NANAIMO: RICH IN HISTORY

Thanks for visiting buccaneerinn.com. While in the process of planning your trip, make use of the quick links below to help plan your activities in Nanaimo and on Vancouver Island , find the right restaurants and why you should use Nanaimo as your base for touring all of Vancouver Island:

• The History of Nanaimo;
• Things to See and Do in Nanaimo;
• Why Nanaimo is the Base of your Vancouver Island Experience;
• Suggestions for Day Tours North and Day Tours South of The Buccaneer Inn;
• Nanaimo Restaurant Reviews and Guide

Newcastle Island Provincial Park, Nanaimo's offshore playground, reached by passenger ferry from Maffeo Sutton Park, has a long history of coal mining and sandstone quarrying. Apparently a mineshaft runs under Nanaimo Harbour to Newcastle Island. Sandstone columns from this island can be found at the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco! Columns can also be found around the perimeter of the island. Midden Beach is home to a historic First Nation's 'garbage dump'. Oyster, clam and mussel shells were discarded here long ago and is now a point of interest. This vehicle less Island is a great place to spend the day exploring, picnicking, biking, swimming, playing bocce ball or kite flying!

Nanaimo District Museum provides an interactive display of our colorful history. Native exhibits, archeological artifacts, miner's cottage, a highly acclaimed coal mining exhibit and a 10,000 year old petroglyph are some the museum's features. A collection of over 3, 000 historical photos are available for public viewing. Plus there is a great little park, Piper Park, next to the museum that affords great views of the Harbour, Newcastle Island and Protection Island. A little bit of solitude in the downtown core!

A short walk from the Museum is The Bastion. Built in 1853, this white octagonal tower was the defence arsenal around which the first Hudson's Bay settlement grew. The newly restored fortress is the last surviving Hudson's Bay Company bastion in North America. You can witness a noon cannon-firing ceremony during the summer months complete with piper in full tartan dress. Just below the Bastion is Pioneer Rock, the point of arrival for emigrant miners aboard the Princess Royal after a grueling six-month voyage around Cape Horn from Britain. The Bastion also serves as a seasonal Tourism Nanaimo Infocentre. The Buccaneer Inn is proud to support our community's heritage. We have been a financial sponsor for many years.

Starting from Nanaimo's historic city centre, you can talk 3 self-guided Heritage Walks to discover our colourful history. Look for the heritage symbols on the sidewalk and use the handy maps provided to have an interpretative tour of the downtown core.

Most importantly, Nanaimo is home to The Nanaimo Bar. This yummy and habit forming confectionery is available at many shops locally or you can take a recipe, available in the Tourism Nanaimo Visitors Guide, home with you.

THINGS TO DO IN NANAIMO

Discover why Nanaimo is Nature's Playground!

There is so much to see and do in the Central Vancouver Island area, you should plan to make Nanaimo your year-round base!

Nanaimo is home to some of the world's most beautiful natural scenery. Our very pleasant climate, considered to be the mildest in Canada, makes this a natural year-round playground. Enjoy some of the 2700 acres of parkland that Nanaimo has preserved. Piper's Lagoon Park off of Hammond Bay Road is a beautiful beach to view the Coast Mountain Range, Mount Baker in Washington State and the Strait of Georgia from.

The view that sold Marlene and I on moving here can be seen by visiting Malaspina University College, located off 5th Street near the Nanaimo Parkway. Gaze down upon Nanaimo's beautiful harbour, Newcastle Island, Gabriola Island, the Coast Mountain Range and more.

Newcastle Island is undoubtedly Nanaimo's secret treasure. Now a provincial park, Newcastle Island has had a long illustrious history. Our local First Nations community has long used Newcastle as a seasonal home. When the Hudson Bay Company came to Vancouver Island they 'acquired' the Island as a source of coal. Later after the coal mines were closed, Newcastle was a sandstone quarry. Herring salteries, at one time numbering over 30,  were clustered along the shores of the Island facing Brechin Point and Departure Bay. In the 1970's Newcastle was designated a Provincial Park and protected for all to enjoy. Now local residents and visitors to our community enjoy the many trails, beaches, playgrounds and services that the Island offers. It really is a great place to spend a day: close to the city; yet so far away. Plan to spend several hours, if not a whole day, on Newcastle Island. Ferries leave hourly, during the summer months, from Maffeo-Sutton Park and on sunny weekends during the shoulder months. There is no ferry service during the winter however water taxis are available to drop you off!

On the thrid week of every July is our world famous, World Championship Bathtub Race and Marine Festival. This unique event was started over 35 years ago right here in our fair city. Now a Nanaimo to Nanaimo event, daring tubbers race their real bathtubs out of Nanaimo Harbour to the Winchelsea Islands and back to Departure Bay. Boat design rules are quite stringent and flotation devices are not allowed. If the bathtub motor stops, the boat doesn't float!

