After 6 weeks of being home after our 6 week holiday to the USA it was time to pack again and head off to Canada & Alaska. The unusually quick turnaround was due to us attending the twice postponed wedding of Mitch Clarke & Katie Jeanes on Salt Spring Island just off Vancouver. The re-scheduling came after we had booked the earlier trip so we just had to suck it up & enjoy!
Again we had our great friends & travelling companions Alan & Dianne Hee for the first half & last part of our trip
Farewell Harbour
After a couple of nights in Vancouver we set out for our adventure up to Farewell Harbour Lodge which is positioned in the Broughton Archipelago in the Great Bear Rainforest which is just off the Canadian mainland and accessed from the northern point of Vancouver Island.
Our adventure got off to a false start after we flew for an hour up to the top of Vancouver Island only to be turned back as it was too foggy to land. Some 5-6 hours later we took off on a successful flight.
The lodge is in a magnificent part of the world and the people that run it are just fantastic, from the owners, the girls & guys that run the day trips on the boats to the amazing chef that manages to conjure up 5 star meals in the middle of nowhere,
As can be seen from the photos above the opportunity to see so much wildlife in their natural environment was such an incredible experience. Grizzly & black bears, humpback whales & Orcas, bald and golden eagles, Pacific White sided Dolphins, sea otters, seals and sea lions were the main players in this fantastic setting.
After 5 days it was with some sadness and reluctance that we had to leave. Just a magical place.
Alaska
After a night back in Vancouver we set off on the next leg of our journey to Alaska.
Our first stop was Anchorage before heading down to Whittier and Seward.
The major highlight, particularly for Di was to have King Crab legs over at the Glacier Brewhouse which, conveniently was across the road form our hotel. Both Brian & Di had the crab legs which were outstanding.
We set off for Whittier with our main priority being a day cruise to see wildlife and glaciers as well as the spectacular scenery that Alaska has to offer.
After overnighting in Whittier we ventured south to Seward for more of the same taking in the Kenai Fjords National Park.
Upon presenting ourselves in the morning for the day long cruise we were told that the seas were quite rough and 1. they weren’t sure they could get close to the glaciers we were going quite a way to see and 2. if we didn’t want to go we could get a refund. There was not much appeal in a day of sea sickness and after discussions we settled on a half day cruise which didn’t go out into the open ocean.
This was a good decision as it was very enjoyable and once again we saw plenty of wildlife & spectacular scenery.
Our next port of call, Juneau, was unfortunately a disappointment due to the weather. We were due to take a small plane to Gustavus where we were doing a whale watching cruise and a cruise into Glacier Bay. Fog and rain kept us in Juneau for the duration of the time we were supposed to be in Gustavus.
After getting back to Vancouver, while we caught up with Tim & Ann Fleming for the next part of our holiday, Di & Alan caught up with & stayed with friends in Richmond just south of Vancouver.
The Rockies
After catching up with Tim & Ann as well as Hannah and Dan the following day, we took off from Vancouver to Calgary where we picked up a car and drove to Banff where we were staying for 4 nights. Banff itself is a very pretty town with towering mountains around it & a glacial fed river running through it.
The priorities first up due to their enormous popularity was Lake Louise & Moraine Lake. We parked over at Lake Louise Ski Resort & got the bus across. Whilst both lake are beautiful in their own ways Lake Moraine was certainly our pick of the two.
After walking around both lakes we caught the bus back over to Lake Louise Ski Resort where we parked the car and went up the top of the mountain by chairlift to the restaurant perched on top. Great views & a good day had by all.
The next few days we spent going to the different scenic places such as Bow River, Johnson Canyon, Sulphur Mountain, Bow Valley Parkway as well as the scenic views up the Icefields Parkway. A few days after we arrived there were bushfires up around Jasper, where we were headed next, and the smoke did impact the views a bit.
On the way up to Jasper we stopped off at the Athabasca Glacier, Peyto Lake and Athabasca Falls which are iconic spots along the Icefields Parkway.
When we got to Jasper the town had no power as the bushfires had taken out the “Bushfire Proof” transmission lines.
We were staying about 30km out of Jasper and fortunately had power at the Overlander Mountain Lodge near Folding Mountain. Doubly fortunate that the Folding Mountain Brewery just up the road from us had power too!
From Jasper we went out to Maligne Canyon, Medicine Lake & Maligne Lake. At Maligne Lake we decide to do the Moose Lake Loop trail which took around 1 1/2 hours. It was a terrific walk with great views of the lakes & mountains but fortunately for us it was also well named as we saw 2 moose at different spots along the way.
