Day 3: Kwisitis Visitor Centre

The Exterior of the Kwisitis Visitor Centre

This was the last day of my family’s great expedition. We all woke up to a sweet song of the birds and the sight of the lush forest. My mother started packing right away, we were scheduled to take a flight at 6:00 P.M. and we were to leave right after our adventure for the airport. By the time we got ready and packed our bags, it was almost lunchtime, I was really hungry, but unlike the previous days we didn’t stop to eat at the Great Room, but instead we just left the resort.

As we left the resort behind my father informed us of the last destination of our great expedition, which was the Kwisitis Visitor Centre. The Kwisitis Visitor Centre is a museum and restaurant that has been built to honor the first nations that lived in that area. So after a ride that lasted 23 minutes and a hike that lasted a good 5-10 minutes

Kwisitis Feast House

we came upon the Kwisitis Visitor Centre. The Kwisitis Visitor Centre is a wooden building perched on the end of Wickaninnish Beach in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Before exploring the museum we decided to go to the Kwisitis Feast House, which is the restaurant. There we were served authentic First Nations cuisine, which included fish soup, fish hash, bannock and fried bread; it was so enticing and delightful. Along with the delicious meal and exceptional service, we were able to enjoy the fascinating ocean views.

Giant Mural of the Whale

Replica of the Whale Hunt

After a wonderful meal we went to go explore the museum, the first thing we saw was giant mural of the whale on the wall, it was such realistic painting that it made me feel as if I was on the ocean floor listening to the majestic songs of the whale. Beside that there was an actual skull of a Gray whale, along with more photos and a story about how, many years ago biologists discovered a washed up whale on the beach. Beside the whale mural and the whale skull there was an exact replica of a First Nations longhouse. We explored the long house, and followed the interpretive signs to discover what life would have been like for the Nuu-chah-nulth people all those years ago. Then right across from the longhouse there was a replica of a whale hunt. We were told that the Nuu-chah-nulth warriors crossed the wild, icy waters of the Pacific Ocean to hunt a whale and bring back its reward to their coastal village. Along with looking at the exhibits and artifacts we got to listen to stories of the First Nations of the coast, ride a giant slug, examine tracks of bears, wolves and cougars and other critters that use the beaches, learn about the fascinating history of the west coast and find out how salmon nurture the rainforest. It was a real fun and educational trip.

First Nations Loghouse

First Nations Nature Exhibits

But pretty soon the time came for us to leave to go to the airport, at first me and my sister protested a lot, but in the end we accepted the fact that it was time for us to leave.

A Closer Look at Kwisitis Visitor Centre