Around the World in as long as it takes.

We arrived in Victoria and walked up to the hostel.

We were in the Ocean Island Backpackers in Victoria... which unlike our original impression, turned out to be one of the large Inner City Hostels! ARRGGGHHH !

We hate these places!!!!

Big, Impersonal.... inefficient.... busy.... Trying that little bit too hard to be the Ultimate Backpacker Hostel and yet... forgetting all those things that matter....

A Genuine Hi.... as opposed to the McDonald's "Have a nice day" Commentary!

Drives me nuts up here!

Anyway, the Room was in a Mini Double (which as cheaper)

Ok..... so It's a mini room....... Mini.......... This room was feckin Tiny !!!

And I'm a European and we're used to small rooms (compared to our North American Compadres)

Would love to see an American from Texas or the likes being put in one of these rooms

Anyway.... Imagine a Box.... with a door on the near wall (roughly half the length of the wall)...
a shelf..... on the near wall also.... the bed was a fold out bed... which when folded out was the Width of the room and meant that when it was out... we couldn't open the door completely!

Now to make things worse.... on the near wall (behind the door) was a fridge !!! a Feckin Fridge !!!

What the feck was the point of a Feckin fridge in this bloody room !!!!

The walls were made of Polythene... or so it seemed... and they shook like a cheap Film studio Set when you shut the door !!!

This room was Fun !!!!

Oh, and there was a Bin.... right next to my pillow on the floor next to the bed....

great use of space !!!

So.... as I'd always thought..... get the rooms in to make the Money.... No..no..... of course not.... we care for our guests and this City hostel is not all about "Show me the Money"

I hate these type of hostels !!!!

An another thing.....So where did our bags go........ when the bed was down... there was no floor space..... a couple of hooks (no way could I hang my rucksack up on the wall!!!)

They were shoved at the ends of the bed!

So as you can guess....... We already liked this hostel.

Then came the Kitchen.........

Then the Downstairs Bar........

No Drinking your own booze in the hostel............ which is the ONLY feckin hostel in the whole of Canada that we've seen this (apparently a BC rule) However......... I would be very skeptical about this and think this might have been more to do with Profit... PROFIT....feckin PROFIT !!!

OK one final thing......

No frying in the kitchen....... WHAT ??????

Yep absolutely...... No Frying !

So No Fried egg for brekkie.....

Why I have no idea !!! Apparently (once again) this was a Victoria City regulation.....

Strange or what !!!

Anyway, every cloud has a silver lining and we went out for tea and found a Brilliant Mexican round the corner where we had tea....

including Feckin "FRIED" Beans

The Next Day we met Claudia for Brunch (only a quick visit which was a pity) and then we went down to the dock to meet Joe and Myrna.

They'd already arrived in the Dock and were docked right in front of the Empress Hotel.

Their Boat was a Lovely sailing Yacht and it was brilliant to be back on the water.

We went out for tea that evening having walked around Victoria for a while and through the Empress hotel (which is where Joe and Myrna had spent their Honeymoon some 25 (or so) years earlier)

We left early the next day and set sail for the US !!!

It was a Beautiful Day as we motored out of Victoria harbor.....

Bye Bye Canada !!

It's been "Swell" (If a bit expensive!)

We spent the rest of the day sailing and motoring along the Islands between the US and Canada and porpoise spotting along the way.

We reached Friday Harbour later in the day and Joe took our passports to the Immigration office.

This was quite cool as there wasn't anyone there, but rather a scanner where Joe scanned in our passports and that was that !

Cool !

So we were now in the US !!!

I never thought I'd say I was glad to be in the USA.... however I was !!!

It's much cheaper than Canada !!!

A pack of Ciggies was down to $4...... half that of Canada (up at $9)

We popped to the local pub for a few bevvies and then played cards for the remainder of the evening

Joe woke us up with the Ringing of the Bell at 8am (a lie on whilst on Board we were assured!)

We set sail, however, it was a foggy day and it was raining as we left port.

