October 09, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Campbell River, Wildlife Tours
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We’re just back from an absolutely fantastic holiday in BC and can’t wait to go back! Having had the holiday of a lifetime we thought we'd share our top tips/experiences with you.
First for the big one.
Knight Inlet Lodge – the most amazing experience, such that I'd suggest rearranging your entire holiday if necessary to get this in! It’s a floating lodge up in the middle of nowhere (quite literally – access is via floatplane from Campbell River!) set in the most amazing unspoilt scenery.
Your days are packed, and I do mean packed (breakfast is at 6:30am, dinner at 7pm) full of various activities allowing you to see grizzly bears in their natural environment and at close quarters. We were there when the pink salmon run occurs – though this year numbers were incredibly low which was worrying. Having said that, it didn't spoil it as we still managed to see lots of bears.
Bear watching via boat, from watching platforms, from kayaks (a must-do even if you’ve never kayaked before), oh and some bear tracking action too. It really is incredible, there’s no other way to describe it.
The staff at Knight Inlet are seriously fantastic, so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about bears and conservation it makes the entire experience unforgettable. If you can, maybe keep it near the end of your trip as you’ll be exhausted – if in the nicest possible way – at the end of it.I wish I could go back!
And a few other little tips...
If you're in
Vancouver and it’s a nice day, hire bikes and cycle the sea wall round
Stanley Park. It's a totally different perspective on city life and there are some great views on the way round and plenty of nice spots to sit and have a picnic. When it comes to restaurants, try the restaurant at the
Century Plaza Hotel, we really rated it (the hotel is super nice and brilliantly positioned too). They also have a huge wine list…
If you're heading to
Victoria, we’d highly recommend the
Inn at Laurel Point – fantastic position for the views, super quiet and very swanky. Definitely one of our favourites. If you’re going whale watching, try
Great Pacific whale watching tours – our guide was incredibly passionate and knowledgeable and we had great success – saw countless orcas (two pods met the day we were there which is unheard of apparently), grey whales and humpbacks. Not bad!
Whistler – if you do one thing make it
zip-trek, in other words flying through the trees on a zip wire. It’s seriously good fun – even in the pouring rain – and a great way to see the rainforest and valley from all sorts of angles (even upside down!). And if you haven't considered it, look into getting the
Rocky Mountaineer back down to Vancouver – I'm not a big train person but I absolutely loved it. The scenery is breathtaking.
October 08, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Summerland, Dining
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My husband and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary at the
Victoria Road Deli and Bistro last weekend. It was great. Ari Neufeld was performing live... his music is really quite romantic in a quirky way!
We shared the crab and halibut cakes to start... it is a new recipe and we hope it makes it to the regular menu rotation. It was so fresh, big chunks of halibut, crab and celery. Yum.
My husband had the lamb special with plum and port reduction. Was as good as it sounds! I had the Vic Rd's version of Chicken Cordon Bleu... similar but much tastier! It is served with gnocchi in a creamy sauce with red peppers and spinach. Ahhh.
After dinner and live music we walked through downown Summerland window shopping. Perfect end to the evening.
October 07, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Chase, Wildlife Tours
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The Adams River sockeye salmon run is shaping up to be the largest in the past 100 years! Already the river is crimson from bank to bank, with large numbers of salmon still to come.
My family and I have been spending lots of time in Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park. The trails are well maintained and allow excellent viewing of the salmon. They are also self guided interpretive trails, containing just about everything you need to know about salmon, their life cycles and the environment.
During the salmon festival (October 2 - 24) the park is a hub of activity. The parking lot area has concession stands, displays from local artisans and a tent run by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
People are literally coming from around the world to catch the 2010 salmon run. What is holding you back?
October 07, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Dawson Creek, Accommodation
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We just spent the most wonderful weekend of peace and tranquility and disconnect from the modern world of technology at
Torwood Lodge just 2 hours away from Dawson Creek.
It was a much-needed weekend to get away from our usual routines that include TV, phones and computers and busy schedules that leave little time for relaxing.
The lodge is nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains with Williston Lake in the front yard. Wow! A scenic drive from Dawson Creek, to Hudson's Hope and a few miles farther takes you to wilderness paradise!
We couldn't have chosen a better time of the year either. Fall was in full bloom with leaves of orange, red and yellow. The air was fresh and cool and clean and smelled of spruce trees and cold water. We played golf and hiked and sat and soaked up the sounds of the lake and the forest and thoroughly enjoyed being catered to by really friendly staff.
We could have gone fishing and for a horseback ride and next time we hope to.
We ate like royalty and slept in big comfy beds way past our usual morning routine. We will definitely go again next year!
October 05, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Whistler, Snowmobiling
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Snowmobiling in BC is really unlike anywhere else in the world. Terrain features range from family trails to remote club cabins managed by clubs, to wide open alpine terrain and massive icecap features where travelling for days while never crossing a single track is uniquely possible.
Whether your style of riding is a family gathering for an ice fishing day on a lake, or big mountain powder turns on sweeping glaciers, your snowmobiling day in BC is likely to be one of your greatest all time "bucket list" items to do.
October 02, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Vancouver, Hiking
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This past weekend, I decided it was time to
stop talking about enjoying all of the amazing things you “can” do in Vancouver
and instead… make it happen! After all, this is an amazing city with
all kinds of outdoor activities available right at our doorstep. Just
check out a local’s perspective on the Tourism Vancouver website to see what I mean. (Just for the record… I want to try all of these within the next year!)
So, with that in mind, I decided there is no better way to test one’s
physical condition than to go ahead an climb a mountain…right!?!? When
you look North from downtown Vancouver, there are many amazing
mountains that fill the skyline. The biggest of these mountains is
Grouse Mountain.