Spicy Amigos

As mentioned in my previous post, we recently travelled from Vancouver to Haida Gwaii, where we will spend the next couple of months. We travelled up to Haida Gwaii in our 50-year old yellow Dodge van – kitted out with a mini wood-stove, a little kitchen (sink, fridge, stove), and lots of storage. We took the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay (Vancouver to Nanaimo) and then drove up to Port Hardy where we took another ferry to Prince Rupert, before taking a final ferry over to Haida Gwaii. With all that travel, it is safe to say we made a couple of stops along the way. I am keen to share with you our ‘must-sees’ along the way.

• Goats on the Roof in Coombs. I have definitely mentioned this place in some of my other posts regarding where to stop on Vancouver Island. Goats on the Roof is a tourist attraction that features a super cool country market with a grass roof that houses some goats. This place is a great place to grab some snacks for the rest of the drive – the candied salmon is pretty good, as well as the spicy chicken sausage rolls, and the Billy Gruff donuts! They also have some pretty cool knick-knacks as well. I definitely recommend making this a stop on your way…and don’t forget to pick up an iconic pooping goat sticker!

• Perks Donuts in Campbell River. Our friend lives in Campbell River and told us this was a place we should stop on the way out to grab a snack…she was right! They have some pretty fresh and tasty donuts – we recommend the honey dip OG donut OR the weird foot shaped donut (which is the same as the honey dip but with some chocolate on the toes lol).

• Fogg Dukkers Coffee Shop. Also in Campbell River, this coffee shop is located on the main road which drives along the ocean. It is a cute weathered building that has fantastic views of the ocean while you sip a nice beverage. They offer lots of different types of London Fog’s but I recommend just the original London Fogg – it had the perfect combination of tea, vanilla syrup, and milk!

• Elk Falls Suspension Bridge. Located in Elk Falls Provincial Park, this suspension bridge provides a great view of Elk Falls. In the park as well there are some great hiking/walking trails that we went on to stretch our legs before a long day of sitting!

• Telegraph Cove. This little village is tucked away on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island. It has a cute boardwalk with a few different shops along it – a couple coffee shops, a restaurant/pub, a hotel, and a whale museum that runs whale watching tours. This place is apparently bumping in the summer so I’d recommend making the small detour to going to see it.

• The World’s Largest Burl! Located in the small town of Port McNeill you will find the world’s largest burl! Not much too it, but it definitely is huge!

• Wheelhouse Brewery. Located in Prince Rupert, after the first 22 hour ferry, there is a local brewery that has some good beer. We picked up some of the Gilnetter Lager to bring with us – it was smooth and easy to drink.

We did a lot of driving and saw a lot of things, but these 7 listed above definitely stuck out to us! We recommend stopping at all of these places if you’re ever driving up Vancouver Island OR making the journey up to Haida Gwaii!