We decided to head through Deception Pass (against the tide... albeit a slight tide) and then we headed up canal to Anacortes harbour which is where Joe and Myrna's Home Dock.

We tried to catch some crab that night (which was unsuccessful) however, had some lovely tea on board and then played Dominoes until bed time (Mexican Train... a new game which we'd play quite a few more times with Joe and Myrna )

We left the Boat the following morning and drove through the Cascade National Park to Ellensburg (where Joe and Myrna live on a farm)

The Farm grows "Timothy" Grass which is sold to Japan and other places as some of the best hay available....

There was plenty of it about in the Farm anyway and the next Day Joe showed us his stock piled grass in the Barn.

The Next Few Days were to be spent recuperating and preparing for South America.

We've booked our tickets and got our flight and hostel in Quito Organised... so it was time for Steph to wash etc. and me to Update the Blog.... there was a lot of catching up to do....

I also managed to burn our photos onto DVD and we managed to send them home before we head Down South!

It was really nice and Joe and Myrnas as we had our own little room in the building next to the Farmhouse and we did a few walks with Joe up in the surrounding Hills around Ellensburg.

They made us feel totally at home and more than welcome which was much appreciated by the two of us.....

So we said goodbye a few days later and headed to Seattle.

They gave us a lift to the City (right to the hostel doors) as their daughter lived in the city and they'd use the day to visit her also!

We said Goodbye and Thanks and went into the hostel.

Once again... the Green Tortoise Backpackers was a large City Backpackers... However.... this time it was the only backpackers in Seattle.. so beggars can't be choosers so to speak

Today Stephs off Shopping and I'm updating this damn Blog site so we're going to head underground in Seattle to do a tour of the Underneath of the city later today and then tomorrow we're off to Ecuador.... Yee Haaaaa !!!!

I can't wait !!!

Roll on South America.... here we come !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Steph had arranged to meet a friend from Ireland in Vancouver.

Ramona and Brian had both moved to Vancouver to live and they picked us up from the bus depot.

We stayed with them for a night and Brian took us around Vancouver the following day as Ramona was working.

The next day we headed out for Squamish which is in between Vancouver and Whistler. Steph and I had hired a car for a week so we drove ours whilst Ramona and Brian drove theirs.

We arrived in Squamish which was a nice little camp site (very rustic) and set up our tents for the night.

We then popped over to a pub in Squamish town itself and after a few beer wobbled back to the camp site.

Brian and Ramona were climbers so they were at Squamish to climb one of the big rocks that was there.

Steph and I aren't climbers, so the following day we said our goodbyes and they headed off for a climb, while Steph and I headed off for Kamloops.

The weather was nice and the views amazing as we whizzed through Whistler. We stopped off to see what it was like and having seen nothing but new apartment-esque buildings and German and British accents, we headed off from this tourist trap of a place!

The drive to Kamloops was nice with some nice lookouts on the way.

We popped into the Tourist Info place in Kamloops and luckily they informed us that the Hostel (that's referenced in the Lonely Planet) closed down about a year earlier (really starting to get annoyed with Lonely Planet!) and that luckily there was another one on the way up to Jasper.

They phoned and booked us in a dorm for the night, and having stopped for supplies we headed off North.

The Hostel was called the Sun Peaks Resort Hostel and the resort itself was a Ski resort (the second largest in Canada)

It was a lovely hostel (obviously kitted up for the Winter) however, lovely and friendly.

We made a chicken curry and having chatted with the manager and a few fellow hostel stayers, we hit our sacks (our dorm was empty apart from us) would highly recommend this place though!

We set off at 10am which was probably a little late for the distance we had to cover that day.

We headed towards Valemont and into the Mountains.

We stopped at some Waterfalls (think they were called Chute Falls) en route which were nice and supposedly the highest point of the salmon migration and where only the biggest Salmon could be seen jumping up the river..... we were late in the season though so no salmon... nice water falls though!

