Sunday 2

Kamloops isn't much to write home about, however we spent a pleasant morning up Sun Peaks, just 30 mins up the road. It certainly lived up to its name - it was hot and sunny and covered in alpine flowers which were very beautiful. On leaving there at 1pm we had another scenic drive most of it alongside the North Thompson river arriving at Valemount at 5pm.

Saturday 1

Left Whistler at 10:45 am local time. Drove the 5 hour trip through the mountains via Pemberton and Lillooet where a large area of the Forrest was on fire. The air was rather hazy. We heard on the news tonight that the residents are on evacuation alert. The drive through was spectacular and very different. Quite arid and dry. Once through the mountains we dropped down into Cache Creek, a bit of a backwater trading post where fuel prices had been hiked up. As we approached Cache Creek the scenery changed and we saw some ranch type beef farms and even one dairy farm, which I was surprised at. The drive on into Kamloops was again breath taking as we drove along the Thompson river. The evening meal was a visit to MacDonalds, Caroline's standards are slipping!! This evening we were entertained by live music in the park down by the river.

Link to some pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/steveford53/Cannada

Friday 31

Nearly overslept which sent Caroline into a flat spin meaning we were queing for the Gondola for 20 minutes before it opened.
Went up Whistler mountain today on the Peak Express. The temp was 10 oC lower than in the village below, even so it was very hot, somewhere in the region of 22 - 25 oC so down in the village it would have been too hot.
Took the longest peak to peak unsupported gondola in the world between Whistler and Blackcomb peaks. Had to stay in our pod due to the fires still burning. Views were spectacular.
Came down around 4pm and saw 3 bears from the safety of the pod. Went for a welcome cool off in the pool before tasting the Indian Cuisine.

Thursday 30

Left Parksville on Vancouver Island after a very hot night and an early morning walk up the beach. The ferry crossing was calm and after landing at Horseshoe Bay we drove up to Whistler. Stopped off at The Shannon Falls at Squamish. Spectacular drive on the sea to sky highway!
Arrived here in Whistler to see Helicopters and Planes dropping water bombs onto a fire that had broken out due to a lightening strike earlier in the day. Blackcomb mountain had been evacuated and closed and we could see the flames from Whistler village.

Wednesday 29

Well, while you're sleeping at 4.45 am, it's 8.45 pm here and we're sitting on the balcony overlooking the Georgia Straits of the Pacific Ocean in temperatures of 30 oC looking out on the islands and mountains beyond. People are still swimming in the sea - which we did earlier. It is very calm and warm. It took us about 5 hrs drive to get here from Hidden Cove Lodge and I actually did some driving as the roads are extremely quiet. We self catered tonight as we have a kitchen in our Ocean Suite! Well as you can see Caroline is really enjoying herself and proud of her driving!! The contrast between here and Hidden Cove Lodge is vast, sand, quiet still, shallow warm waters as oppossed to rugged cliffs and inlets of deep waters at Hidden Cove.
Catch the ferry off the Island tomorrow and head for Wistler. Temperatures look set to reach 30 oC and 35 - 39 oC by the weekend. Don't you wish you were here?

Link to some pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/steveford53/Cannada

Tuesday 28

An amazing day - the boat picked us up from the jetty at the lodge. It was pretty cold as we hurtled south in search of whales, dolphins, porpoises, sea lions and seals - and we weren't disappointed. We were also entertained by the police chief who was taking 3 weeks vacation and was helping out as a crew member. We were given some very interesting information eg apparently whales can be recognised by the noises they make. Stephen was so enthralled by the whole experience he told me he had taken 360 photos!!!!
On our return we took the car to Telegraph cove where all the wooden houses were built on stilts - it was like stepping back into an old american movie. We had a drink on the deck over looking the harbour before moving on to Port McNeil. We ended the day having our evening meal watching the racoons on the veranda, the herons and a beautiful red sunset.

Link to some pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/steveford53/Cannada

Monday 27

Left Vancouver this morning at 8am to drive the 20km to Horseshoe bay to catch the ferry to Vancouver Island. The 20ks should have taken 20 minutes but took and hour due to the inaccurate Google maps. Any way still arrived in time to claim our reservation so set sail at about 10:15am arriving on the island at 12 noon. We then had a 4 hour drive to our destination, Hidden cove lodge, truly hidden down a 3km dirt track which ends at the sea. The lodge is a wooden construction that barely has enough electricity or running water to function adequetly. There are notices in the rooms to be economical with showers and "no baths to be taken" as electricity is generated by wind and solar power. Very Eco friendly! Also, needless to say there is no Internet access so you will not be reading this until we get back to civilisation in a couple of days.
Off whale watching tomorrow, being picked up from Hidden cove lodge jetty, right from the front door so to speak.

Link to some pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/steveford53/Cannada