The Quest for the Holy Mall!

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Well in the last 8 days I we have traveled almost 3000km through landscape ranging from tropical forests to desert wineries to glacier fields and back again. We got a hire car and then tented along the way. Was a bit wiered being on the wrong side of the road!

Highlights were:

The Rock Mountains and the engineering needed to create a road through them.

The wildlife including wolves, moose, deer and birds (eagles, osprey, quails and ducks) but unfortunately no bears despite Jason’s reassurance that we would soon see one…

The fried halibut and chips at a shop claiming to have “the best chips in the world” - apparently that means their allowed to charge $10 for one piece of fish and a few bits of potato.

Having my $100 note held up to the light and inspected with a suspicious eye when trying to pay for my burger at a fast food outlet.

Nearly falling into some rapids in which I would have surely drowned as a large truck passed while I was trying to get a good photo (I was standing on the rail of the bridge at the time).

Walking on the Athabasca Glacier when it was snowing and 0 deg.

Rock climbing in Skaha (gneiss) and Cache Creek (limestone).

Jason going for a dip in a half frozen lake.

Seeing the ridiculously big pick-up trucks / SUVs (twin cab utes) some of which took up almost the entire lane.

Visiting the wineries and seeing the Okenagen Falls - among others.

Not having to pay excess when we hit a bollard in our hire car while leaving a fast food establishment. Hello comprehensive insurance! That’s 2 from 2 for you NZ trip boys.

Seeing an aurora borealis (green) on the overnight drive to Edmonton from Jasper.

The fact that if a small town had only 6 buildings in it, it was a certainty that at least 2 of them would be burger joints of one kind or another (there are many more here than in Aus).

The West Edmonton Mall! This place has 2 cinemas, an ice rink, a full size water park and wave pool, a rollercoaster and video game plaza, seal shows, flamingos, 3 submarines that offer trips underwater and around the full size pirate ship…the list goes on. We spent 7 hours there and weren’t bored!


All in all a great trip and a must to for any visitor to Canada!

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