After a few more miles, Mount Robson started to appear in the distance. It was a beautiful clear day and the snow capped peak towered above us as we neared the Tourist information office in the Mount Robson National Park.

Talk about fantastic view from the office!

We checked out the walks available and since it was getting late in the day, we decided we'd best head off for Jasper.

We passed the Park Entry point and unbeknown to us... we had to pay $20 Park Entry fee.

Now this was a reoccurring theme as we progressed through the Rocky National Parks and became really annoying when you found out that not only did you have to pay to Camp and have a fire, but you also had to pay for the privilege of being there!

This was really strange as when we arrived in Jasper National park by train.... we didn't need a pass.

Seems it's a car thing, so if you're going to Jasper.... arrive by train or say at the gate you're just passing through (i.e. Not staying overnight!)

However, they do check at the Camp sites so if you're camping... make sure you've got one!

Anyway, we arrived in Jasper and drove up to the "Wilderness Lodge" up by Maligne Canyon.

The place was a couple of wood huts on the hillside... very nice, however, $20 each for a bed... no showers... no electricity... and most importantly.... no beer!

No Beer!!! What planet was this place on!

All the HI Wilderness Hostels seem to have this rule (which is stupid in my books!)

Obviously it's to stop the younger backpackers getting wrecked in the hostels overnight... however... the guy reckoned it was because it was catering to the walkers.... my erse !!!

After a long walk there's nothing better than having a cold Beer! In fact, that's what you look forwards to the most!

Anyway... the place was totally catered to Tourists and booked up by German and Brit Tourists... so we left!

We arrived and the Camp Site a bit late and the Queue was large.... about 20 Winnebago’s (big camper Vans) deep.... so we decided to come back later.

We drove up to Maligne Lake and decided to do the Walk along side the lake.

It was a beautiful evening and the Lake looks gorgeous!

On the way back into town we passed a load of cars parked along side the road.

Everyone was watching a herd of Elk and come cariboo that had wandered close to the road. It was really funny as the Large Male was protecting his Harem from a younger male roaming along the edges... however... it got funnier!

Since the large Male was in protective mode... a few tourists decided to get a bit closer for that perfect picture.... the male didn't like this and piled into the tourists and sent them scattering!!! Very funny indeed!

Rule in Canada.... they might look nice.... but they can still hurt ya! And this counts for about everything up here Including some tourists

Feckin Idiots!!!

Anyway, we arrived at the camp site a bit late... the queue was still massive.... and it was getting dark!

Steph decided to rush to the front and play the hapless Girl card... which worked and we got our site number and even got away without having to pay for a fire for the night (which was duly lit within five minutes of arriving at the camp site!)

It was a quiet night and after tea and a Horlicks we decided to hit the sack.

It was a bad nights sleep as Steph and I were still getting used to sleeping in the tent. Booked a camp ground for the tonight in Lake Louise and we headed South.

We stopped at the Athabasca Falls en route and these were quite impressive, if a little busy. There’s loads of Oldies camping in Canada in September as this is the Shoulder season and they get cheaper stuff…. So there’s lots of them about.

We popped to the Athabasca Glacier and walked up to the Toe. It was grey and fairly small which was more the pity when we saw the signs all along the valley indicating where the glacier had reached up to in previous years.

And it’s accelerating.

We watched the Glacier Buses (large buggies similar to those we were on in Churchill) parade up and down the glacier so that some oldies could walk on the thing… however… what I noticed more was that the entrance for the tours was getting closer to the edge of the glacier…. So watch this space… in a few years… they’ll have to relocate further up the hill I’m sure!

The photo says it all anyway!

Next stop was Peyto lake…. Now the colours of this lake were amazing (glacial melt or what!) It was busy as heck though (once again) as we stopped and walked up to the view point, however, a tour bus with loads of Oldies had scooted up to the top car park (for bus tours and handicapped) and so by the time we arrived… the place was mobbed!

We headed to the Camp site in Lake Louise.

