VANCOUVER ISLAND
After the glorious ferry ride through the southern islands to Swartz Bay we took the bus to Victoria, via Sidney (haha). Settled into our apartment & map in hand headed into town via the Galloping Goose Walking Trail, for a walk around the foreshore into the city of Victoria. Photos of the Legislature Building, the marina, totem poles & lots more, it is a very pretty city & we were lucky enough to have a beautiful sunny day. The gardeners have been busy here & the spring flowers are already in all the garden beds round town.
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Promenade along the harbour in central Victoria,
Legislature Building is in the distance |
A wander down the tourist shopping strip & through The Bay (Hudson Bay Co that is!) was great to idle away a couple of hours. Despite it being very early in the tourist season there are still plenty of people around but fortunately not huge buses-full as yet, which means you can get that photo without having to push through the people. It also means that accommodation is easy to find & not too expensive in the shoulder season.
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Grant & his newest friend, the multi-coloured
Orca, one of many along the promenade |
Grant went to the Fire Station then we picked up our hire car for our week of tripping round the coastal highway & up to the ski fields. First stop is Sooke (original home of the T'sou-ke Tribe) then on to Port Renfew on the south-western coast but still inside the protection of the USA coastline. This can be travelled as a circle so that was a good choice for a day trip from Victoria. It was a little damp but we managed a bit of sunshine as we walked the 3km Botanical Beach Loop. We saw old growth pine trees, cool temperate rainforest & stony beaches with rockpools full of sealife.
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| Sooke, rocky beach with the log-line at the high tide mark |
We enjoyed an icecream before we headed off on the inland route through the mountains & valleys back to Highway 1 then home to Victoria. I actually drove about 50 km of this trip on the way home, still not confident because Grant has done most of the driving but at least I think I can do it if needs be.
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| Botany Bay...Canadian style |
Next morning it was off early, heading north to the Comox Valley hoping to get a day of good weather for Grant to go skiing again. We enjoyed a short walk round the township of Chemainus with its wonderful display of murals. Almost every blank wall in town was adorned with murals depicting the town's history. Well worth the stop-over & stroll in the drizzle.
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| Probably the most famous of the murals, First Nation peoples of the area |
We also stopped in Nanaimo for a short time to look round the town centre & harbour area, pretty spot too. Then it was off for the rest of the trip to the Comox Valley & the towns of Courtenay, Comox, Cumberland as well as access to the snowfields of Mount Washington.
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| Central Nanaimo, marina & promenade |
We had three nights & two full days booked at our cute little apartment in Comox & the weather forecast looked better for skiing on Thursday so we headed north to Campbell River on Wednesday. The weather varied from cloudy to drizzling to heavy rain so all seasons, except summer, in one day. On route we called into Miracle Beach, a beautiful black sand beach with tons of timber washed up onto the beach & the most amazing view across the Strait of Georgia to the Discovery Islands & the mainland in the distance.
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| Carvings decorate the seaside walkway |
At Campbell River we ate fish & chips from 'Dick's Fish & Chips' right on the marina & walked a little along the seaside path looking at the incredibly beautiful totem poles which lined the path for kilometres. We called in at the ski rental shop on our way home to pick up Grant's gear for the next day.
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| Minor access issue at the Day Lodge on Mt Washington |
On the shuttle bus at 9am the next day, at the shopping centre car park, Grant went up to the Mount Washington ski fields. This area has the highest snow fall per annum of any of the fields around Vancouver with an average of over 10 metres. As their advertising says ' There's no need to make snow here - it falls by the ton' . This year there is a base of 552cm & over 60 runs most of which are groomed so it is quite the place to ski. When he got there you would never have knowed they had groomed the slopes as there was 45cm of fresh powder which had falled overnight & it was still snowing. It was exhilarating but exhausting & it was clearly visible that he was 'had it' when I picked him up off the bus at 5pm.
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| Beautiful reflections of Mountains in Sprout Lake |
We wanted to fit in a visit to the Pacific Rim National Park & the townships of Ucluelet & Tofino. This meant retracing our steps southward then turning inland through mountain passes & towards the west coast. Just near the intersection was the small village of Coombs, what a show stopper it was. Firstly the grocery store had a turf roof on which goats usually graze (not today unfortunately). There are two blocks of stores bursting to overflowing with carvings, stone sculptures, paintings, furniture, clothes, jewellery, souveniers etc etc. It took us ages to break free from its hold & to get back on the road.
It snowed a little as we passed through the mountains but not enough to be a problem, the scenery was glorious with rivers & lakes all along the route stopping at one for a picnic lunch. Port Alberni looked like a nice spot & we will try to stop there for a look-see on our way back to Victoria. It is hard to imagine there is a port so far inland but the Barkley Sound runs all the way inland so it was a timber port in the past.
