A walk in the rain

When we woke it was still raining and it didn't stop until late in the afternoon. We packed up camp and drove to the beach, where we paid 15 dollars to go on the beach for a walk. We both dressed head to toe in our rain gear and headed out into the storm. The beach was amazing. The rainforest ended with dwarf trees warn down by the wind, making an almost impenetrable barrier to the beach. Then there was a thick layer of drift wood and finally the beach and the wild Pacific ocean. We managed a rain and windswept walk, then drove the winding road down to Victoria. It was on 250 kms, but due to the rain, twisting roads, traffic lights on the motorway and rush hour traffic it took over 4 hours. We eventually found a campsite run by a German who likes to drive around in a golf cart (Thatis lake). Once settled we took a taxi into Victoria and ate at the Wharfside restaurant, where we'd eaten 7 years ago on a previous trip. Once done we had a walk through the town and caught a taxi back to the campsite. I like Victoria much more than Vancouver. I think it's because of the setting in the bay and it feels much more intimate and friendly. If I was to come and live in Canada, I think I'd want to live here. Well, time to get some sleep and hope for a dry day tomorrow.

Rain, wind and driving

We woke up pretty late for us at 08:00, had breakfast and headed off on a nearly 500 km drive to Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver island. People come here to see the rainforest and surf. Well today it's definitely getting a lot of water. It's rained pretty much all day and the wind is extremely strong, gusting to 120 kms per hour. All this means we haven't really done that much today except drive and have a look at Ucluelet and the nearby Tofino and take a quick peek at the beach and Pacific Rim national park. Tomorrow we're heading for Victoria and we'll either take the boat straight to Vancouver or hang around the city. Fingers crossed that it stops raining.

Eagles and whales

Yesterday we floated down the Bella Coola river looking for wildlife. I never thought I'd be in a situation where balled eagles were the most common bird in sight. They were everywhere. We also saw some massive salmon on their way to spawn and the footprints of a grizzly bear which weighed an estimated 600 kg. After the rafting we went on a cycle ride to Bella Coola, stopping off at a trail through giant cedars, a salmon hatchery and to watch salmon spawn and die in the river. We then had a meal which cost almost nothing and got an early night ready for the ferry trip the next day.

Next day

Got up at 5:15 and headed for the ferry terminal in Bella Coola. The clouds started coming in and by the time we were underway it was overcast and pretty cold on deck. We saw a massive group of dolphins, probably 100 plus, some humpbacks, orcas, gray and wright whales. Most of them were at a distance, but the dolphins came in close. Were now an hour away from docking in Port Hardy on Vancouver island after a 13 hour trip, which cost over 600 dollars. Once there we have a campsite booked and we'll be straight off to bed on a full stomach of fries, since they didn't have any vegi food on the boat.

Flying

Since I last wrote we've seen a black bear on the road just outside our campsite in Risk Creek. We've fallen out of a Canadian canoe in Nimpo Lake (lucky we'd only just got in and the water wasn't cold). We swapped the canoe for a motor boat which was much more stable. On the lake we saw Loons which make the most amazingly loud noise. I went for a 10km run near the lake which felt good. The campsite only took 1 RV and we were the lucky one. We were surrounded by log cabins right on the edge of the lake. I had a swim after running and the water was perfect. Some people staying there had flown in from Portland and their float planes were parked on the jetty. Today we got up early and flew in a Beaver over the ice fields and landed at Hunlin falls where we walked to the top of the waterfall. On the flight back we flew very close to the rainbow mountains, which were very colourful due to the volcanic rock. The flights were amazing. Once back on the ground we drove over the highway 20 which turns into a gravel road and zigzags steeply into Bella Coola valley. It was an exciting drive mostly done in the lowest gear with spectacular views. We camped in Gnomes home campsite and went down to the water to see what we could see. In the end we saw a bald eagle, heron and a couple of seals. Now it's time for bed. We have another busy day tomorrow on a wildlife spotting trip on the river.

Fun on the water

kayaked on a large lake near Jasper. It was a twin with a rudder and turned out to be a lot of fun. Saw an Osprey, some dear, some kind of giant goat but no bears. Walked up a very steep hill for 5 kms, then walked back down. Scenery is amazing, but I'm amazed by the lack of birds. We only saw about 3 today. I'm wondering if they were all shot! Anyway, time to sleep. I have a 700 km drive tomorrow.

Jasper

Today we drove 330 kms to Jasper in Alberta. It cost 39 dollars for 2 days in the national park. We found a camp site near town without electricity, but we can do without for a while. Once settled in we went up one of the mountains in a cable car, then walked the last bit to the summit. It was a steep climb, but the view was amazing. My cold is now coming out, so I'm sniffling a lot. Tonight, we cooked on the camp fire, potatoes, corn and vegi sausages. Now it's 23:30, which is really late for us, but of course we went over into another time zone and lost an hour. Well, time to blow my nose again and get some sleep.

