Page 93 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Canada

A wooden bridge on the West Coast Trail

VANCOUVER ISLAND

It was Captain James Cook who claimed Vancouver
Island for the British in 1778 when he stepped
ashore at Nootka Sound on the west coast of this
290-mile- (460-km-) long island. Until then, the
area had been inhabited for more than 10,000
years by the First Nations peoples whose cultural
heritage is celebrated in two of Canada’s best
museums: the Museum of Anthropology at
UBC in Vancouver and Victoria’s Royal British
Columbia Museum.
British Columbia’s capital, Victoria, is the arrival
point for many on Vancouver Island, and still has a
distinctly British atmosphere to it. Visitors here will
find a plethora of excellent restaurants to choose
from, historic homes to wander through, and miles
of uncrowded beaches to stroll along. Farther out
on the island, friendly, colorful towns and villages
dot the eastern edge, many built up around
logging and fishing industries. The wild and rugged
west coast is a mecca for surfers and intrepid trail
hikers, while the interior offers ancient rainforests
and a snowy mountain range to explore.
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