Nanaimo is home to the best temperate water scuba diving in the world. Jacques Cousteau claimed that the waters of The Emerald Sea, of which Nanaimo is part of, are the next best place to dive in the world after the Red Sea. Visit our Dive Website now!

Besides our natural underwater assets, The Saskatchewan, a Canadian Naval Destroyer sunk June 14, 1997 is B.C.'s most popular artificial reef! Over 60,000 dives (as of 2002) have been completed, more than all other B.C. reefs combined. The Saskatchewan now breams with life and has really taken on the role of creating a new habitat for marine life. Visibility at the Saskatchewan is best in the winter with viz as much as 100 feet. You can sit on the deck of the Saskatchewan, look up and see your charter boat!

But wait, there's more! On October 20th, 2001 the Nanaimo Dive Association sunk the HMCS Cape Breton, the world's largest artificial reef! The Cape Breton sits 700' south of the Saskatchewan and is an enormous dive! To learn more about the sinking visit our page on The Cape Breton!

The RivTow Lion is the latest addition to our local fleet of reefs. Located next to Newcastle Island in Departure Bay this wreck is accessible year round for wreck diving and training.

And just to confirm what we know locally, the readers of Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine, the world's most popular dive magazine, have voted British Columbia the following honours:

• World's Healthiest Marine Environment
• North America's Best Dive Value
• North America's Best Wall Diving
• North America's Third Best Overall Destination
• North America's Third Best Advanced Diving
• North America's Fourth Best Fish Life

The Buccaneer Inn is a very enthusiastic supporter of The Nanaimo Dive Association (NDA). The NDA was awarded a Sterling Community Award for Tourism Excellence by the Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce.

For more information about our diving and snorkeling, visit our outstanding dive website!

Biking trails abound in Nanaimo. The City of Nanaimo has recently produced a map of the hiking and biking trails in and around the many parks we have. 

Nanaimo boasts an International award-winning Parkway Trailway. The City of Nanaimo won an award from the Pacific Northwest Parks Recreation Association for the Parkway Trailway design. This 22 kilometre trail follows the length of the new Nanaimo Parkway highway which bypasses the city center. This paved path is excellent for easy cycling. 

In addition to the Parkway Trailway, a multi-use trail has been constructed next to the E & N Railway alongside Highway 19A. This connector provides a safe passage way for bikers, walkers, roller bladers and other enthusiasts to get from central to north Nanaimo.

Want some real off-road adventure? Contact one of local bike shops and get the inside scoop on the great mountain biking trails in the Central Vancouver Island region. A new off-road mountain bike map book is available at P.B. Cruise Booksellers on Bowen Road or at Pacific Rim Bicycle on Metral Drive.

Nanaimo is the year-round destination for you to visit if golf is your game. You can choose from 20 courses within an hour's drive of the city, many with pro facilities. Nanaimo Golf and Country Club, 2 minutes from The Buccaneer Inn, is rated as one of the top 10 courses in B.C. Other courses in vicinity of Nanaimo include: Winchelsea View in Lantzville; Fairwinds in Nanoose Bay; Cottonwood in Cassidy; Gabriola Golf and Country Club on Gabriola Island and in Parksville/Qualicum Beach area Morningstar; Eaglecrest; Glengarry and Arrowsmith round out some of our excellent golfing venues. Pitch and Putt golf is available at a new 9 hole course at Beban Park.

Nanaimo offers plentiful year-round saltwater sports fishing for salmon, cod or red snapper. Fish, drop a crab trap from a boat or from the fishing pier situated just off the Harbourside Walkway in our beautiful harbour.

Fresh water fishing is readily accessible at one of the many stocked lakes in Nanaimo. The lakes are stocked with rainbow and cut-throat trout each year. Long Lake, Nanaimo Lakes, Westwood Lake, Diver Lake, Quesnel Lake in Cedar, Colliery Dam and Brannen Lake are the best places to fish. Licences are approximately $32. Children under the age of 16 do not require a licence.

Brechin Boat Launch, across from The Buccaneer Inn is Nanaimo's main boat ramp. You can launch your own boat (we have a few long parking stalls that can accommodate your boat) or rent from Harbour City Boat Rentals at the Brechin Point fuel dock. There is a 2 hour minimum in the summer months. 

Be one of the shoreside enthusiasts cheering on the sailors racing in the next Cadillac Van Isle 360 Yacht Race. This bi-annual race starts and finishes in Nanaimo. Nine other communities around Vancouver Island hosted overnight festivals and celebrations to make these yachtsmen feel welcome. Held each odd year.