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| Breath-taking ocean views from the coastal walk |
We arrived at Ucluelet mid-afternoon, dumped our gear & headed out for a drive round town & then to do a bit of exploring. We walked part of the Wild Pacific Trail which leaves from just outside our guest house. This section is a circular walk of about 3 km which goes along the cliff edges, passed the old lighthouse & round through the rainforest. It wasn't arduous particularly, as the weather was fine (although quite cold) & there were lots of vantage points to enjoy the wonderful scenery all with seating, so BONUS! including the Broken Group Islands which are lovely.
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| Self-explanatory really! |
Tofino & some walks in the national park were on the agenda for the next day so we headed off about 9am, it was cloudy but fine. We drove the 40 km north to Tofino, wandered round town, picked up a couple of souveniers, enjoyed a coffee & cake at a local bakery then turned southward again. Our plan had been to stop in at all the rest areas in the national park & to walk all the trails either to the beaches or into the forest. This sounded easy in theory but in practice it wasn't quite achievable.
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| 'Minor' log issue on some of the beaches here... |
The major factor was the rain, started off as drizzle but soon reached downpour proportions. First stop was Radar Hill, this was good because you drove most of the way & only had about 100m to walk uphill to the top, nice views over the Clayoquot (who knows how they say that, beats me) Sound, lots of islands & mountains, very pretty.
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| Got to love the boardwalks through the rain forest |
Bit further south & we turned off into Schooner Cove the northern-most end of Long Beach. This was a 3 km return walk through the forest to the shoreline which, as in all of Canada, is littered with trees & logs washed up by the wild ocean storms. It was quite a challenge clambering over the 'logline' as it is called until we actually stood on a sandy beach, albeit grey sand. You can only go onto these beaches as low tide (we checked our tide chart before we left) because the tide comes up about 10 or more metres needless to say it is dangerous to get trapped on one of the rocky outcrops when the tide rushes in. There were several groups of people out beach-combing for goodies, walking dogs, surfing but as it was raining & we didn't have any protective gear, we didn't feel inclined to do any of those things. Back on the highway we drove south again calling into the Long Beach parking areas for a look-see, you could easily get on to the beach there but by this time it was pouring.
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| Look, genuine sand on this beach! |
Next stop was the Rainforest trail, these are two boardwalk loops of a bit over a kilometre each, unfortunately one was closed due to fallen trees, so we were only able to go on Route B. It was fantastic though, the boardwalk alone was a work of art but wet, slippery & narrow, fortunately it was a one-way walk so no oncoming traffic! The forest was just amazing & with the rain easing & the shelter of the canopy it was a delightful walk, up hill & down dale with steps where needed & information boards to break the time. After that it was home to have our long overdue picnic lunch for dinner instead.
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| Nature...going wild in the rainforest |
Better looking day today so at least we can walk a bit without getting drenched. We went to Florencia Beach, it was very nice, high tide & there was even a surfer out braving the cold water. We were looking forward to our drive through the pass on the way back to the eastern seaboard, on the way in it had been wet & overcast, but on our way back it was fine & sunny most of the time allowing us to enjoy the majesty of the mountains, the snow, the lakes & rivers, it was a glorious day, cold but beautiful. We stopped a couple of times to wander to lake edges, through scenic walks etc & eventually made it to Port Alberni.
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| Florencia Beach, even some surfers braving the icy water here |
Now if we had to live anywhere else in the world Port Alberni would be in the mix for consideration. It is only one hour's drive from some of the world's best snow fields, only one hour's drive from surfing beaches, wild winter storm coastline & right in the middle of a dozen lakes & waterways so the fishing is fabulous too. Then of course there are the national parks, & the hiking, bike trails, snowshoeing the list seems to go on & on doesn't it? Just to make it extra special it had snowed there overnight so all the trees & gardens looked really pretty, although it was impossible to find a picnic table without snow all over it.
Eventually we made it to Nanaimo for our overnight stop & dinner out to celebrate my birthday, yummy, the first steak I have eaten since we left home. Next morning, up early, for our drive to return the hire car, then the bus to the ferry terminal, ferry to the mainland, bus to the Skytrain station, train into the city, bit of a walk to the next car rental firm. You really do have to set aside an entire day for any change of address.
OKANAGAN VALLEY DRIVE
Once we picked up the new hire car we headed east out of town. We were aiming to get to Pentictan for three nights stay & it was certainly a glorious trip, up through mountain passes & down across river valleys. In Pentictan we had one important thing to do, Grant wanted to ski Apex Mountain Resort so we organised a lift pass & went up the mountain for a look-see on our first afternoon, just to get the lay of the land. Next morning Grant was off by 8.30 & I used the time to wander round the downtown area & along the Okanagan lakefront.
