WEDNESDAY 3rd SEPTEMBER 2014 LILLOOET - CLEARWATER CANADA

July 29, 2014 in Uncategorized

After yesterday’s day of mostly rain it was a delight to be greeted at breakfast time with blue skies and sunshine, albeit somewhat intermittent.

We left the lumber town of Lillooet and followed the Fraser River northwards through winding ravines to Pavilion and then we headed east to meet up with Highway 97 that is a major northern arterial road in Canada.

Our mid-morning coffee stop was in a pretty but small town called Clinton where we spent a good deal of time visiting the local museum. This was a wonderful collection of memorabilia from the early 20th century through to the 1950s. There were old gramophones, typewriters, antique bottles, enamel advertising signs, early farm equipment and much more. There was an old shed set up as a highly realistic blacksmith’s shop and other displays based on the gold-mining days. The museum was well worth visiting.

We then followed up Highway 97 and then turned off onto a minor road that passed through plateau country where forests and lakes were abundant. At Bridge Lake we turned into a reserve area on the side of the lake (Lac des Roches) for lunch. In delightful sunshine, on the edge of the lake we had our lunch and relaxation prior to commencing the final stint from Little Fort through to Clearwater.

The scenery along the way was amazing with high mountains on one side of the road and expansive lakes or wide glacial rivers on the other. This magical combination was at its best with the weather getting warmer and warmer as we proceeded.

The final part of our journey into Clearwater involved a 10 km descent from 1350 m altitude down to 400 m. The road was very good although steep for a prolonged distance. For trucks that might have had failed brakes there were escape roads every two kilometres or so.

On arriving in Clearwater we became confused as the town is in two distinct parts and these are separated by a kilometre. We had no idea as to where to stay but an ‘on the spot’ decision led us to a motel conveniently located in the upper half of town.

A trip to the supermarket meant we had sufficient supplies to provide ourselves with a healthy cold meat and salad dinner meal in our motel room.

We then managed to contact Norm Gregory in Devonport via Skype and wish him a happy birthday. It was great to hear from him and to hear all his news. We’ll look forward to catching up with him on our return.

Tomorrow we plan to visit the nearby Wells Gray Park Reserve which is reasonably close by and then spend the afternoon driving the four hours through to Jasper.

Today has been a magic weather day and the scenery in this region of the Rockies is stunning!!

THURSDAY 4th SEPTEMBER 2014 CLEARWATER - JASPER CANADA

July 28, 2014 in Uncategorized

Corinne & Tony, Dawson Falls, Wells Gray

Water lilies on Lake at Painted Turtle restaurant, Clearwater

Painted turtle, Painted Turtle restaurant, Clearwater

It was Susie’s birthday back in Australia so first and foremost, we sent messages home wishing her greetings and best wishes from the Rockies.

The morning looked perfect for our visit to the Wells Gray Provincial Park so we got under way as soon as possible after breakfast and drove northwards following the Clearwater River Valley toward the turn-off to Helmcken Falls.

The falls are at the end of a non-descript road amongst a dense forest of spruce trees.

Had we been more attentive the roar of distant waters may have given us a clue as to the scene that was about to greet us.

The Helmcken is a spectacular waterfall on the Murtle River of height 141 m and 23 m wide plunging into a ravine of similar dimensions. This is about three times higher than the Niagara Falls but nothing like as wide. Nonetheless it is awesome in its grandeur. The Murtle River drops over the western escarpment of the plateau and the gigantic canyon below is that carved by millennia of water flow over lava fields laid down 20,000 years ago.

The waterfall is so large that it creates its own mini-climate in the region and the clouds formed can obscure the unbelievably immense cascade of water and the huge cave in behind the waterfall formed by eroding water over countless thousands of years.

The falls were discovered in 1913 by surveyor Robert Lee and named after Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken a physician with the Hudson’s Bay Company who helped bring British Columbia into Canadian Confederation in 1871.

Our next stop was at the nearby Dawson Falls which are another of the many waterfalls in this area that can be reached by car. Although smaller in height the falls are over 100 m wide and have a beautifully scenic backdrop of upstream cascades and dense birch and spruce forest.

We then drove back to Clearwater and had a mid morning coffee break at the Painted Turtle café situated on the picturesque Dutch Lake. The sunny morning conditions with not a breath of wind made the location idyllic. We sat outside on a balcony and looked across the expansive lake whose border was a mass of pink and white water lilies with quite a few painted turtles sitting on logs at the water’s edge.