First Question : Do you have a park pass….
Answer : No
Second Question : Do you want to camp tonight….
Answer : Yes
Third Question : Do you want a fire tonight…
Answer : ummm…. Well….. Yes!

That’ll be $57 please !

WHAT ???? $57 feck me !!!

To camp in a wood!

That’s 28 pounds sterling!

So after some bitching about having to pay $7 for a fire “Permit”….. how stupids that… we set up camp!

$57 bucks for a night…. I was fuming !

However… so was the fire soon enough as I was determined to use all the facilities and make the most of my “fire” permit while we were there

We popped to the supermarket and chilled by the fire for the rest of the night.

During the night a thunderstorm approached and about 2am it started to poor with rain!

We were in the middle of the trees which sort of helped, however, with lightening shooting down all around us… we decided to get up and move to the car (just in case) This worked out quite well and we slept until about 8am the following morning.

It was fairly muggy in the morning, but Steph and I had already decided to go for a hike up Lake Louise, so we set off to the lake.

We started walking on a fairly steep ascent up to towards Mount Fairview.

After a wee while, we decided to turn back as the peak towered above us (well the clouds did anyway) and it was steep going…. Very steep and in was Snowy on the peak (we could just make out!) Combined with this was the fact that the area of the hike was renowned for Grizzlies

We headed for another less stressful walk… up to St Agnes Tea Shop.

This was still quite a walk up hill, however, at the top of the walk we were rewarded with a tea shop which was reasonably priced too

We were harassed by a local Ground Squirrel though which kept trying to jump into my coffee mug…. Honest

The guy was very entertaining and as he jumped from the table towards my mug, I’d move it away and he’d fall on the floor. Then he’d wander back up and try again

We had most of the tables watching this and laughing for a while… the guy must have been a coffee hound or something

We decided to walk up to the small beehive lookout and got some great views of Lake Louise and the large Fairmount (or Sheraton… whichever) Hotel at it’s base. The colours of the lake were lovely though… however… as we returned then place was full (and I mean full!) of tourists all trying to get their picture with the lake in the background! Very Amusing!

We headed for Canmore… passing some Mountain Goats on the side of the road as we drove along… and passing by Banff (we catch it on the way back)

The Views of the surrounding Mountains were spectacular and we pulled over a few times to take piccies!

Canmore was just outside the National Park (whoopee…. So no $20 fee per night!)

We stayed at the Canadian Alpine Club Hostel (affiliated with HI) which was brilliant! Lovely place with perhaps one of the best mountain views I’ve seen (especially since the view was of some peaks called the Three sisters…. Very lovely!)

The Sunset was a bit of a damp squib though and having chatted to a couple from Manchester for a while, we hit the sack.

Today we head for Calgary (or rather Okotoks) which is where Stuart and Sheena Live.

We drove along a dirt road which took us through the mountain and to say we had some spectacular mountain views I think is an understatement.

Steph spotted this road on the map and decided we'd take the detour.

I didn't want to bother... however... it turned out to be a great call on Steph's behalf and definitely worth the detour.

These guys are pals of mine from Edinburgh and Stuart used to play the drums in the Band I was in for a few years!

We passed the “Erratic Okotok Rocks” as we entered the town (just south of Calgary) which were….hmmm…. a couple of rocks (broken at that) in the middle of a field.

We wound Stu and Sheena up about this fact

Truly Amazing and well worth the detour

Anyway, after some instructions on how to get to their house… we arrived and it was great to spend the evening with Friends who I’d not seen for years (They’d been in Canada for about 4 years now)

It was great to be in a proper bed and eat proper food for a change…. Much appreciated!

We headed off the following day back to Banff…. Stopping for a few postcards and then (much because it’s exactly like Whister) we got out of the Tourist trap!

We had a long drive ahead and we’d thought we’d be able to go hiking in Yoho National Park to the Hoodoo’s.

Unfortunately, it was closed…. Damn!

We weren’t sure why (maybe a bear in the area or something) however… we decided to head for Squalix (half way between Vancouver and Calgary) for the night. It was a long day of driving!

