kids like on a holiday is often quite different from what parents enjoy. Looking for ideas? Here are four unique Victoria activities that they'll remember for years to come.
Rick Hudson
A geological experience
Close to the Victoria Airport, Sidney's waterfront is home to a remarkable garden called Mineral World & Scratch Patch. Buy an empty bag ($6/8/10) and spend as long as you like collecting polished, semi-precious gemstones. Amethyst, jade and tigereye are just some of the beauties you'll find. There are also two gold panning pools, and a pond full of tropical shells.
In July and August don't miss the DinoDig ($10) -- a 40 minute introduction to palaeontology. A science talk is followed by a supervised excavation, using a hammer and chisel. The fossils you find (some as old as 400 million years), you keep! Plus indoors there's the new (free) earth sciences Interpretive Centre. Open daily (250)655-4367.
Star gazing at the Centre of the Universe
Canada has always been a leader in astronomy, with almost a century of observations at the Dominion Observatory near Victoria. Now open to the public, the best time to visit is a clear Wed/Sat/Sun evening in summer (7:00-11:00pm) when you can tour the exhibits, listen to a variety of great talks, and stand under the 1.8m telescope for some star viewing. Back in 1918 when it opened, it was the world's largest telescope. Adults $7, children $5, family $19. (250) 363-8262.
Cycling the Galloping Goose
The Goose is an old railway right-of-way that starts in Sidney, winds through farmlands into Victoria, and then through forests and a canyon to beyond Sooke. Being a railway, it's flat, so you can keep up with the kids!
The whole route is almost 100 kilometres, so choose a short section, returning to where you started. Near Victoria, it's paved, so you can rollerblade too. The remoter sections are packed gravel, and you're into some surprisingly wild country. High trestle bridges span a number of side valleys.
You'll find a CRD Parks map in most hotels, or call CRD Parks (250) 478-3344. Bike rentals at Sidney True Value Hardware (250)656-8611, Cycle BC Rentals (250)-380-2453, Sooke Cycle (250)642-3123, usually $20/cycle/day. Guided tours from Oak Bay Beach Hotel (250)592-3474 are 6-8 hours, $59/person.
Experiencing a temperate rainforest
The West Coast rainforests are justifiably famous, but reaching them from Victoria means a very long day, with many hours of back-road driving. How then to savour the grandeur of these impressive stands of old growth timber? Fortunately, there are small pockets of trees within half an hour's drive of Victoria. Here, it's best to take a naturalist/guide, both to find the place, and to learn about the extraordinary diversity of flora and fauna that co-exist. See giant trunks, dense ferns, moss-covered stream banks and watch sunlight filtering through the canopy from high above.
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In the rain forest.
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Island Adventure Tours (250)812-7103 have a 2.5 hour walk at $39/person.
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