The rest of the day involved the drive from Clearwater through to Jasper. The road was excellent and the mountain scenery was beyond expectation with snow caped peaks and vast rock walls seemingly making the road impassable. However the road weaved its way through ravines and canyons, past narrow blue lakes and impenetrable forest and slowly but surely we headed north and then east.

Approaching Jasper we crossed over from British Columbia and into Alberta where we encountered a major traffic jam which was due to works on a bridge making this major highway just one lane. The bottleneck thus formed caused a delay of nearly an hour but we still arrived in Jasper in time to relax before heading out to a local Italian restaurant for some pasta and wine.

We have two nights in our Jasper accommodation (at Lobstick Lodge) and tomorrow we plan to spend a day in this area which although famous as a winter ski location is equally popular as a summer hiking and boating region.

Mt Edith Cavell from top of Skytram, Jasper

FRIDAY 5th SEPTEMBER 2014 JASPER, ALBERTA CANADA

July 27, 2014 in Uncategorized

Being in Jasper immediately creates the dilemma of planning one’s activities as there’s so much to do!

We decided that as having only one day in this region we’d start with a trip on the Jasper Tramway. Although it wouldn’t happen today, but back in the 1960s in an era when mechanical geeks were experimenting with fancy new gimmicks, the Jasper park authorities built this high-speed (gondola) cable car up 973 m to a lofty knoll on Whistler’s Mountain at 2466 m.

At the top of the cable car’s travel we then commenced a 2 km steep walk to a further mountain plateau where the eastern peaks of Mt. Edith Cavell, Throne Mountain and Blackhorn Peak were clearly visible.

The views from the upper station of the tramway were spectacular and the town of Jasper below on this sunny day was crystal clear as were the surrounding kettle lakes which had shades of aqua and turquoise.

From this high viewpoint we could see down below, following the Miette River valley, two massive freight trains travelling in opposite directions both leaving from Jasper. One train was 169 carriages long (someone counted them!) and we estimated it to be about 4 km long.

The river system within the valley below was very complex with a number of smaller streams like the Miette all draining into the large Athabasca River which heads north and arrives at the Arctic Sea.

After a brief coffee break we bought salad rolls and headed out southwards towards Lake Maligne.

Our first stop was at the Maligne Canyon, one of the deepest canyons in the Canadian Rockies. This canyon was formed by waters cutting through limestone at the end of the last ice-age. Sections of the gorge are 15 m deep and in places only 2 m wide. The extraordinarily narrow ravine carries a large volume of water so the view from above is quite mesmerising. We followed a meandering riverside path that traversed five narrow bridges across the canyon. The limestone rock features a water eroded web of potholes and numerous fossils. The rocks are lichen covered and the spruce forest adjacent to the gorge creates a wonderland of natural beauty.

We then drove on to Medicine Lake which is a natural rarity. The lake functions like a plugless bath, filling up during summer when the run-off of melt water from the surrounding mountains is high. In winter when the run-off slows due to ice forming, the lake begins to drain and the level can drop by as much as 20 m. What is happening is that the water is draining out of the lake via a number of small holes in its floor and into a complex underground cave system that re-emerges 16 km downstream near the Maligne Canyon.

An attempt in the 1950s to plug the lake’s drain holes with sandbags, mattresses and bundles of magazines all proved futile!

Our final destination for this busy day was to go to Maligne Lake and do the boat trip out to Spirit Island. This lake enjoys pride of place in most Canadian tourists’ itineraries. The lake is 22 km long from north to south and quite narrow. The lake is totally surrounded by a bevy of photogenic mountain peaks some of which are snow covered and have pendulous glaciers sending streams of icy water into the amazingly blue waters of the lake.

The lake is best described as a ‘stunner’ and we had very good weather conditions to see it although some of the higher peaks were a little cloudy. The scene had us enraptured and left us searching for superlatives.

The culmination of the boat trip is to reach Spirit Island, a speck of tree covered land (actually a mini-peninsula). This tiny island forms a perfect foreground for photographers wishing to show the spectacular high mountain snow peaks behind and the glacial blue waters between. Sadly there was too much breeze for us to get reflections but we could imagine the splendour nonetheless.