This was a cool Hostel to say the least!

Not too sure when we arrived as the reception was an old supply shop… bit dusty and smelly… however…. The land lady (Blair) convinced us to stay in the dorm (which were old Caboose’s)

Now a Caboose is like the carriage at the back of the train… with a sticky out bit at the top. They were really, really cool and all the original fittings were still inside them… including the chair at the top of the lookout bit on top… You could survey all and sundry from here

We walked down to the beaver dam to see the local beavers… who slapped their tails in disapproval when the dog decided to bounce in the water and try to chase them… whilst some of the other guests kayaked in the free kayak.

On their way back they did spot a black bear crossing the river over to the same side of the river as the hostel… which was amusing, however, as blair commented… that was the point of having the dog at the hostel (who was a big friendly mutt called Samson… quite appropriate!)

He was a great guy and having finished out Spaghetti Bolognese for tea (and having loads left) we decided to spice up his doggie biscuits with a bit of sauce….. which he definitely appreciated (apart from the odd chile in there!)

He was drinking out of the water bucket as we sat by the fire in the evening chatting

A great little hostel and highly recommended.

The Next day we headed for Vancouver…. Popped into the HI Hostel (having dropped the hire car off)… walked around Vancouver a bit and then hit the sack ready for the bus trip and Ferry ride the following day back over to Vancouver Island and Vistoria where we were to meet up with firstly Claudia (as she was working there) and then Joe and Myrna (our cabin mates from the Europa who’d arranged to pick us up there and sail us over to the US!)

Cool

Claudia had agreed to give us a lift so we were all up early and headed for the ferry. It was a 7:30am start so having spent an hour or so waiting in line with all the other cars we finally made it onto the ferry.

It was a pretty miserable day so the inside passage trip (supposed to be one of the most beautiful ferry journeys in the world) was a little drab, however, it was still nice as we sailed through the islands and along side small communities.

We ended up playing poker for a while (using small salt and pepper sachets that we’d borrowed from the canteen as betting chips) and 15hours later we pulled into Port Hardy on Vancouver Island.

It was fairly late so Caludia gave us a lift to the C&N Hostel, dropped us off, and having taken our shoes off to get into the place (a rule that seemed to reoccur quite a bit in Vancouver Island) we headed for an early night.

The Hostel was quite empty in the morning as most of the backpackers had rushed off early to catch the greyhound bus out of Port Hardy at 9am.

Steph and I had arranged to meet Claudia at 10am so after a coffee and a quick chat with the owner / manager (the hostel was OK but just for a night… it was clean though!) we headed off South.

For years I’d wanted to go to Telegraph Cove as I’d seen this was one of THE places in the world to see Orcas. Specifically there was a beach where they rubbed themselves on the pebbles on the shore (no one knows why they actually do this).

It was a short drive and having looked around and popper into the Whale Interpretive centre for a quick overview of the local whales and specifically the Orcas we popped to Alder Bay, where we’d arranged for a whale watching tour.

The tour was to be on a sail boat as this meant we didn’t really use engines and were more likely to get close to the Orcas.

There were also only 12 of us on board which meant there was plenty of room.

Unfortunately it wasn’t windy… so the sails were never unfurled.. however the weather did start to improve slightly and we even saw the sun a few times.

We pulled up to Robson Bight (which is a protected area of the passage) and sure enough there were orcas in the distance.

Having not got too close to them, all of a sudden one decided to head straight for us. It swam right underneath the boat and for us all was perhaps the closest we’d all gotten to an Orca.

The Captain recognized the Orca straight away as “Springer”. This is perhaps one of the most famous Orcas in Canada as it was found abandoned and near to death near Vancouver, however, having been relocated to the Passage it had been adopted by it’s Auntie, which was cool and good success story for everyone involved.

We saw plenty of other orcas and spent most of the afternoon just bobbing around watching the whales.

The Company was called Sea Smoke Whale Watching and although it was not cheap it was well worth it.