Hop on a charter boat and take a tour of the surrounding islands and our gorgeous harbour. Or take the Protection Island ferry from the boat basin in the downtown core and enjoy the Dinghy Dock, Canada's only floating pub.

Want to go sailing? Nanaimo Charters and Sailing School, located across from The Buccaneer Inn, rents sail boats. Experienced sailors can skipper the boat themselves or your can hire a skippered charter. Sailing instruction and extended sailing vacations are also available. A 27 foot Catalina is the smallest boat available, while the largest is a 35 foot Beneteau. 

For the more adventurous traveller, Nanaimo offers activities you'll never forget. Try one of the many heart-pumping adventures at The Bungy Zone and Wild Play . 'The Adrenaline Centre' features a specially designed and built bridge over the Nanaimo River, the first legal bridge of its kind in North America. With well over 100,000 jumps since 1990, the Bungy Zone boasts an unblemished safety record. Tandem jumps, zips and swings are also available. The 'ultimate swing' promises to be the most terrifying ride in North America, with participants reaching speeds up to 140 kilometers per hour. Wild Play features a multi level obstacle course elevated in the trees on the Bungy Zone grounds.

Climb the indoor rock climbing wall at Romper Room. They have great family packages and this is an excellent rainy day or evening event.

Indoor swimming is available at Nanaimo's leisure pool at Beban Park. The tropical, pirate theme will keep your family entertained for hours. The pool features a 30 foot high, 200 feet long,  water slide, a shallow water leisure area with a jet-propelled lazy river channel and pirate ship and slide. The facility includes a hot tub, sauna, steam room, new family change rooms, gym, 25 metre lap pool and a tot's pool. The Leisure Centre, next to Nanaimo District Senior Secondary School has waterslides, wave pool, huge hot tub and Olympic sized tank complete with dive platforms. The Leisure Centre is a major destination for residents and visitors alike.

For family-style entertainment, check out Cyber City, Nanaimo's amusement park which features go-karts, laser tag, a non-violent video arcade, a very challenging mini-golf and an A & W restaurant.

Tennis is a sport well looked after in Nanaimo. We have over 42 indoor and outdoor courts. The most popular places to play are courts in Bowen and Beban Parks. Courts are also available at several other parks including Maffeo-Sutton Park and the Westwood Tennis Club.

Ice skating is available at Cliff McNabb Arena, Frank Crane and the Civic Arena. Public skating sessions and adult scrub hockey are some of the ice programs open to the public. At Frank Crane you can catch the Nanaimo Clippers battling it out with other B.C. hockey teams.

Curling is located adjacent to Bowen Park at the Nanaimo Curling Club. Bonspiels occur throughout the winter and the public is welcome to attend.

Bowlers will find both five and ten pin facilities in Nanaimo. Lawn bowling enthusiasts can play their sport at Bowen and Beban Parks. There is a new outdoor, all-weather lawn bowling facility at Beban Park.

Interested in theatre, concerts or attending a large presentation? Nanaimo is home to a striking professionally equipped performing arts theatre. The Port Theatre is our 800 seat multi-purpose facility located across from our beautiful Inner Harbour. Over 250 events each year are planned for 'The Port'. TheatreOne occasionally uses the Port Theatre but mainly presents their productions at Malaspina University College. The Chemainus Theatre is only 40 minutes drive from The Buccaneer and puts on great dinner theatre performances.

The Vancouver Island Symphony uses The Port Theatre as their base of operations. They have a diverse selection of performances. Information about The Symphony is available at the Port Theatre Ticket Office @ 250-754-8550.

How about a tour of Harmac Pulp and Paper Mill in Cedar? This is Nanaimo's largest employer and their enormous mill is located about 15 minutes from The Buccaneer. Tours are available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday @ 10 am from May to August. Call 250-722-4314 for reservations.

Christopher just loves going to the BC Forest Discovery Centre in Duncan, about 30 minutes south of The Buccaneer. They have a real working steam engine and train. There are forest trails to hike on, a forestry museum, playground and picnic areas. This is a great place! They are open May to Labour Day from 10 to 6 daily. The train leaves every 30 minutes. Call 250-715-1113 for more information.

Thanks for visiting buccaneerinn.com. While in the process of planning your trip, make use of the quick links below to help plan your activities in Nanaimo and on Vancouver Island , find the right restaurants and why you should use Nanaimo as your base for touring all of Vancouver Island:

• The History of Nanaimo;
• Things to See and Do in Nanaimo;
• Why Nanaimo is the Base of your Vancouver Island Experience;
• Suggestions for Day Tours North and Day Tours South of The Buccaneer Inn;
• Nanaimo Restaurant Reviews and Guide