The Travel Bug – Into the Wild

August 23, 2010

Arriving in Vancouver after a 15-hour flight, tired and a little sore, sleep was the last thing on my mind. The excitement of being in a place I dreamed of visiting since my childhood clearly outweighed any fatigue I was suffering.

First stop was a whirlwind tour of the city. It’s a pretty and bustling port town, full of friendly folks. The sea flanks the western side of the city, with mountains to the east, so there’s no shortage of things to see and do for the outdoor types.

Leaving the big smoke I headed east, travelling along the US/Canada border for four hours to a town called Osoyoos. It’s in a piece of Canada known as the Okanagan, more specifically the southern part of it. This region is dominated by agriculture, and believe it or not, it’s also the site for Canada’s only desert. Who would have thought that a place renowned for big mountains, forests and snow would have an arid desert landscape – complete with cacti and rattlesnakes!

Here I visited Nk’Mip Desert Heritage Centre to learn a little about the local flora and fauna, and also gain a better understanding of the First Nations people (Indigenous peoples of Canada) that have inhabited the area for thousands of years. It was a real eye-opening and educational experience.

Travelling north along the Okanagan Valley I arrived at Hester Creek Estate Winery. It’s one of the many vineyards that makes this area so popular for tourists. Here I tried a few of the local drops and was amazed by the great quality of the wine. The most interesting thing though, was learning about ice wine. It’s a unique dessert wine made from grapes that have frozen several times and then harvested at a temperature below -10 degrees celcius. It’s in high demand and regarded as one of the best stickies around.

Heading further north I eventually made my way to Kelowna, a picturesque town on the shores of Lake Okanagan. This place encapsulates the lake culture of Canada. The water is alive with wakeboarders, paddlers and skiers, with countless people swimming and enjoying barbecues on the beaches. It’s not something you read much about, but judging by the number of people here, it’s an important part of Canadian life. My lodging was a boutique hotel called The Hotel Eldarado. It sits right on the water and has fantastic dining – definitely a place I would like to stay at again in the future.

The next morning it was time for something a little more physical, a bike ride with Monashee Adventure Tours cycling along Myra Canyon. It was once a railroad but today people cycle and hike along the disused track, which features over 18 trestles and 2 tunnels. My guide was a crazy character called Ed. He’s a wealth of knowledge and really passionate about the area and life in general. The ride itself is very easy and incredibly scenic, and the history that Ed imparted made it an interesting and relaxing couple of hours.

Later that day I continued my northward journey to a place called Sicamous. The purpose of the stop was to get another taste of Canadian lake culture, this time aboard a houseboat. Spending your holidays onboard a luxurious floating home is something that people here love, and it’s easy to see why. The mountain scenery is spectacular and the slow pace of life on the water makes a change to the hectic schedules most people lead. I could have easily spent a week on the Twin Anchors houseboat, swimming in the clear lake and having barbecues on the beach, but as always I had somewhere to be.

From one extreme to another! Next activity on the itinerary was downhill mountain biking at Sun Peaks Resort – a world class ski resort that in summer is a haven for adrenalin seeking, gravity assisted mountain bikers. After picking up some rental gear from Time 2 Ride Bike Shop, I hit the slopes accompanied by a guide. Having little experience in this pastime, it was a baptism by fire, but wearing plenty of protective apparel gave me enough confidence to really enjoy the day and take advantage of what I was told is one of the best places on the planet for the sport.

I finished the afternoon with something a little more passive – a voyager canoe paddle on a tranquil lake. It was a trip back in time where the guide explained Canada’s fur trading past while we slowly made our way across the glassy waters looking at the resident wildlife. To cap things off, we indulged in a fur trader’s feast for dinner, which included a stew made with Bison meat!

The final stop of my trip through British Columbia was a morning jet boat tour at Blue River, on the edge of the Rocky Mountains. The boat ride took me through the Monashee and Cariboo Mountain Ranges, along a spectacular glacier-fed waterway and into bear habitat. I had been looking forward to this since landing, and it didn’t disappoint. Within 15 minutes I was a mere 10 metres away from a wild black bear that was wandering along the waters edge. These often demonized animals are fascinating to observe in the wild and in the half hour that followed I encountered several more feeding bears. A special thanks has to go to the River Safari team for a unique experience I’ll never forget.