The first was a male moose in the water on the edge of the lake putting his head under water grazing on the grass/plants underwater. The second moose surprised us as much as we surprised him. We were walking along the trail & he came the other way and quickly bolted when he saw us and some other people.
As we were leaving Jasper we stopped off at Edith Cavell Glacier, which doesn’t get too many plaudits but is well worth the drive & walk there.
We headed west towards the Okanagan wine district which would be home for the next three days. On the way there we stayed overnight at Clearwater via Mount Robson which is the highest point in the Canadian Rockies.
Before leaving Clearwater we visited Wells Gray National Park as there are quite a number of waterfalls throughout the park which is a popular holiday destination due to the waterways, horse riding, camping, hiking activities as well as quite a nice golf course.
The next few nights were spent at Summerland in the Okanagan wine region where we sampled many of the best local wines. A great day out touring the wineries on a private minibus with a fantastic Indian meal (which was a surprise in wine region) capped off a great few days.
Whistler
From Summerland we headed off to Whistler for 3 nights. Along the way we encountered more bushfires. At one point the fires were burning on the hillside on the opposite side of the road to us. Hence that side of the road was closed which resulted in a 10-15 km traffic jam where the cars were at a standstill.
Whistler was probably a bit different and a bit better than what we expected. Obviously well known as a winter ski resort but they now have a year round tourist industry by becoming a mountain bike mecca.
Unbelievable to see how many people here coming down the mountain on the trails specifically made for these bikes. There are complete families here at different levels and ages and bikes costing a few hundred dollars to ten thousand dollars.
We took the opportunity to do an afternoon 4WD tour to hopefully see wildlife, scenery & the Olympic downhill facility.
We only saw one male black bear from a distance but the afternoon was lots of fun.
The following day Tim, Ann & us went up the top of Blackcomb mountain for a mountain top hike which was great as it was pretty taxing but with great views and had a large supply of friendly Marmots along the way.
Salt Spring Island
It was time to move on to the main event, Mitch and Katie’s wedding. As such we had an early start to get on the road, drop the car back at the airport and catch a cab to the ferry terminal 30 minutes away.
After a pleasant ferry ride we landed on Salt Spring Island and were met at the dock by Mitch & Bob, Katie’s father, and taken to Maracaibo Estates where we were staying and where the wedding was taking place.
Such a beautiful, serene setting for a wedding and a few days of fun together.
First night was a “crab & fish fest” with corn on the cob. Absolutely sensational and it’s a shame you can only eat so much!
The following night was pizza night but preceded by nine holes of golf where Bob teed Tim & Brian up against 2 of his good mates, of 2 & 8 handicaps respectively. After a titanic tussle it all came down to the last putts on the 9th hole. Fittingly it was all square after 9 and time for a well earned drink.
The next day it was wedding day with all manner of preparations being conducted.
The weather cleared for a perfect day and a ceremony that did not leave a dry eye in the house. A big night of celebrations followed.
The following day saw a lot of Canadians getting into the swing of a game of backyard cricket and a great wind down from a big day and many tense lead up days for many of the family.
The Yukon
The final leg of our journey saw us linking up again with Alan & Di Hee in Vancouver, after we got back from Salt Spring Island to travel up to the Yukon.
We flew up to Whitehorse where we were staying the first & last nights. In between we were staying at Southern Lakes Resort, around 100kms to the south.
Our main purpose for going up to the Yukon was to hopefully see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).
It was arranged that we’d be picked up on the first night at 10pm and brought back at 3am. Unfortunately no lights tonight!
The next three nights we spent at Southern Lakes Resort were great. The Yukon is a spectacular part of the world and would be one place in Canada I would return to.
Unfortunately for us we were a couple of weeks late for the wildlife as the bears, moose and caribou had moved on as the berries were now growing higher up the mountains.
We did quite a number of hikes and Belinda & Brian also did an afternoon ATV tour which was so much fun.
It was a place we chose as a bit bit of a wind down after a pretty hectic previous 5 weeks or so and it was the perfect choice. Unfortunately the Aurora chose not to come out &/or it was overcast in our time at the resort.
Our last night in the Yukon was in Whitehorse and we were in two minds about going out for the Aurora on our last night. All the indicators showed there was a good chance and as we said we may never get back here we should do it. How glad we are that we made that decision.
The lights made an early appearance and kept changing throughout the night. A once in a lifetime opportunity.
We’ve come to the end of another fantastic journey where we have seen & experienced things that we are very grateful to have had the opportunity to do so.
We are very fortunate to have two sets of very close friends in Alan & Di Hee and Tim & Ann Fleming that we can travel with and come home and remain close friends – a situation not as common as you might think.
Till next time …..
Maguire Travel 