After getting back onshore intact we headed off to Port McNeil where we’d booked a small hotel room for the three of us.

The next day we headed for Fort Campbell, where it was raining, but of course.

Vancouver Island seems to have a climate very much like Ireland or the North of Scotland. i.e. if it’s not raining… it’s not normal (so to speak!)

We popped past a Classic Cars festival that was being held in the rain and then after a Starbucks, drove to Nanaimo.

The Hostel was nice, if a little impersonal (most of the residents seemed to be Hotely people staying in a cheap hotel) so we didn’t hang around.

We popped for tea to a great little Mexican called Gina’s which was a little walk away, however, well worth it as it was full (perhaps the only place we saw full the whole day) and it was full of locals (always a good sign!)

Today Claudia left for Victoria, so since we were heading for Tofino, we said our goodbyes and headed to the bus station to catch the bus.

We arrived some 5 hours later (after a nice windy road there) and checked into the C&N Backpackers. It was pretty run down, however, the manager (Rich) was great and more than made up for the haphazard setting of the hostel.

It was central however, and unlike many of the other hostels we’d been at in Canada, only had backpackers in and had character!

It was a crappy day though so we ambled around the town for a wee while, before retiring for tea and chatting with a few other backpackers in the place.

Today it was sunny… so we decided to catch the bus to Long Beach.

Unfortunately... the bus service had changed (no longer summer) so there wasn’t a bus to Long Beach… so we had to change our plans quickly whilst there was nice weather.

We stumbled on a hot springs tour which was reduced in price (from $130 to $85) so we both booked on.

It was still quite expensive for the two of us, however, it turned out to be a great little trip and well worth the money,

We boarded a little Jet boat (of sorts) and together with another 6 people we headed out through the islands off Tofino, heading North.

We spotted Bald Eagles, the odd seal every now and again and then as we headed outside the islands for a while a Grey Whale !

Brilliant…. Our first Grey Whale and one of the reasons (together with Orcas) why we’d been excited about coming to Vancouver Island!

This was included in the price and our driver hung about for 15 minutes whilst we watched and photographed this great animal.

We then motored off to the Hot Springs.

We arrived and were told we had 3 hours on the island.

It was a small walk to the Springs through rain forest and this in itself was really nice as the sun shone through the trees.

We arrived, stripped down and, carefully, tip towed through the rocks to the pools.

They were brilliant ! And Hot !!! How Hot !!!

There was a small waterfall where you could stick you whole body underneath… however being higher up the Springs… they were hotter and after about a minute or two… you had to move before you fainted from the heat !!!!

A great place and unlike any other springs we’d seen in Canada, totally natural and at the time we were there… really quite and reviving.

After two hours of soaking we headed back to the boat.

On the way back we managed to spot a sea otter playing in the seaweed right next to the boat however, no photos ! Damn !

Back at the hostel, we made some tea and chilled watching TV before Bed. A good day in all and an unexpected one! Funny how these unorganized trips turn out to be good eh ?

Today we left Tofino and having walked along the local beach, jumped on the Tofino Bus and headed for Ucluelet (or “Uccie” pronounced “You-key” as the locals call it)

We arrived at the C&N Backpackers in Uccie and it was a lovely hostel. Clean and with it’s own massive backyard with a small beach, it was a great place to spend a couple of days and chill out.

The Dorm were a bit big though, however, it was off peak season and there were only two other people in the dorm with us. The next night there was only us as they checked out that morning.

We’d decided to go for a long walk today (Steph wanting to do the Pacific Rim Trail) so having looked at the map, we decided to head North for Long Beach.

We walked up the road for a few K’s before heading into the forest for a few more and then down some steps onto the beach.

We followed the beach, heading into the forest every now and again, for about 15k’s !!! It was a long walk !! but a worthwhile one as we spotted some garter snakes on the track which were cool.

There were loads of them and they seemed to all be curled around a much larger and less colourful female….hmmmmmm.

After 5 hours constant walking …. We hit Long Beach (Finally !!!)