We then headed back to Jasper and bought lasagnes, vegetables, fruit and other goodies and prepared dinner in our hotel suite.

This has been a magic day with too many wondrous things to adequately describe but tomorrow we’ll head down to Lake Louise and from all reports, we’re in for more visually spectacular scenery.

The Canadian Rockies have exceeded our expectations in terms of their grandeur and spectacular beauty!

SATURDAY 6th SEPTEMBER 2014 JASPER – GOLDEN ALBERTA – BRITISH COLUMBIA CANADA

July 26, 2014 in Uncategorized

Corinne on Glacier Skywalk, Icefields Parkway

The whole of today was dedicated to travelling the Icefields Parkway from Jasper to Lake Louise. This two hundred kilometres of Highway 93 is appropriately referred to as “the most beautiful road in the world” and today for us, that proved to be undeniably correct.

We left Jasper at around 9.00 in the clearest blue skies with not a single cloud to be seen. This was to be the situation for the whole of the day with mid-afternoon temperatures in the mid-20s.

Stop number one was at the Athabasca Falls where we experienced a ferocious combination of sound and spray from the highest and largest volume waterfall in the Jasper area. The main fall is only 23 m high but the vast volume of water passing through this narrow canyon has carved deeply into the surrounding limestone walls. Where the flow of the Athabasca River has encountered a corner, the massive swirl of water thus produced has carved potholes in the adjacent rock walls.

The noise, the power and the fury of this immense water flow is both frightening and mesmerising. There was a plaque at the top of the waterfall, dedicated to a 24 year old man who foolishly climbed over the safety fence and then slipped on the wet rocks and plunged down into this giant washing machine. His tortured and flailed body was recovered the next day, downstream.

The waters of the Athabasca River continue on northwards towards Inuvik eventually reach the Arctic Ocean about two years after passing over this waterfall!

Our next tourist stop was at the Sunwapta Falls. The meltwaters of the Sunwapta River have carved their way through limestone forming a sculpted but incredibly narrow canyon that forces the large volume of water to create a violent torrent where the immense power and noise of the flow are frightening. The spectacle of this incredible waterfall is from a footbridge directly above the narrowest section of the canyon below. After leaving the falls the Sunwapta River leads down to join the Athabasca River in the deep ‘U’ shaped valley below.

On both sides of the Icefields Parkway were huge mountains and the highway has numerous stopping points for getting a better view of these giant sentinels. Probably the most striking of the numerous peaks just south of Jasper was Mt. Edith Cavell, a 3363 m snow capped summit. With bright sunshine and not a cloud to be seen, we could well understand why this mountain is regarded as the park’s most distinctive and physically appealing peak. It was named after the WWI British heroine nurse who was executed by the Germans after helping to smuggle over 200 wounded allied soldiers into neutral Holland.

The stark beauty of this mountain peak is awe-inspiring.

The next section of the road heading south follows a seemingly never ending spectacle of rivers and mountains. The western side of the highway was a near continual mountain range with jagged peaks such as Mts. Gong, Gec, Mushroom and Kitchener all over 3000 m with numerous glaciers sending streams of water down into the river valley that the road follows.

At the half-way mark we stopped at the Visitors’ Centre. This point marks the division between the Jasper and Banff National Parks.

We spent an hour doing the Glacier Skywalk where a cliff edge walkway leads to a platform where a semi-circular glass floored structure hangs out over a 280 m drop.

This walkway provides breathtaking views of the spectacular Mt. Athabasca and its vast glacier and the ice carved valley 300 m below. There are many nature related interpretive exhibits along the walkway giving interesting natural history of the region. The suspended ‘skywalk’ section is a very impressive engineering feat and is eco-friendly in its design that uses unpainted steel and glass laminates.

The geomorphology of the Icefields Parkway region is stunning and photographs rather than words give a better description of the layering of sediments, the upheaval and tilting of these vast mountain plateaux and the smoothness of carved glacial valleys.

The road then entered the Sunwapta Pass and then after the Saskatchewan River crossing we left the highway and had a short walk into the Peyto Lake lookout. Down below, filling the valley is a turquoise blue lake several kilometres long. The colour looks unreal and this vivid blueness is a result of suspended colloidal rock particles in the water causing scattering and reflection of blue light.