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| View of Skaha Lake, south of Pentictan, taken from the front of our hotel |
Fabulous ski fields, Grant had a wonderful day & was almost alone on the slopes.
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| Wandering around at Apex Resort |
The full day we had left was used to drive along the string of lakes down to Osoyoos on the USA border. This is the southern end of the Okanagan valley & the only desert landscape in Canada. It is hard to believe it is a desert because they irrigate from the lake & river system so the orchards & vineyards were everywhere. Such a shame it wasn't a bit later in the spring, the cherries would have been in bloom & there may have been fruit for sale at all the roadside fruit stalls. It was a wonderful drive with many opportunities to stop & enjoy the mountains reflected in the lakes.
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| Lake, flat-bottomed valley & sheer cliffs, not to mention the beautiful reflection |
When we got back to Pentictan we took a short drive to Skaha Bluffs, just a few kilometres out of town. The bluffs are Canada's most famous climbing rocks with if memory serves me well, over 650 climbing routes. The car park was half full so obviously it is popular since it was mid-week & outside holiday time. Apparently the rock is gneiss (pronounced nice) which is ideal for rock climbing.
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| Floating Bridge at Kelowna, connecting the two sides of the 'narrows' |
It was Good Friday but we were off to Kelowna for the day then on to Kamloops for two nights. At Kelowna we walked round City Park, through the downtown area, had a nice stopover in the Japanese Gardens near City Hall. We chatted for quite a while to the lovely man who was a volunteer at the gardens.
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| Bit of ice climbing anyone at Big White? |
Next stop was the Big White Ski Resort, now this would have to be the nicest ski resort we have been too so far. All the accommodation had ski runs leading to the door, no cars except in the car park. Even the day lodge near the car park had a free gondola that took you up to the actual chairlifts, restaurants, ski rentals etc. There were lots of activities for all ages including an ice climbing wall, mile long skating area, cross country & nordic skiing, kid's toboggan/tube area & the list goes on & on. It would be easy to spend a few weeks here & not get bored. Unfortunately Grant wasn't able to ski here, we didn't have enough day left by the time we got there but 'maybe another time'.
The last bit of the day was spent driving to Kamloops. We had come through here on the train but didn't get to see much of the township or surrounding area. One of the firemen Grant met, in Chillawack I think, said that Sun Peaks Resort was really good so with only one day in the area we thought why go to another city, let's go up to the snow, we will never get the chance to visit here again.
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| Off for the day at Sun Peaks! |
So an early start as we wanted to be there by 9am to make the most of the day lift pass & possibly to get in before the crowds. I spent the day window shopping, writing this blog & chatting to other people not actually skiing. Surprisingly there were lots of people not skiing so no shortage of people to strike up a conversation with, over a coffee in one of the lovely little cafes. I got frozen rained on here, it was snowing up the mountain but at the base area it was frozen rain, needless to say I headed indoors & gave up watching the skiers & boarders.
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| Whistler/Blackcomb, cable car area |
Back to Kamloops for the night then its off to Squamish via Whistler/Blackcomb. It would have been nice to stay at Whistler but being the Easter weekend the accommodation & lift passes were just too expensive to justify a sleep-over. There were full carparks, thousands of people all walking strangely with their ski boots on, every cafe table was full & there were queues to buy anything. But at least we can say we saw Whistler, lovely shopping area all in an alpine theme, stone & wood, plenty of Australian accents & just about everything was on sale because it is almost the end of the ski season.
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| The cliff view from our hotel window, beautiful with a canal in front |
VANCOUVER CITY STOPOVER
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| Lions Gate Bridge & Vancouver skyline from Cypress Mountain |
Last leg of our trip today to Vancouver for the final week of our trip, so we took it easy, stopping at several viewpoints to gaze at the wonderful panoramas. We also detoured into Cypress Mountain Ski Resort. It is just 20 kilometres out of town & was one of the principal sites for the winter olympics, ski jump I think. Great spot, there was very little snow on the road up but as you entered the carpark the ski slopes sort of materialised!
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| Almost to the top of Cypress Mountain & finally some snow.... |
Just to save a bit of effort we dropped our luggage off at our apartment then returned the hire car to the city centre. It was a glorious day, fine & sunny with a temperature in the early teens so we decided to walk back to our room picking up a few groceries on our way. The map showed a walk along the edge of Sunset Beach & English Bay so we headed towards that & strolled with about 'a million' other people out enjoying the afternoon sunshine.
