Small ferries like this one leave the Newcastle Island dock to take passengers to Nanaimo.
Today I took the day off to look around Nanaimo and get some supplies. A small ferry shuttle leaves the dock at Newcastle Island every 15 minutes and crosses the harbor to Nanaimo.
This is a small part of Nanaimo Harbor.
There, a pedestrian walkway winds along the waterfront with restaurants, shops, a Laundromat, grocery store, and a mall at the end. For great Mexican food, try “Penny’s Palapa”, a floating restaurant in the middle of the municipal harbor.
A raccoon tore a hole in my empty tent while I was camped here on Newcastle Island.
Newcastle Island Park has a good food concession in the pavilion, where basic fast food meals are available not far from the camping area. There are coin operated hot showers, and flush toilets in the bathrooms. A trail leads around the island where you can stretch you legs and get some good views of the area.
A ten person canoe paddles in the harbor between Newcastle Island and Nanaimo.
While camped at Newcastle I met another kayaker that was paddling the same route I planned to take. Although I did not know it then we would end up paddling off and on for the next three weeks all the way to Port Hardy.