To finish our travels we left the highway just north of Lake Louise and headed on Highway 1 for about 80 km to Golden where our stay will be at Glenogle Resort and Spa for two nights.

On arrival we settled into our large two bedroom apartment and then Doris, our hostess prepared a hearty evening meal and we tried some of the local dry white wine and it was top class. She suggested some activities we might like to try tomorrow and white-water rafting the Kicking Horse River seems to be the thing you must do when in Golden.

Today has been undoubtedly the best weather day of our trip (24oC and cloudless all day) and the spectacular scenery of the Icefields Parkway is utterly beyond comparison and totally unforgettable. Yes we now understand why people say that it’s “the most beautiful road in the world’.

SUNDAY 7th SEPTEMBER 2014 GOLDEN BRITISH COLUMBIA CANADA

July 25, 2014 in Uncategorized

Sunflower, Glenogle Resort & Spa, Golden

Tony, Corinne, Sally & Max after white-water rafting, Golden

Our breakfast table, Glenogle Resort & Spa

Tony, Doris, Max & Sally, Glenogle Resort & Spa, Golden

Doris, our landlady prepared a breakfast for us that could be best described as a banquet and we were embarrassed by the fact that we were unable to eat more than a fraction of all the fruit, eggs, sausages and pancakes on offer.

As it’s said to be the top rated attraction in Golden, it was agreed that white water rafting was to be the principal activity for the day and hence we made a booking with the Glacier Raft Company.

As the rafting wasn’t due to start until the early afternoon we spent a slow morning catching up on emails etc and then drove the short distance down into Golden township. We confirmed and paid for our rafting trip and then went for a stroll along the river bank and into the centre of town where we found a much needed ATM. The town is quite small and situated on the banks of the Kicking Horse River close to the point where it joins the Columbia River.

The white water rafting involved an initial briefing to the group of thirty two participants and the inevitable signing of waivers followed by the fitting out in wetsuits, booties, jumpers and splash-jackets.

We all then climbed into an old bus and were driven back towards Lake Louise for about 20 minutes to a point on the Kicking Horse River where the four rafts were prepared for loading. After a very detailed and yet humorous safety talk we put on life jackets and helmets and were assigned to rafts, with eight per raft plus a guide.

The afternoon’s activity was to be in two sections with the first part in the so-called middle canyon of the Kicking Horse River. Initially we all practised some paddling manoeuvres in fairly calm water before heading into the main part of the river. The Kicking Horse was flowing rapidly with lots of white water, small waterfalls and plenty of semi-submerged rocks to make our path just that much more exciting.

The middle canyon section started with a 1 km blast of ‘class 4’ rapids and then a further 4 km of classes 3 & 4 rapids. There were lots of ‘high-fives’ with paddles and much inter-raft splashing efforts along the way to add to the fun. This terminated at a point where it was too dangerous to continue so the rafts had to be transported round to the commencement of the lower canyon section.

This exhilarating section fairly soon had us all soaked and the excitement and rivalry between the four rafts continued. In some sections where there was a steeper cascade, the nose of the raft went completely under and we were all drenched but the laughter and big smiles showed that everyone was enjoying this water roller-coaster ride. In several of the class 4 rapids Sal was heard to utter expletives which she would not normally use!

Our excellent guide, Ryan had a Go-Pro on his helmet and videoed much of the action along the way so that a DVD of the day’s fun was available at the end. We were well advised not to take our own waterproof cameras due to the likelihood of them being lost in the white-water mayhem.

The scenery along the 15 km of the Kicking Horse River that we passed was magnificent with sheer rock walls on one side most of the way, several narrow canyons and spruce/birch forest in flatter areas. The only signs of human presence were the railway line that hugged the cliff-line for much of the way and the impressive new ninety metre high concrete road bridge that we passed under. Two very long trains went past during our three hours of rafting.

Towards the end of our rafting spectacular, the guides gave us permission to try floating down some smaller rapids on our back. Most declined but from our raft Jak gave it a go and the experience was mind bending. Being utterly out of control and for several seconds to be completely underwater at 4oC was quite something. He lasted only a minute before requesting to be hauled back into the raft. At the very final part of the rafting trip Jak once again jumped into the freezing water and drifted in flatter waters for several minutes.

The rafts stopped where the Kicking Horse River was just 50 m from the Glacier Raft Company’s headquarters.

