Doug and Kerry Hudson in British Columbia

After the peaceful idyll of Vancouver Island, we spent a couple of days at the Whistler Youth Hostel, situated on the Alta Lake. The surroundings of our hostel were beautiful and we really enjoyed our time there. The people were really friendly and one night we had a campfire and toasted marshmellows on sticks. Whistler itself was nice, and although it couldn't hide from the fact that it was manufactured from nothing during the 1980's, it was nevertheless very picturesque. There was still snow on the mountains but we decided not to ski because we still had lots of holiday left and we didn't want to break any bones or anything. Instead, we did a lot of walking and people watching. There were lots of posers wearing posh clothes, standing around trying to look cool with their panda eyes. It was really entertaining to watch.

We left Whistler for Penticton on Lake Okanagan, and arrived there after a long drive of 6 hours. The drive was delightful and the scenery was spectacular. Nearing Lake Okanagan, we drove through places called Peachland and Summerland. There are apt names considering this area gets more annual sunshine than Honolulu.

In Penticton, we hired some bikes and cycled a good 24 kms along the Wine Route. We stopped at three vineyards and did plenty of wine tasting. Needless to say, we couldn't ride very straight when we got on the bikes again. We rode up some challenging hills and we definitely suffered the consequences of spending a whole day 'in the saddle'. We had lunch at a vineyard called the Red Rooster, looking out over Lake Okanagan and enjoying bacon and mushroom quiche and salad for lunch.

The following day we still had the bikes and maybe against our better judgement we set off to cycle around Skaha Lake to Okanagan Falls. Boy, was it sore! The cycle route was beautiful as it followed the old route of the Kettle Valley Railway along the edge of Lake Skaha. We reached Okanagan Falls at around lunchtime. There were no falls, as these had long ago been adapted into a hydroelectric station. However, there was Tickleberry's! Their slogan was, "The Best Ice Cream You Ever Slung A Lip Over!" and it's absolutely true. So Doug's lunch was a double cherry cheesecake ice cream on a home made waffle cone, and Kerry had double chocolate ice cream also on waffle. Imagine the best ice cream you ever tasted. The ice cream was four big scoops towering over the cone in a precarious manner. Good job we didn't have the triple or the large! We didn't need anything else for lunch after this. It was enough to give us the energy to ride the 20km back to Penticton.

On the cycle ride back we saw a group of Mule Deer, only metres away. Apparently we were very lucky to see so many so close, so that was nice. At one point we stopped by the lake for a rest. Kerry felt the water, then I bent down to too and saw a snake looking right back at me from the water. It was okay though, just another harmless garter snake, but we got some photos to prove it this time.

For our final day at Penticton our butts were so sore we decided no more cycling. Instead, we drove to the town of Osoyoos, which lies right on the border between Canada and the United States. The interesting feature here was the climate is desert. Yes that's right, in fact this is Canada's only desert. We wandered around the town for a bit, and visited the nature reserve on the edge of Osoyoos Lake. We saw a beaver lodge there, but no beavers. Osoyoos originated as an outpost of the Hudson Bay Trading Company, who sent the Fur Brigade through the area once a year buying furs from the trappers. There was a brief gold-rush at the end of the 1860's which drew a few more people, but the town really developed when someone decided to grow fruit trees there and saw how they flourished. The rest is history.

From Penticton, our plan was to move on to spend some time in the Rockies. On the way there we stayed in a town called Revelstoke. This very pretty town is framed by the Kootenay mountains to the west and the Selkirks to the east. We were very impressed by the timber houses in the Victorian style that still stand here in perfect condition. Revelstoke was another product of the Canadian Pacific Railroad company, as it lies halfway between Vancouver and Calgary. It was named in honour of Lord Revelstoke, the banker who rescued the company from financial ruin. Lord Revelstoke was also known as Edward Baring. Remember Nick Leeson anyone? At the hostel we met a bloke from England who had worked in the Antarctic for the last six years; it was very interesting to talk to him and find out about the severe conditions they live in.

From there we travelled to Lake Louise in Alberta with the intention of exploring the Rockies.

We returned to British Columbia a week later on our way from Jasper back to the Pacific coast. We had driven to Prince George from Jasper, an eventful drive during which we saw six bears and a moose. Our B and B was 20kms outside the city. This was brilliant because it was quiet and a mecca for wildlife. Our hosts were of Dutch origin and were so incredibly welcoming. Annika made a cup of tea for us on our arrival (with biscuits) and we sat on the verandah talking and watching the hummingbirds feeding on the syrup feeder. We also did some investigating of the 'garden' and Doug got chatting to Adrian and he was very happy to satisfy Doug's curiosity in all the wildlife that lives there. Adrian showed Doug where beavers had chewed down whole trees, where moose had nibbled shoots of young trees, and where a wolf had deposited a landmine... And did you know that the male moose sheds its antlers every year and they grow back the next year with an extra tine, so one for every year? It really appealed to Doug that you could be walking in the woods and find a big set of antlers just lying there.

Our breakfast the next morning has to be the best meal we had in Canada. We had pancakes with syrup, bacon and a fried egg (well Doug anyway), and lots of fresh coffee. The bacon was extra special: Annika cooked it in the oven, with a coating of pepper and brown sugar so that it glazed. Lip-smackingly delicious! For starters we also had a fine fruit salad with sweet kiwi fruit and perfect raspberries. And an orange juice to wash it all down. Aah, makes us hungry just to think about it.

We set off on our mammoth journey to Prince Rupert absolutely buzzing with all the sugar and caffeine racing through our veins. It was a long and relatively uneventful journey of 700 kilometres, which took us a good eight hours. We stopped for a break in a pretty town called Smithers, where we saw the statue of Alpine Al and his big horn. We arrived in Prince Rupert around 7pm very tired from our journey.

Prince Rupert is a small fishing town on the west coast of British Columbia. It also serves as a stopping point for the Alaska ferry going north, and as the embarkation point for the Vancouver Island ferry going south. This was our reason for being there, and we got up at the ridiculous time of 5:30am to catch this ferry.

The ferry set off at 06:30, and the journey was to take sixteen hours. The scenery was pretty but did not surpass Tofino or the Rockies, unfortunately. We had high hopes of seeing more whales, and indeed someone we spoke to had seen fourteen whales the previous September when he had last been on the ferry. However, we were disappointed to see only two Dall's Porpoise. It was amusing to see how everyone rushed to the starboard bow to see them (and relieve the monotony!) For long parts of the journey the rocking motion of the ferry made us feel nauseus. So, in summary, the ferry journey was disappointing, very long and even now makes us feel ill to think about it!

Two very tired Hudsons arrived at the Airport Inn in Port Hardy at 11:30pm. We crashed out, very glad to be in bed back on solid ground.

The next morning we set off for Nanaimo to catch the ferry across to Vancouver. On the way, we saw two more black bears, which was nice. The ferry across to the mainland compounded our tiredness and nausea, so it was with relief that we eventually reached Vancouver and the Jericho Beach hostel last night. We had had enough of ferries for a while!

World Trip >> Canada >> Rest of BC

Last updated: Sunday August 27, 2006