SE 43 - Sunday, December 25, 1988 - North Shore News Soon it may be possible to go another way to Victoria THE VANCOUVER to Vic- toria plane hop is our ver- sion of those oft-travelled routes such as Toronto to Montreal and Calgary to Edmonton. Yet another way to go, by helicopter, is now well established, and next summer the BC Stena Line, the new Swedish proprietor of the B.C. Steamship Co., may revive the Vancouver harbor to Victoria harbor route once operated by CPR. BC Stena plans to use the Van- couver Island Princess, whose bars, casino and duty-free shopp- ing would offer a cruise experience as an alternative to B.C. Ferries’ inexpensive and frequent transpor- tation. In the meantime the most exotic journey is by helicopter, and here Helijet Airways has been so suc- cessful with its service from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria that it has ad- ded a heliport at Vancouver air- port to support a total of 36 flights a day. This is where I checked in for my flight to Victoria. The heliport is just across from the Petro- Canada gas station, which enter- prisingly has a brochure on Heli- jet’s counter offering a ‘‘fix n’ fly’? service while you are away. On your return you ask the helicopter pilot to arrange a pickup by Petro Canada. Heliport parking costs $5 a day, unavoidable in this era of parking gougers, but at least it is conve- nient. The waiting room is bright and busy with the briefcase brigade — all seven or eight of them, for Free emergency the helicopters hold just 12 pas- sengers. As a result, waiting here is a pleasant change from the seek and park, rush and crush of the main airport building. Outside, an elderly couple (probably attracted by the $99 ex- cursion roundtrip fare) enjoyed a coffee at a table with an umbrella to shield the sun. This, I hasten to add, was September. With a whine from its twin jet engines and a whump-whump of the huge rotor, the Sikorsky S-76 lands. Moments later we are strapped in behind the two pilots and it’s up and away. The trip takes just 20 minutes, 120 knots at 4,500 ft.,and the ap- proximate water crossing as taken by the ferries is covered in 12 minutes. The scenery, whichever way you go, is staggeringly beautiful. But the helicopter is a different perspective, and quick it is. Five minutes in a cab from Camel Point and you can be in the Empress Hotel, although if that is your plan, do consider that it is closed until April 12 for massive renovations costing $32 million. There are other places to rest your head in Victoria, however, including a brace or two of small hotels or inns, which have been modelled on European lines. They include Abigail’s, the Beaconsfield road service with your collision coverage How? Cail us and qualify for Royal Insurance on collision & comprehensive coverage. You get com- petitive rates (sometimes lower) and emergency road service at NO EXTRA TORUAINE BULL S| FOR ALL 4) YOUR INSURANCE INSURANCE SERVICES 759 Park Royal North HEATHER FORWARD (outside entrance} 922-9321 travel talk David Wishart and Holland House, ail offering about a dozen beautifully deco- rated rooms and lavish breakfast. Behind the Empress, meanwhile. the Victoria Conference Centre is Nearing completion with one of the first events being the annual meeting of the Seismological Society of America, an organiza- tion formed shortly after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Victoria’s seismological obser- vatory was established in 1898 and is one of the oldest in North America. Next year will be the 40th anniversary of the great Queen Charlotte Island earth- quake, which was Canada’s biggest earthquake and at 8.1, one of the world’s biggest movers and shakers. True voyageurs should in- vestigate the Dayliner, a passenger train that runs year-round from Victoria to Courtney. It leaves at 8:15 a.m. daily from the E & N Station at the east end of the Johnson Street bridge and returns at 5:40 p.m. The coaches are comfortable but you must bring your own lunch. Want off at Duncan for the Forest Museum or Qualicum for a few holes of golf? Just ask the conduc- tor. You'll be back in plenty of time for the last helicopter at 7 p.m., Maybe even 2 flaming sunset to end the day. . & Nps ~< ERS cn hu, THE SONY STORE HAS ALOT OF SPECIAL OFFERS gobble, gobble. This Boxing Day, looking for your best buy in audio and video could end up in a wild goose chase. And listening to a lot of gobbledy-gook. Forget it. You know the best names to buy. Trinitron. A E Walkman. Discman. Handycam. Portables. CHRISTMAS LEFF OVERS Expect Monday Soxing Day Hours More. We are SON 10:30 A.M.-S:00 P.M. Park Royal North Mall 925-4622 Y. ‘My First Sony’. And more. Remember, the best place to buy them...'the SONY store’. You'll find we only want to “talk turkey”. e But hurry, choice left-overs never last long.