We all changed back into warmer clothes and joined in a celebratory beer around a log fire. This was peculiar as the temperature was now a balmy 26oC.

We then headed back up to Doris’ Glenagle Resort for another sumptuous evening meal after which she joined us for drinks as we tried some of her single malt whisky and cognac.

The forecast for tomorrow is not good with the possibility of snow so our visit to Lake Louise and Banff may be problematic.

Rowan berry tree outside our unit at Canadian Rockies Chalets, Canmore

MONDAY 8th SEPTEMBER 2014 GOLDEN - CANMORE BRITISH COLUMBIA - ALBERTA CANADA

July 24, 2014 in Uncategorized

Our hire car outside our unit at Canadian Rockies Chalets, Canmore

Trees outside our unit at Canadian Rockies Chalets, Canmore

Inside Fairmont Chateau Hotel, Lake Louise

We asked Doris for a smaller breakfast than she’d served previously and even then we had more than enough to prepare us for a day of travel further southwards.

After sad farewells to the delightful Doris and Norbert at Glenagle Resort, we left Golden and followed the Trans Canada Highway (#1) back to the Parkway Highway at Lake Louise. The weather had taken a dramatic turnaround and from warm sunny conditions yesterday, the barometric pressure had now plummeted to 875 hPa and it was cold and raining quite heavily.

At Lake Louise we spent a few minutes viewing the lake but low cloud and rain prevented us getting a clear sight of the high mountains that surround this famous turquoise lake.

The nearby Fairmont Chateau Hotel provided an opportunity to get inside from the cold and have hot drink. This hotel is enormous and is super expensive and gauging from the plush furnishings and extravagant décor one needs to be wealthy to stay here; for example the cheapest rooms are $450 per night. Sadly much if its original 1920s elegance has been swept away in successive renovations and replaced with corporate based modernity such as designer shops. However, a point of interest in the hotel was a minerals/fossil shop that had an amazing collection of specimens including dinosaur eggs ($1500) and a rhino-like animal skull ($3500).

When the rain turned to snow we became anxious to move on as we had quite a distance to travel to our destination at Canmore. So without further hesitation we headed south through near continuous snowfall conditions and by the time we arrived at Canmore which is 81 km south of Lake Louise, the roads were slushy with snow and the surrounding forests and houses were white.

Our unit at the Canadian Rockies Chalets is perfect with all cooking facilities and two comfortable bedrooms. A powerful although noisy heater was a very much appreciated as the outside temperature was a cool zero and our unit

In snowy conditions we travelled by very slow car round to a huge supermarket and stocked up on provisions for meals over the next two days. By the time we returned to the car it was practically unrecognisable due to its snow cover.

Corinne phoned AVIS and arranged for our car to be dropped off at Banff on Wednesday morning rather than Tuesday night which makes the transport situation so much simpler.

In the meantime we’d received a message from Malcolm and Rae who were in Calgary suggesting that we might catch up with them for a coffee in Banff tomorrow. That’s exciting!

By early evening the snowing had stopped and thoughts of road travel tomorrow became a more realistic possibility.

TUESDAY 9th SEPTEMBER 2014 CANMORE & BANFF ALBERTA CANADA

July 23, 2014 in Uncategorized

Avenue leading to Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Banff

Balustrade at Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Banff

We were pleased to see that overnight the snow had eased and that the roads were clear although everything else was as white as a Christmas card picture.

We drove the 22 km into Banff and made a special point to find the AVIS centre which in itself turned out to an issue. A sign for the return point for cars was non-existent and only after some chasing around and asking locals did we eventually find the location we need for early tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile a message had arrived from Rae and Malcolm saying that they would meet us in Banff at 1130 in a near centre town coffee shop. When they arrived together with their travelling friends Warren and Anne, there were lots of hugs and warm greetings together with much excited discussion in comparing notes on all our adventures.

After an hour or more, Malcolm’s team had to head off as they’d planned to get to Jasper tonight with a couple of detours such as to Lake Louise along the way north.

After they’d left, we strolled from the centre down to the railway station just to check details for our Rocky Mountaineer trip tomorrow.

At this stage there was no snow or rain although the snow from trees and buildings was starting to melt and fall in blobs onto the footpaths below making walking a little interesting.

