Monthly Archives: September 2009
Newcastle Island – 2
Today was a public holiday in Canada (Labour Day) so there were no classes or activities planned. So, I decided to do some walk-training on Newcastle Island. This is the ferry… they’re very cute but practical – they travel at about 15km/h, carry 12 people, need only 45cm of water, and use only 1 litre of diesel an hour!!
Harbour Ferry
While I was walking, I found this huge green slug!! It was as long as my finger!
Giant slug!!
Something fishy is going on!
Downtown in Nanaimo, very close to my hotel, there is a river in which salmon are beginning to spawn. Every day, the mouth of the river is crowded with fishermen trying to catch ‘pinks’ or pink salmon. These are smaller than sock-eye salmon, but still very delicious apparently. There are always a few seals around too, and if the fishermen aren’t quick, the seals will steal their catch!
-
- Fishermen on the river
-
- Thousands of salmon!
-
- A boy and his fish
Rabbits at VIU
Canada has SO much wildlife… and even on VIU’s campus, we can see rabbits everywhere, nibbling on the grass. They’re not afraid of people, and let you get quite close before hopping away.
-
- Rabbits…
-
- …and more rabbits!
Study!
It may look like we’re just having fun at VIU in Nanaimo, but we do study also!! Every morning, Kathy takes the students through a variety of activities. Here they are, preparing for their presentations next week. Great students!!
Studying hard!
Victoria – Downtown
Victoria is the capital city of the British Columbia province, and is about a 2-hour drive south of Nanaimo. It’s a very beautiful city of around 300,000 people, and has a very British atmosphere. We spent a few hours downtown, particularly in the Government Street area which has lots of souvenir shops. As this weekend is a holiday, there were many street performers, stalls, and a Blues festival going on as well.
-
- Parliament buildings
-
- Saori & statue
-
- Totem pole
-
- Yuki near the harbour
-
- Empress Hotel
-
- Tired after shopping
