Discover Sooke

If your daily grind is getting down on you with all this crappy weather and winter that never ends, it’s time to rev up your adventure meter in warmer albeit wetter climes like verdant Vancouver Island. Here are a few of my favourite things to do when life doesn’t have enough zing.

Get Zipped

At AdrenaLine Zipline you can careen through treetops suspended by a single strap on a 1000 foot cable line, holding on for dear life, my heart in my throat, I would have felt quite daring, if the two girls under ten in our group weren’t always keen to go first and showed absolutely no fear.

The guides start you out slow, on what I call the Bunny (aka Trainer) line, 150 feet long at 12 feet above the ground and peak on what I call the Screamer (aka 18th Mile) line, 1000 feet long, going backwards, 150 feet above the ground. I even saw a Sasquatch rummaging for food below, and when not busy being nervous, the views are spectacular.

One of the twenty-something gals in our group was there to face her fear of heights, with the rest of her tribe teasing her relentlessly-until we hit the Screamer-then for some reason, they were all silent.

The fully trained guides handle all the equipment, so you are perfectly safe, clipped in with a series of karabiners and straps, all you have to do is zip zip zip, except when you cross over a swinging footbridge, but even then, you are strapped to cables.

Our guide Brendan busted the fear factor with bad jokes like: ‘I dreamt about a muffler last night and woke up exhausted’, greeted by nervous gales of laughter.

With eight zips over two hours, you might feel it in your upper body the next day. Grazing at the breakfast buffet of Victoria’s Magnolia Hotel with the parents of the keen girls, their 40-something Dad was reaching a bit tenderly for the muffins that morning.

AdrenaLine: A must-do for team building, family bonding, fear facing, or personal challenge for all ages over five, with shuttles from Victoria’s inner harbour www.adrenalinezip.com

Sea the sign

Sooke Coastal Explorations Marine Life Eco-tour Looking like the Michelin man in your captain-issued floatation suit is only bearable because everyone else looks like one too. Besides, Buddy, the resident harbour seal enjoys the blubbery company as he lolls on the pier while the rest of us pile into a zodiac. If you have never scudded across the sea with salt spray in your face and sunshine leapfrogging off the water, you have not lived. I am a Cancer and need the sea to remind me that life is fabulous-especially Marine life.

On that fine day, we witnessed Stellar and California Sea Lions basking in the sun of Race Rocks. This tiny outcrop of islands is the southern most point in BC and is now an eco-reserve with lighthouse standing guard. Stellar bulls weigh up to a ton, their sheer mass makes you feel very small by marine world standards, and in your Michelin suit, that’s a good thing.

Owner and Captain Russ Nicks has naturalist leader training and is in the Coast Guard so you are in safe hands, as are the animals. Eco-ethics require that a distance of 100 yards be maintained. If the animals swim within that distance, he shuts down so that they can pass by peacefully.

We also saw Dall’s porpoises leaping and elephant seals averaging two tons, a fishing boat with a happy fisher landing one whopper of a salmon, and a fully loaded aircraft carrier heading up from the U.S. en route to Afghanistan guided by a Blackhawk helicopter. This is not the kind of wildlife I expected to see.

On the return trip, we zoomed in close to East Sooke Park, where landlubbers trek on the myriad of hiking trails or linger on intimate beaches in small coves. Close-ups of purple starfish gleaming on rocks and bald eagles perching in aeries are as stunning as the big marine animals. If you really have to see whales to feel complete, the best time is now through October when Orcas and humpbacks are seen regularly. Captain Russ saw ten orcas today alone. Highly recommended: www.sookewhalewatching.com

If all the adrenalin and adventure has jacked up your appetite, never fear, some of the best dining in the world is available at Sooke Harbour House-multi-award-winning and well deserved. SHH is more of a legend than a mere meal or room for the night, with everything on the menu 100 percent local, harvested from the sea or grown in the gardens. Watch for more about this exceptional seafront oasis in a future column. In the mean time check it out for yourself at www.sookeharbourhouse.com Get to Vancouver Island on BC Ferries www.bcferries.com and Sooke is 45 minutes from Victoria by road.

This article was written by Pamela Irving of Living Communications and published on the Country Market Magazine.

Filed under: Latest News on April 22nd, 2010