We then drove around to see the town’s most famous landmark, that being the Fairmont Banff Springs historic hotel. This massive hotel looms up beside the Bow River and resembles a cross between a Scottish baronial castle and a fairytale French chateau.

The turret topped ten storey stone walled building is extravagant in the extreme in its internal décor. Originally built in 1888 and then remodelled in 1928 it was designed to offer the last word in luxury for its guests. The hotel has a selection of lounges and dining rooms all very tastefully and expensively decorated with elegant furniture and fittings. Although we didn’t venture upstairs we could see wide balustrade staircases and landings with chandeliers aplenty.

Highlights include an Arthurian/Gothic great hall, a wood panelled gentleman’s bar and an evening ballroom.

Needless to say the plush bedrooms are eye-wateringly expensive although there seemed to be plenty of guests present as we wandered around ogling at the opulence and grandeur.

On our return to Canmore we visited Lake Minnewanka which is cradled high above Banff between the Palliser and Fairholme Ranges. This is the largest body of water in the Banff National Park being 24 km long and now 142 m deep. Known to the local indigenous Stoney people as minn-waki (“the lake of the spirits”) they believed it to be haunted by the spirits of the dead. Europeans called it Devil’s Lake.

The lake has been dammed three times at its western end and the final time in 1941 raised the level by around 30 m completely submerging the summer settlement of Minnewanka Landing. Scuba divers now can explore the drowned town at 40 m visiting the remains of hotels, shops and saloon bars.

The forest we drove through to get to Lake Minnewanka was a dense spruce and birch forest loaded with snow and we even had an occasional moment of sunshine to add to the fairytale setting.

Tomorrow we give the car back at Banff and commence the penultimate part of our wondrous journey through north west America by boarding the Rocky Mountaineer train that will eventually take us through to Vancouver.

Chan & Ian serving breakfast on Rocky Mountaineer

WEDNESDAY 10th SEPTEMBER 2014 CANMORE, ALBERTA – KAMLOOPS, BRITISH COLUMBIA CANADA

July 22, 2014 in Uncategorized

Tony on the Rocky Mountaineer, railway stn, Banff

Our carriage on the Rocky Mountaineer, railway stn, Banff

Trees outside the Rocky Mountaineer, railway stn, Banff

Kicking horse River from Rocky Mountaineer

We awoke at 0545 to find that it had been snowing through much of the night and was still snowing. Apparently, according to locals this is the first time that Banff has had settling snow in September since 1927.

Our urgent task was to complete the 22 km trip up to the Banff railway station before the road became even more icy, slushy and dangerous.

Max drove this final leg of our car-hire period with great care and expertise and we arrived safely at Banff with plenty of time to top up the car’s fuel and leave the excellent Dodge Caravan station wagon at the AVIS centre.

Meanwhile Corinne and Sally had collected tickets and confirmed seating for the Rocky Mountaineer which was due to depart from Banff at 0845.

However due to this unseasonal snow, Canadian Pacific Railways were experiencing problems with electrics that control line switching and our train was delayed by an hour.

There were fourteen passenger carriages and ours was number 13 and thus we had a fairly long walk along the uncovered station platform in snow. Once aboard we found the cabin nice and warm, the seating very comfortable and the windows wide and high so vision should be good when the snow stops!

The first 70 km was effectively following the main highway up to Lake Louise. The view from the train was magic with the forests covered in snow and the whole picture very much like a Christmas card scene.

As we passed the picturesque Wapta Lake and reached the highest point on the trip, we started descending towards Field, the snowing stopped and the cloud lifted with small patches of blue sky visible giving us some optimism. The construction of the train line entails some very clever design involving spiralling through two tunnels, like a corkscrew so as to avoid what was previously a very steep and nearly impassable section.

For us the great excitement came when we approached Golden as in this part the train-line follows the Kicking Horse River for about 20 km. This meant we viewed from the train a fair proportion of the river that we ‘white-water’ rafted just three days ago.

The river looked singularly impressive and we got quite a buzz thinking of the thrills we’d had charging down this wild and dramatic canyon. We also saw the part of the river that we had to by-pass on Sunday because it was deemed to be too dangerous. Lots of photos were taken to provide evidence of our exciting rafting experience.

The train journey continued westwards and before we knew it we were winding our way through ravines and forest with not a drop of snow to be seen except for on the tops of the mountain peaks.

