Lake Kamloops from Rocky Mountaineer
Omlette for breakfast, Rocky Mountaineer near Kamloops
Rocky Mountaineer entering tunnel, Death Gorge
Rocky Mountaineer, Thompson RIver
Our over night stay in Kamloops finished quite early and we were back on the train by 8.00 am and on our way once again. The first half hour of travel involved following along the northern shores of Lake Kamloops to Savona where the lake discharges into the mighty Thompson River. The Canadian National Railway line follows this river and the Canadian Pacific Railway line is on the other side. Whilst travelling in this section we saw on both sides of the river freight trains that would have been over three kilometres long. The railway line on both sides through to Vancouver is mainly a single line but about every 30 km there are double line sections of length 5 km designed for trains to pass safely. At one stage just south of Ashcroft, the train passed through the Black Canyon Tunnel which is short but curved. From our position at the rear of the train we managed to get photos of the train emerging from the tunnel even before our carriage had entered it. We now proceeded into a very steep but magnificently scenic area where the steepness of the canyon and the white water flow of the river presented a stunning vista. The Rainbow Canyon we passed had orange and green sheer cliffs showing the likelihood of iron and copper minerals. This spectre was followed by the Jaws of Death Gorge near where the confluence of the Thompson and Bridge Rivers occurs. The resulting river becomes the huge Fraser River that flows to enter the sea at Vancouver. This is a very important salmon spawning river and a number of swim assisting ‘ladders’ have been installed to assist fish make the journey upstream more easily. This was necessary as the number of hydroelectric power stations along the river bank has changed the water level from its normal spawning season height. Our train followed the Fraser River on the rail track that hugged the mountain side high above the water. This track must have been a nightmare to build as the terrain is sheer and the threat of landslides from above would have been an ever-present possibility. Nowadays much of the cliff face has been shrouded with heavy-duty wire netting and concrete walls to prevent boulders from obstructing the rail track. Wire sensors have been installed to warn of rock falls too. The narrowest part of the Fraser River is at Hell’s Gate where the enormous volume of water passes through a chasm section just 30 m wide. We were informed that the river flow at this time of year averages around 2,000 m3 per second. From Hell’s Gates onwards the river flattened out and the surrounding territory became a vast agricultural plane based on the millions of years of rich alluvial deposits left by the annual flooding of the Fraser. In places the river was 400 m wide and slow flowing and the top soil in adjacent paddocks said to be 30 m deep. Orchards and feed crops such as maize on either side of the river were clearly reliant on irrigation waters supplied by this mighty stream. From Hope township onwards the train followed westwards on a near flat plateau towards Vancouver. Having passed through the original Hudson Bay settlement of Fort Langley we finally arrived at our destination of Vancouver at about 1800 which was pretty much on time. We said farewell to all our fellow travellers, gathered our luggage and caught a taxi to the Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier in North Vancouver. This will be our taste of hotel luxury for the next three days prior to heading for Australia and home. After all this time away, we’re certainly looking forward to seeing our families and friends on our return.