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| Seawall Walk near English Bay & round Stanley Park |
Optimists at heart we made our decisions on the day's activities -- a nine kilometre walk round Stanley Park on the seawall. We followed that by continuing into the city still using the seawall all the way to Canada Place, home of the 2010 Olympic Torch. Back though the city all the way home, aching feet and 15 kilometres later we collapsed into the chairs of our apartment!
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Siwack Rock at the tip of Stanley Park,
view across the harbour to North Vancouver |
It was a lovely day, bit overcast but fine & warmish! The seawall is fantastic & used by all sorts of people for both pleasure & pain judging by the number of people exercising. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous & because it is a headland the views were to the south, the west & then the north. We met some lovely people at one of the escarpment lookouts, chatting for half an hour.
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One of the numerous garden areas once we walked into the city itself,
here we saw plenty of the cherry blossoms for which Vancouver is famous |
Once we headed towards the city we found marinas full of the most gorgeous boats, everything from 'dolls house' houseboats to million dollar ocean-going cruisers. The parkland areas were all lovely too with the cherry trees & bulbs all in bloom, tulips & daffodils everywhere!
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| Olympic torch at Canada Place |
Granville Island is the number one destination on just about every tourist guide book for Vancouver so needless to say we had to go. We walked along the sea edge to the watertaxi jetty & caught the cutest little taxi across the inlet to the island. We are so relieved we chose to go mid-week, the crowd was manageable at least. Lots of artworks, food both fresh & prepared & everything else you might expect at a market. The island was originally an industrial area but has been converted as they moved the industry away from the city centre. After a good look round, we walked further round part of the island edge, then went inland a little to find the bridge entry area, finally walking back over the Granville Bridge into the city & then home.
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| See, we did actually go there! |
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| Fabulous organic produce |
Next day Grant headed up to Cypress Mountain for his last day on the slopes before we fly home. It is well & truly spring now & although spring snow might be great for snowboarding it isn't too good for skiing. It was exhausting skiing on the 'slush puppy' snow especially after the snow boarders cut it all up. Not to worry he enjoyed it anyhow even if it was hard work!
It only took an hour & three buses to find our way to Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge. The bridge was built in 1917 & is still going strong! It was a terrifying 50 foot, white-knuckle walk, 48 feet up from the rushing water that crashed over the rocks! Naturally Grant wanted to bounce it up & down while I clung to both rope rails. The rest of the walk down the valley was wonderful, plenty of uphill but dominantly a downhill walk to Vancouver Harbour. Such a lovely day! It was only about 5 kilometres but we were both tired by the time we got home.
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| The suspension bridge |
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| The river views |
Our last full day was spent in several of the 'neighbourhoods' of Vancouver. First, Gastown with the oldest steam driven clock in Canada, lovely! Then into Chinatown, we thought we were back in Beijing, even bought some of the lovely egg tarts we had tried before in MacDonald's in Beijing. Next we walked to Yaletown, this is an old industrial area, all tarted up with old warehouses renovated into flash restaurants & pubs. It was Saturday so the restaurants were all full to overflowing.
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| Interesting historic buildings & fabulous victorian lamp posts in Gastown |
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| Chinatown garden, a haven in the middle of the city |
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| There is a definite 'industrial' feel to Yaletown & its multitude of restaurants |
Then down to the seawall at False Creek & kilometres of strolling along with the smell of salt water & sweat as it seemed as if everyone in the city was out exercising. Another day of wonderful people, tasty smoothies, fresh air, great scenery & healthy exercise.
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| Wonderful day for a stroll |
Our very last day was spent, to be honest, biding our time as we had a night flight home but had to be out of our accommodation by 11am. So, a day transport pass each & we were off into the wilds of suburbia for a visit to Queen Elizabeth Park. It is always nice to see the actual homes of the residents of a city rather than high rise apartment blocks. What a lovely park it was, magnificent cherry blossoms everywhere, beds full of hyacinths, daffodills, tulips, several sections were revegetated from original quarries & with little waterfalls just to add interest. It was lovely to see loads of families out enjoying the gorgeous spring weather.
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| Blossoms don't get much better than this! |
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| Overlooking the smaller of the two quarry gardens |
No more delaying the inevitable, it was time to go to the airport. Bus back to our accommodation as they were minding our luggage, then bus & skytrain to YVR airport. It was a long wait as we were there, as always for flights, in plenty of time but eventually we boarded the plane & up, up & away into the wild blue yonder......homeward bound!
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| The perfect shot to finish off the blog - a glorious sunset over English Bay, Vancouver |
THE END.....