Just near Revelstoke we crossed the Columbia River, the river the Kicking Horse flows into.

All the time the highly attentive cabin staff were serving up meals and drinks to the point that we found it too generous! Of course, the traditional ‘Bloody Marys’ were consumed to reinforce the holiday mode.

Just south of Sicamous we first encountered Shuswap Lake. This is a very large ‘H’ shaped lake with a shoreline of 1000 km and has become a holiday paradise with hundreds of houseboats using the lake during summer. Along the shore adjacent to the train-line were numerous holiday homes and many had their own jetties or pontoons in front. In the now sunny conditions the scene looked very appealing and the limpid blue waters of the lake provided a picture book setting.

After passing Salmon Arm where we could see sock-eye spawning action in the river we entered a rural area with cattle and sheep farming on irrigated pasture and large areas of lucerne being baled. Maize and barley crops were seen too.

By the time we’d reached Chase the sun was setting and yet we still had an hour or more before we’d reach Kamloops.

At 2045 we pulled into the station at Kamloops and were then taken by bus to our hotel for the night. Prior to leaving the train, we were given our hotel room keys and informed that when we got to the Thompson Hotel, our luggage would already be in our room. This Rocky Mountaineer operation is very slick!!

Tomorrow morning we’ll be picked up at 0720 to reboard the train for part two of this rain trip through to Vancouver.

Confluence of Fraser R & Bridge R from Rocky Mountaineer

THURSDAY 11th SEPTEMBER 2014 KAMLOOPS - VANCOUVER BRITISH COLUMBIA CANADA

July 21, 2014 in Uncategorized

Omlette for breakfast, Rocky Mountaineer near Kamloops

Rocky Mountaineer entering tunnel, Death Gorge

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.

FRIDAY 12th SEPTEMBER 2014 VANCOUVER BRITISH COLUMBIA CANADA

July 20, 2014 in Uncategorized

Panorama over Granville Island from bridge, Vancouver

Corinne & Tony bike riding, Stanley Park

This was to be a day of visiting central Vancouver. After breakfast at a local café we went into central Vancouver on the ferry and went to the visitors’ centre. As per yesterday, the sky was blue and it was already 20oC with many Vancouver locals in tee shirts and shorts. It was decided that a good way to see the city was to do the bicycle ride around Stanley Park so we hired bikes and headed off from Devonian Harbour Park. The cycle track took us around past Deadman’s Island where the naval base has been established and then onto the coast past Lighthouse Point. We passed the now famous bronze statues of the ‘girl in the wet-suit’. This beautiful bronze statue is reminiscent of Copenhagen’s mermaid and has a similar setting on a rock just off the shore of the main harbour. We rode our bikes under huge bridges, around a narrow coastline and eventually we re-encountered human existence when we reached the beach on the western side of Stanley Park. The crowds of cyclists, pedestrians plus their dogs on the cycle track made progress pretty slow but we soldiered on and went past Granville St. bridge and right around the harbour until we reached the Burrarb St. bridge crossing. This brought us back to the centre of the city where we returned our bikes and headed back to North Vancouver on the ferry. The weather had been perfect today with barely a cloud in the sky and balmy conditions. It’s hard to reconcile with the fact that two days ago we were battling with roads that were snow covered and potentially unpassable. Vancouver has put on its best for us today and our cycle travels of about 20 km around the city’s perimeter has given us a snapshot of a glorious city set in an unbelievably beautiful setting. Tomorrow we plan to explore other parts of this famous city and may venture up to Grouse Mountain.

Capilano River below Cliff Walk, Capilano Suspension Bridge

SATURDAY 13th SEPTEMBER 2014 VANCOUVER BRITISH COLUMBIA CANADA

July 19, 2014 in Uncategorized

Jak on Cliff Walk, Capilano Suspension Bridge

Capilano River below Capilano Suspension Bridge

After a relaxed start to the day we wandered through the local Farmers’ Market and then caught a bus to Grouse Mountain. This is a small ski field during the winter months but in summer it provides a high point and popular tourist centre for viewing the city of Vancouver spreading below.

We boarded the “skyride” aerial tramway and upon reaching the top found the view to be expansive although a little too hazy for clear photos. Despite the altitude, the air temperature was a pleasant 20oC and continued to increase during the day.

