Reluctant Traveller

Wells Gray Provincial Park

2011-06-08T22:03:32+00:00

Having left Whistler behind, we’ve travelled nearly 500km north-east to Wells Gray Provincial Park, just a few kilometres shy from the tiny (and very new) town of Clearwater. It’s been a relatively relaxed few days, and despite being the mosquito entrée du-jour, we’ve managed to see quite a bit during our relatively short stay.

I was hoping to avoid rolling out the usual summary adjectives to describe Wells Gray Park (I’ve learnt that it’s very difficult to *not* describe rural Canada as either “stunning” or “beautiful”), but with some of the most dramatic water features of anywhere we’ve been so…

Failed trails and happy accidents

2011-06-07T21:50:23+00:00

Having had some good fortune on the walking trails yesterday, we decided to try our luck and attempted a visit to the Joffre Lakes Provincial Park; a network of lakes connected by a progressively difficult hiking path promising spectacular views of the glacial mountainscape. The trail would normally be well into thawing itself out by this time of the year, but a now familiar scene soon presented itself as we made our way into the forest…

It was a 30 minute drive out of Whistler Village, and with the weather being good I was quietly optimistic about getting some milage…

The route to Cheakamus Lake

2011-06-07T21:44:45+00:00

We were slightly worried about coming to Canada just before spring had well and truly set in, and after yesterday’s abortive trip to Whistler mountain and the advice given to us by the local tourist office, it almost looked like we would to have to write off our hiking plans in Whistler. However, it turned out that not all hiking paths were completely impassable due to two metre snow drifts, and ultimately managed to fill the day with some exciting (and exhausting) walking.

Determined to get some hiking distance under our belt, we adopted a healthy dose of denial…

Not enough to ski, too much to walk

2011-06-05T21:38:49+00:00

After nearly a week on Vancouver Island, we’ve returned to the mainland and traveled to the mountainous surrounds of Whistler, approximately 300 kilometres from our last port of call in Port Renfrew. Arriving yesterday, we’re staying at the Sundial Boutique Hotel in the former 2010 Winter Olympic Village, and with Whistler Mountain looming tall outside the view from our bedroom window is impressive, though it’s still-thawing peaks suggest that we might be just that little bit too early for the hiking season…

Despite conflicting weather reports, we’ve had some beautifully warm and sunny weather since arriving at Whistler, and with…

Port Renfrew

2011-06-05T21:31:51+00:00

Continuing our stay on Vancouver Island, we’ve travelled North approx. 120km from Victoria to the sleepy logging and fishing town of Port Renfrew, where we’ve been spending the past couple of days hiking the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail and peering into rock-pools.

We’ve spent the last few days of our stay either on or near the coast of Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, named for the stretch of water that forms the strait between Vancouver Island and the US State of Washington. The waterfronts here range from the bizarre to the beautiful, from the driftwood-laden coastline adjacent Pacheena…

Harbour tours, sea planes and the Prince of Whales

2011-06-03T21:26:26+00:00

If you’ve only got a day or two to spend in Victoria, the odds are that you’ll find yourself out on the water at least once during your stay; not wanting to buck the trend, we found ourselves leaving port not once, but twice during the course of the day and mildly regretting it towards the end.

We didn’t really have solid plans for our two-night stay in the city, but we’d had our appetites whet for sighting sea-bound creatures on our ferry trip over to Vancouver Island; hungry for more we decided to book a whale-watching excursion with one…

The Route to Victoria

2011-06-02T21:24:29+00:00

Having left North Vancouver behind, we’ve traveled 120km south via ferry to the city of Victoria on Vancouver Island. Alternately named the “City of Gardens” and capital of British Columbia, it has a relaxed, easy-going feel to it with a definite air of it’s historic significance still hanging in the wind.

I wasn’t the most stress-free of beginnings on our journey to the port; our satnav, a relatively new and none-too cheap Garmin device with the most up-to-date maps insisted that we took roads that didn’t actually exist, which was pretty nerve-wracking as we tried to figure out what was…

Fish, both live and in jars

2011-05-31T21:07:44+00:00

Being “sans-enfant” but also a child at heart, it’s quite difficult to find public attractions on holiday that cater to both sides of the equation. This was particularly true of our visit to Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park, which despite being a fine example of such a place was a little overrun by the under-5’s.

Even with all the amok being run, there was plenty to focus our attention on; the well stocked and always fascinating collection of fish of all forms were joined by a tropical enclosure, replete with parrots, marmosets and a pair of classically lethargic two-toed sloths.…

Visit gardens whilst the sun shines

2011-05-30T21:06:10+00:00

Despite the forecast the weather has been kind to us on our first full day in Vancouver, and as part of our standing itinerary for any trip is a visit to the local gardens, it seemed like a good opportunity to take advantage of the sunshine and visit the sprawling University of British Columbia campus, home to a couple of such grounds.

A $50 pass bought us access to a number of visitor attractions at the university, including our first port of call for the day; the UBC Botanical Gardens. Being frequent visitors to National Trust properties in England, we’re…

An entirely bearable flight

2011-05-29T07:43:53+00:00

As anyone who knows me will know, there aren’t many things I hate more than flying long-haul; the seats are too hard and sized for dwarves, the food virtually inedible and not entirely dissimilar from the worst examples of school dinners, and the endless feeling of frustration and boredom as you battle to conquer discomfort with exhaustion in a vain attempt to get some kip.

I wasn’t expecting too much from our carrier of choice; in my mind, anything that bore the Thomas Cook name was instantly tarnished by visions of tedious three-week beach sitting package holidays, or club 18-30…