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Writer's pictureAMCL Schatz

Victoria: Inner Harbour, Lower Causeway, and Harbour Tour

The Inner Harbour is a bustling walkway that hosts vendors, buskers, musicians, artists, food trucks, and small shops (and we later found out there’s a night market at the main dock every summer). It is where the fashionable part of Government Street begins and where you can find the Royal BC Museum and Tourist Information Centre. It is also where the Harbour Air seaplanes take off and land, and where the Coho Ferry and Victoria Clipper passenger boats arrive and depart from. Best of all, it is the prettiest part of Victoria, in my opinion. It’s the perfect photo spot with the moored posh yachts and recreational boats in the background and the towering Parliament Building further down. The area was vibrant that day with a festive energy.


We headed to the Lower Causeway to join the party. A magic show was ongoing and aside from a small crowd of spectators, there were tourists strolling along the waterfront or dining on the restaurant patios by the water. After the brief entertainment involving card tricks and disappearing acts, we decided to take a harbour tour on a small boat.


Victoria Harbour Tours operates both as a commuter service with its water taxis taking passengers to 14 different stops located near that city’s attractions, and as a tour boat. Their cute pickle boats that seat 12 people offer two kinds of tours.


The first one is the Harbour Tour, a 45-minute scenic ride along the shoreline while the friendly skipper describes the history of Victoria’s waterways and points out its multiple functions, from serving as a seaport to a seaplane terminal to a cruise destination. The narration also includes stories and trivia about the historic landmarks along the way, from the Parliament Building to the sacred territories of the First Nations people, from its wildlife habitats to its float communities. This was the tour we chose and we certainly enjoyed the relaxing and fun ride. It also gave us a unique view of downtown Victoria from the water. Moreover, there were only two other passengers with us that afternoon, so we had more than enough space to stretch and catch the breeze.


The second tour is the Gorge Tour, slightly longer, with 75-minutes of gliding through the waters while learning about Victoria’s historic neighborhoods, its working shipyards, and the gorge that was nearly destroyed by decades of industrial pollution. It also gives the riders a chance to see the reversing falls under the Tillicum Bridge, that is, if the weather is favourable.


We heard that that every morning in the summers, these ferries perform a ballet number. Inspired by the world-famous Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Musical Ride (atop majestic horses), the drill was developed and was affectionately named, Water Ballet. Apparently, when the ferries were brought to Victoria in 1990, the skippers were amazed at their maneuverability and they set out to test their abilities by creating a synchronized performance. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to watch this spectacle as our weekend calendar was already packed.


Photo Credit:

greatervancouverparks.com

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