It’s a lovely beach with Surfers all hanging in the waves and loads of Birds and wildlife playing on the beach itself.

We checked out the Rockpools and found some colourful local rock pool life stuff They also have Purple Star fish here... Honest..... Purple !

After a wee while here, we headed to the bus stop so that we were sure we didn’t miss it back to Uccie as it was the last one that day ! Fortunately we made it…just !

Back in Uccie, we grabbed a chippie and headed back to the hostel for tea and a well deserved beer or two!

Today we headed for Vancouver from Uccie and after a few changes in the bus and having to catch a good old American (sorry Canadian) School Bus half way, we pulled onto the ferry in Nanaimo.

The weather was beautiful and the crossing flat so we sat outside all the way across and watched Vancouver as it rose along the horizon towards us.

Civilization ! finally ! Damn !

Today we changed our plans quite a bit.

We'd been speaking to Claudia and she'd told us about a place near(ish) to Prince Rupert. It was on the border with Alaska and she showed us some pictures of the bears she’d seen there!

This got us excited as we’d not seen any Grizzly bears yet and would love to see some of these guys (in a safe environment also!)

So, in the morning I got on the phone with a few car hire agencies and found one (and only one) that did an unlimited Mieage rental (most of the cars up here work on Mileage)

It was a rainy day in Prince Rupert and by Lunch we’d arranged a car picked it up and were heading out of Prince Rupert and East towards prince George before shooting up North towards Stewart.

It was a journey of about 650k’s and we’d been told to look out for bears on the way.

Our first sighting was of a family of black bears crossing the road in the distance. There was a mother and two tiny cubs close behind, however, they were well in the bush by the time we pulled up to where they’d crossed.

We headed off and after another two hours or so we were on the outskirts of Stewart when Steph Spotted a little black dot on the side of the road.

I slowed down, put my hazard lights on and we pulled up slowly to the black object in the grass.

It was a small black bear eating grass on the side of the road. We pulled up slowely to the guy and he didn’t move…. Not an inch !

Steph was in charge of the camera and we got some brilliant Close up photos of the wee guy!

He was brilliant and after 10 minutes of watching him chomp away on the grass on the side of the road… we pulled away!

So we’d seen a bear close up and we’d not even reached Stewart yet!

We pulled in and went to our little hotel for the night. It was great little place and we decided that since it was only about 5 o’clock we’d head over the border to Hyder (Alaska)

This meant we’d have set foot in Alaska (which was originally one of the places we wanted to go, however price constraints stopped this!)

We crossed the border without going through customs (ensuring we had our passports with us for the return leg however) and headed up a dirt track towards the River Viewing Platform.

This was where (with a bit of luck) we’d maybe get to spot a Grizzly or two!

We arrived and found out we had to pay ($10 US) each for 24 hours at the viewing platform, however, we were told that at the other end there was a grizzle already there… eating fish!

WOW….. he was a small one…(so we were told) however he was cool and in his peak conditions (we were also told) as his fur hadn’t started to shed ready for his winter coat!

There were loads of Salmon in the river as we walked past and after about 5 minutes the grizzle left (having had his fill)

We thought we’d wait around for a while longer (since we’d paid the $10 entry fee)
and after half an hour a large Black Bear Strolled up the river.

This guy was big! However, he didn’t hang around as he strolled up the river… looked at the salmon in it… decided best not to bother fishing and then strolled away into the bushes!

After another half and hour another smaller black bear appeared under a bridge by the river. He popped his head up and then headed off as quickly as he’d appeared.

Then a larger Grizzle popped his head out by the side of the walkway overlooking the river.

The walkway was elevated to allow people to view the bears in comparative safety (for the bears and the people) however… in between getting on the walkway and getting to/from your car… you were in bear country.

This was quite funny as when the larger grizzle poked his head out of the bush it was right next to one of the wardens who was just about to walk to his car.

The Warden froze in his tracks…

The Grizzle looked him up and down….

Then walked down to the river to start feasting on the salmon

Very amusing (not so much for the warden!)

