A breath of fresh-air

An off-grid staycation at Strathcona Park Lodge, Vancouver Island British Columbia

I can say that I had one of the best vacations of my life in Vancouver Island British Columbia.

It was a vacation with my husband, father in law and mother in law! We sailed by ferry from Horse Shoe Bay Vancouver to dock at Departure Bay ferry Terminal of Nanaimo. From there we took a scenic ride to the Strathcona Park Provincial park.

Imagine a quiet week spent at a cabin with just enough amenities to live in the middle of dense woods. We stayed away from the hustle bustle of a city for an entire week. Our cottage cabin had a serene view as it faced a picturesque lake surrounded by hills and islands.

We lived there with a promise to be off-grid i.e no network access apart from the main office area. That is a gist of what you can expect at the Strathcona Park Lodge.

On day one we visited Myra falls which has a moderately easy hike passing by a beautiful route. It leads to a stone plateau that extends into a magnificent valley!

We carried a home cooked picnic basket and took a dip in the chilled blue lagoon at the foot of the waterfall too!

Next day we ventured out for an exhilarating hike towards Bedwell lake through forest trails at the edge of hills. We hiked upto an elevation of 900 m but didn’t complete the hike since we all got tired of walking on the rocky terrain for more than 4 hours. Most campers we met on the way were intimidated by the trail’s difficulty level! It was a true test of mental and physical strength for anyone new to hiking!

It was our first time hiking so we were all a tad bit too exhausted walking through the undulated Bedwell lake trail. But one can go upto Cream Lake too if camping is on the mind as the view from there is sure to take the breath away!

The trail was unique since it was filled with mystical earthly corners! We spotted a beautiful white snail , numerous wild flowers,berries and mushrooms on humongous tress.

There was a Bear spotting warning too but we missed the grizzly creature( Thank God)! We also caught glimpses of gurgling water flowing under man made bridges. The striking fact that I noticed on the trail was that all man-made bridges and steps were built with minimum alteration to the natural formation of rocks; without chopping down any senile tree. The authorities have strived to preserve the forest and leave it unscathed in its real charm!

The Strathcona lodge offers range of water sports like Kayaking, Paddle boarding! We however took the canoe for 4 people and as fate had we had a mini water adventure when it hit a rocky island shore.

The weather was rarely sunny and bright for a leisurely family day out by the beach. But luckily the nighttime sky was clear one day and our eyes spotted a few sparkling stars!

The sky was grey and cloudy on most days but the wooden cottage itself had a cosy ambience. It had a fireplace and wooden brown antique interior decor. It was my birthday week and we made all the meals ourselves in the tiny kitchen. My husband being an amazing chef treated us with authentic biriyani! My mother in law made sure I felt the love with a lovely home-made whole wheat chocolate cake!

Our time was spent just enjoying the serene beauty of nature, sipping tea, painting,talking endlessly and listening to old Bollywood music.

We occasionally visited the community office which had board games for kids, a library with books donated by tourists and also a piano. The music lover in me couldn’t resist and did enjoy playing a note or two!

Being part of a time when we are caged by internet ; staying away from it for a week felt like a breathe of fresh air!

We didn’t go to a luxury hotel, nor did we visit multiple tourist spot’s but we are now going back to the city after a well rested holiday ! This made me question do we really need too many things to feel a little happy? I wish we could fill our bags with the fresh dew of the woods, cool breeze of the lake, the moist green leaves of the trees and the nurturing aura of Mother Nature!

I am sure to cherish all the moments with family spent in the lap of nature!