The first activity on offer was the “Lumberjacks Show” where two rival lumberjacks competed for top status in events such as axe throwing at a target, chopping, cross-cut sawing, tree felling, tree climbing and log rolling.

The whole show was presented as a play act of rivalry and very cleverly done too. The two lumberjacks were super fit young men and performed extraordinary feats exhibiting strength and skill with a great deal of humour added in. Perhaps the best part was the race to the top of two parallel 20 m high wooden poles using climbing spurs and a waist rope. One of the two, who is the world tree-climbing champion, was up to the top in about seven seconds. It was quite amazing and to add to the spectacle he did an almost free fall back down using his waist rope as a brake just at the last second. This was the same person who earlier had performed a scary comedy act by climbing to the top of this high pole and then clowning around by juggling and then doing a handstand before falling (intentionally) along a supporting wire using a hidden harness.

We continued to the mountain peak (1250 m) on a chairlift and at the top there were opportunities for people to participate in flying-fox runs and tandem paragliding. We then visited the two hectare alpine sanctuary where two orphaned grizzly bears are kept. The two large bears were frolicking in the warm sunshine by friendly fighting and rolling around in the grass. There was also an exhibit of semi-tame raptors (a golden eagle and a peregrine falcon) flying around the mountain top area and returning to the trainer for rewards of fresh meat!

We visited the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park on our way home to our hotel at Lonsdale Pier. This was a delightful cool rainforest area featuring many large trees such as Douglas fir, red cedar, hemlock and maple. A series of seven high and interconnected suspension bridges gave one an opportunity for doing a lengthy tree-top walk amongst these beautiful trees.

The main suspension bridge is 137 m long and 70 m high above the Capilano River gorge and there was also a canyon lookout with a semi-circular walkway supported by wires out from the side of a sheer cliff.

The visit to this eco-tourist centre was well and truly worthwhile although we were all quite weary by the time we returned.

In the evening, after sharing a bottle of nice champagne, we all went to a local Japanese restaurant for a lovely meal and some wine to celebrate our final full day in North America.

Tomorrow we start our long journey home.

Lisa, Corinne, Tony, Juliet, Sally & Max

SUNDAY 14th - TUESDAY 16th SEPTEMBER 2014 VANCOUVER - AUCKLAND - MELBOURNE FINALE

June 18, 2014 in Uncategorized

A bit late but here is our final post from our Alaska & Canada travels...

We spent the first half of this glorious Sunday morning having breakfast with Lisa and Juliet, who are Canadian friends of Bryce and Jacquie. Very kindly, Lisa came to our hotel and picked us up and drove us all around to a popular harbour-side café where we enjoyed a pleasant breakfast in warm sunshine. Lisa’s recently acquired great-dane puppy joined us too but stayed in the shade.

It was lovely to chat with Lisa and Juliet and hear of their families, careers and how they established their very close friendship with Bryce and Jacquie.

After a very final packing and then checking out of our hotel rooms we wandered down to the market area before catching the ferry across to the city and then connecting with the airport train. Tickets from North Vancouver to the airport cost us each $1.75, a remarkably cheap fare for a one hour journey!

Once at the airport, the four hours before departing were filled in with coffees, beers and general wandering around the airport terminal. There had been some discussion about buying some duty-free XO cognac but the prices seemed a little steep. Most started at around a price of $300 per litre but our attention was especially drawn to a 750 mL bottle of 1956 Martel Cognac with an asking price of a mere $35000. Foolishly I thought there must have been a decimal point before the last two zeros but sadly there was not!!

We boarded the flight and left Vancouver at 2030 on Sunday night. The flight time was about 13 hours and we then landed at a cold and very wet Auckland airport at 0430 on Tuesday morning. What had happened to Monday 15thSeptember?

The “Awesome Foursome” now had to say farewell as Max and Sal had their flight down to Queenstown and we were off to Melbourne.

This separation was very emotional and after two months of near constant companionship it’s not surprising that there were a few tears shed as we went our separate ways.

We then had a three hour wait in Auckland before boarding our three and a half hour flight through to Melbourne.

We were met at Melbourne airport by Marcus and Elliott. This was an exciting end to our travels and it was particularly great to see how much Elliott had grown and developed during our two months absence.

Tomorrow we complete the final travel phase home to Hobart to see Jacquie, Bryce & Zoe and commence planning our next trip