All the bears seemed really uninterested in their human watchers and acted normally.

It was a brilliant place and having seen a quick glimpse of a couple of small grizzle cubs and their mother behind some trees, we decided we’d head back to Stewart for tea.

We crossed the border and wre asked a few questions about where we'd been (which the guy seemed thoroughly used to tourists doing this day excursion) and popped back into Canada waving goodbye to Alaska after our 4 hour trip there!

We grabbed a pizza and eat it in bed whilst watching the TV which was in the room!

What a day trip and a diversion and thank you Claudia for making us detour over 1000k’s to see these guys.

They were brilliant !

The next day we headed back to Prince Rupert to get the car back for lunchtime and chilled for the remainder of the day.

We’d booked our ferry to Vancouver Island for the following day (along the Inside passage) and Claudia having returned from the Queen Charlottes offered us a lift to the ferry and to the hostel in Port Hardy.

The scenery en route to prince George was beautiful, however, we’d been unlucky with the weather and most of the mountains were caped in cloud.

It was still a nice train journey (albeit it a full one) and for us a relatively short one, taking some 8 hours to get to Prince George.

We pulled into the station and walked with our rucksacks to the Hotel we’d booked online for the night (Another Internet deal)

Prince George was pleasant enough, however, there wasn’t much to do there and having been told this, we were there for the night before we boarded the train early the next morning to head to Prince Rupert.

The weather hadn’t changed much and although the train rolled up and down through gulleys and along ravines, cross massive bridges and along mountain sides, much of this was obscured until we reached closer to the coast where the weather broke and we were able to glimpse the water falls and snow capped mountains alongside the track.

The rivers and water looked clear and crisp and at 8pm (on time !!!! Shock horror !!!!) we pulled up to Prince Rupert Station where Christie (the lady owner of the hostel) picked us up and took us into town.

The Pioneer Hostel looked lovely and was very clean and we also had a double room booked for the three nights we were going to stay there. We were both grateful and after a quick lunch down by the waterfront and a lovely Sunset in one of the local pubs, we hit our sacks.

It was a bright sunny day and feeling lazy after a couple of days on the train we just wandered around Prince Rupert.

This didn't take too long so we ventured into the museum.......... didn't take that long either!!!!

It was a small museum, however, it was an interesting one and we spent a while musing over the Haida Artwork and the carvings.

Later on that evening we decided to have a barbeque and a campfire with a kiwi couple..... this ended up with the entire hostel joining us and an arranged camping trip on the Queen Charlotte Islands with the kiwi couple (steve and natalie) in a few days!

The following morning wasn't quite as sunny but we hired bikes from the hostel and cycled through the mist! Our determination was rewarded with sunshine and the ride was actually enjoyable (not as many bloody hills as Jasper!!).

We cycled to the South Pacific Cannery Museum which looked quite spooky with mist still surrounding it! A train came flying past the cannery just as we were leaving and I had never seen Alan move so fast for his camera!

On the way back into town we stopped at the amazing Bhutze rapids........... a natural phenonemon where the great tidal changes create some stunning rapids! The walk there was 20 minutes and ok, it was through forest. We arrived at the lookout to see ...... flat calm waters......... no rapids at all so we turned around and followed the same 20 minute trail back! Maybe if you visit them at high or low tide then it would be a little impressive!!!!

So after the 40 minute wasted walk, after cycling 30 kms, we got back onto the bikes and cycled Prince Rupert bound!

A much needed beer was needed before Alan wandered to the chippy and came back with scrumptious fish and chips (halibut is the best).

Of course we went for a cheeky at the nearest and dearest bar before we crashed!

We woke up with Natalie bamging on our door telling us there were some deer in the garder outside... right next to the hostel. We managed to get a quick piccie, however, apparently, these were regular visiters to the hostel and even the guys camping in the garden had gotten used to having them wonder by for their morning feed!

Today we're on the Ferry over to the Queen Charlotte Islands for a few days with Steve and Nat