A walk in the park

Today we walked some of the trails in Wells Gray Provincial park. It was wet from a night of rain, but luckily didn't rain and ended up with a clear blue sky. We saw 3 waterfalls. One of them, Heimcken Falls is amazing. We walked along a 4 km trail and almost fell over the edge of a massive cliff with the waterfall thundering below. The water gushes out of a shallow ravine and drops just over 141 meters. It really was worth the walk, although you can drive right up to it, but that's not the same. We also did some almost off road with the camper, driver over some really rough roads. Luckily, nothing dropped off. Later we camped on the same camp site as last night, the Country Inn in Clearwater. We cooked vegi sausages over a fire, did some washing and now it's time for some sleep ready for a long drive to Jasper tomorrow.

A long drive and more rain

Got up early and headed back to Whistler for some throat tablets and pain killers. I can't believe I have a sore throat. It's the kind I always get before a cold, or sometimes it just goes away. I'm hoping for the latter. We then drove over 500 kms to Wells Gray Provincial Park passing some pretty amazing mountain scenery on the way. At one point we were really high up on a plateau driving by beautiful lakes. It was very challenging driving, but my tom tom navigator got us here in time to find a campsite and build a fire. Then it started to rain, so we ate inside, had a shower and I think it's going to be a very early night. I'm also wondering when this will get to my blog, since I have no signal at the moment.

Rain

Today it rained. Not all of the day, but a big chunk. We woke early and drove north of Vancouver on the sea to sky highway 99. We stopped in Squamish and had a look around. I could see that the nature was amazing with high mountains and sheer cliff faces, but the town itself wasn't much. We headed north to Whistler and stopped off on the way at Brandywine Falls for a walk and a look at the waterfalls. We took a pretty challenging path through dense forest to a rope bridge, then took the main trail back to the car park. All in all about 10kms. We saw some pretty fresh bear droppings, so I was making as much noise as possible on the way down. We then drove onto Whistler and tried to book into the campsite Unfortunately it was full, so we ended up driving back almost 60kms towards Squamish until we found a nice campsite in the woods. Now we've eaten and its time to wind down for the evening. The weather forecast is looking better for the coming days, so fingers crossed.

Fort Langley

Today we woke early and got a call from my mother in law who is also on vacation in Canada. She was traveling from the rockies to Surrey just south east of Vancouver and would arrive between 16:00 and 17:00. So we headed to Fort Langley which is close to Surrey. We took a look at the old centre and walk a trail along the river. It is an old fur trade town with some nice restaurants and a fort museum. Once we'd seen the sights we headed off to Surrey and had dinner with my mother in law and her sister. Now its time for an early night. Tomorrow we're heading for the mountains I've been seeing in the distance for the last 2 days.

The camper

We got up early, mainly because of the jet lag, and headed off to pick up the camper. It's one of the smallest they have, but it's still massive when you're driving it. It's a Ford van conversion with shower, wc, microwave etc... The bed is above the front seats so not much headroom, but I think it will be ok. We went straight from the RV pickup to a camp site in Bernaby just outside Vancouver. We had our first "backing up" adventure and managed not to break anything. We then went to a nearby shopping mall, then onto Vancouver using a monorail they call the skyway. We had a bit of a stroll round, I bought a gps and some clothes from an outdoor shop, ate at a restaurant in gastown (oldest part of Vancouver) then came back to the campsite. It's now 21:30 and I'm ready for bed. No running today, but a lot of walking.

Long flight

It was a 9 hour flight from Amsterdam to Vancouver. Luckily we were in comfort class, so I had room for my knees. I managed to watch 2 movies and read most of a book, but didn't sleep at all. I just have to stay awake now until a normal bed time (9 hour time difference). I think being pretty fit helps with the jet lag. Although I have a sore right achilles tendon and the flight didn't help much. I just have to stretch it a lot and hope it goes pretty quickly.

It's now 19:50 Canadian time and we're trying to stay awake until 21:00. It's not easy. We're staying the first night in the airport Raddison, then picking up the camper tomorrow. It was 31 degrees Celsius today in Vancouver. I hope it's as nice tomorrow for our first night in the camper. Well I'm going to carry on watching the TV to stay awake.

Going on vacation

I've been training hard. It's now vacation time. I'm off with the wife for two and a half weeks in Canada (BC) in a camper. I'll try to post from my blackberry while I'm away and of course I'll be running a lot.