Banff to Whistler

Cherries for breakfast -yum, yum!! We hit the road at 7:45 to head over the mountains to Whistler (the site of the next winter olympics), it started to rain but by the time we were at the summit it was snowing!!
By the time we started to go down the pass it had turned to rain and then it cleared. Most of the day was driving through the fruit bowl of Canada and most interesting most of the drive was through First Nations (Indian) land. They own the land and it can be leased for development such as housing, hotels roads etc. and these people can never own the land only lease it. This gives them pride and income. Canada was different to the USA in that the Royal Mounted Police were a peace keeping force compared with the US Cavalry who had the charter to subdue the Indians by force. As a result the relationships with the First Nations people are better than the US but there are still poverty problems. We stopped for morning tea, in Merritt, at "Tim Hortons" coffee and donuts, a huge chain but it looked to fattening for us so we had an apple each. Lunch was at Lillooet, the site of one of the Canadian gold rushes. Gold is no longer the main economic base as this has been replaced by tourists - we were one of five tour busses and a large gaggle of bikies, all vying for freshly cooked pies and the use of the toilets. A nice little town followed by a drive through some very dramatic scenery. We are now booked into the Coast Plaza at Whistler, a luxury ski lodge and are exploring a plethora of clubs restaurants and bars, obviously a top spot for the beautiful people to ski.

Beautiful Banff

Late and leisurely start to the day. Caught the gondola to go up to the top of Sulphur Mountain, very quiet and quite spooky due to an overlay of smoke from Washington State. Still very awesome but we loved it, views fantastic. We then went down the gondola and hired a towel and went for a swim in the hot springs, wow they were really, really hot: we were so relaxed it was wonderful. We caught the bus to the fur traders and browsed through the first nations culture etc. In the evening we all went to a dinner restaurent at Cadmore, a mining town just outside the National Park. The show was called Canada Eh!, great noisy fun but to our eyes a tad amateurish, but still good fun. Then home to bed to prepare for our long trip from the Rockies.

Glorious glaciers

First stop was the Athabasca Falls, these were frightenly powerful, 36 year old Dutch tourist fell there last week and his body won't be found for two years. We then went onto the Icefields Parkway and were very lucky to be allocated the front seats. We found Mt Fryett that was named after Dee's grandfather and were able to stop and take photo's. We then moved onto the awesome Columbian Icefields where we had a snow coach ride onto the Athabasca Glacier where we were able to get off and have a walk around - what an experience. It makes you feel insignificant when you are told that you only see 2% of the glacier and that the depth of the ice beneath your feet is taller than the Eiffel Tower. We gave up on lunch as this is one of the most visited icons in the world and you couldn't move near the canteen - no worries. We then moved onto Lake Peyta, what a spot, once again we were in awe of mother nature - just look at this: Weather continued to be glorious so we continued onto Lake Louise (where Dr Zhivago was filmed) just in case the weather changed (but it hasn't). Being a Sunday afternoon everyone and their dog had come out for a play on or near the lake, making this an end to a glorious day.

Joyfull Jasper

Today was our first day in one place, Jasper, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. In the morning we drove up to a mountain lake and had a boat cruise. The lake was called Maligne Lake and we passed First Island, then Second Island and finally came to Spirit Island. The scenery was spectacular, the emerald green water was fed directly from the glaciers and gets its colour from the crushed rock flour from under the glacier, and the lake was surrounded by magnificent mountains, glaciers and fir forrests, just like the postcards. The highlight of the morning was seeing a mother black bear and her two cubs playing on the side of the road and then crossing to the other side. Just when you think you have experienced the best tour of your life you go on another which is just as good. This was our hike on the Edith Cavell Mountain where we saw the angel, ghost and another glacier. We were 6,000 metres high and you could really notice the lower oxygen content of the air. Where the glaciers melt they have formed a small lake before decending down as a river, in this lake was iceburgs that we could reach and hold. This ice was estimated to be at least 10,000 years old. Tonight we go to bed early but tired and happy.

Welcome to the Rockies

Today we drove from the lowlands devoted to agriculture to the heights of the Rockies. The weather has been absolutely wonderful, I think today was 28 max with blue skies just like Australia. We made a stop at the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies and for the first time for our guide it was totally clear with a beautiful blue sky background. We are now at Jasper and before we got to our hotel we stopped off for a rafting adventure, we floated down the Athabacus River, got absolutely drenched but loved every minute of it. I am still having difficulty with posting photos but will try to sort it out soon.

First taste of the mountains

We are now at Sundance Lodge in Sun Peaks, it is a ski resort just outside of Kamloops (meeting of the waters) Our room overlooks one of the ski lifts but, of course, it is not working as there is no snow yet. This morning we had a good tour that introduced us to Vancouver, which was fab, and then it was off on the road. We come back to Vancouver in about 11 days and if we can we would like to go and see a show at "The Bard in the Park" (Thank's Di for your tip). Love to show you pictures but I can't seem to work a decent connection. Perhaps when I get to a proper internet cafe it will be better. Off to enjoy our first Canadian b-b-q, ribs, chicken and salmon -yum yum!!!!

First class flight

When we got to the airport for our flight to Vancouver they had over-booked the flight and there were no seats left for us. That was the bad news, the good news was that they managed to accomodate us on a flight 11/2 hrs later provided we were willing to be upgraded to business class. We both thought long and hard about the choice for about 30 secs and said yes please, this even made up for all Terry's make-up having to go in the hold as it contained liquids & gels. Food was fabulous as was the service, wines, movies and, of course, the stretch out bed/seat. We chewed our nails at Vancouver airport as our luggage was very slow in arriving (we thought it might have gone on the original flight) but it eventually arrived and we have Cathay Pacific a big thank you. A bit jet lagged but are now going out into downtown Vancouver to find somewhere for dinner. Tomorrow our touring starts.

Hong Kong - First stop

Cathay Pacific were very good to us. Our seats were pre allocated and just what we wanted. The food and service is the best we have had with any airline. What a surprise is the new Hong Kong airport and the new town of Tung Chung. For those of you who have experienced the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong this new town is quiet, peaceful and all new soaring steel and glass construction.
Our hotel room, just 10 minutes from the airport, is very Zen in its decor but so comfortable. We have been for a walk and were awestruck at the local supermarket and its amazing array of fresh foods. We had planned to catch the new cable car to the mountain top and adjacent Buddhist Temple, but unfortunately it is still being tested and not yet open to the public. Oh dear!!! We will have to come back again.
We catch the plane to Vancouver this afternoon so we will now go and have a quiet cuppa before we get the shuttle.

Welcome

Hi. Terry and George from Australia would like you to join us on our tour of Canada and Alaska.This is our first attempt at blogging but not our first trip away. We have visited and experienced England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Channel Isles, Paris, Greece, Israel, Egypt, the USA, China, Mongolia, Siberia, Russia, Helsinki, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand and, of course, most of Australia.