Harry Hippo

Victoria added a new activity to its tourist menu this year - Victoria Hippo Tours. If it looks like a bus on the water, that's because that's what it is. It's an amphibious bus that takes on passengers in front of the Empress Hotel, does a tour of the city streets and then takes to the water and cruises inside and outside of the Inner Harbour. Other cities located on the water have also developed this form of tour - I've been on the one in Seattle, called The Duck, though I've not yet ridden the Hippo here in Victoria.

Tourist Town

What's happening in the parks and rural suburbs of Victoria at this time of year is so engrossing that I tend to ignore signs of spring in the urban areas. Since Victoria is very much a tourist town spring is marked by the reappearance of sights like this horse and carriage tour of the downtown. There are many of these horse and carriages - they are the bane of motorists in a hurry but are popular with visitors. This one (above) is moving down Wharf Street in the oldest part of the city. Visitor Matthew Feehan sent along this great photo of modern Victoria's original horse and carriage in 1979 (on the right). In the driver's seat is the originator of the idea locally, his brother, Dan Feehan. The horse's name was Danny Boy. While today's carriages can accommodate more passengers I prefer the look of the original, pictured here on Menzies Street. Many thanks, Matthew, for this photo and bit of local history.