Off Roading & Bears!!

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It's 6.40am on Monday morning. I didn't get chance to write yesterday's blog as we had a pretty packed day! I keep waking up early or in the middle of the night which is weird because normally once I'm asleep that's it. Maybe it's still jet lag or just the fact we're going to bed a lot earlier them I normally do back home.

Yesterday we were up about 8 trying to tidy up the hotel room. As soon as we invade one it always gets trashed with our things scattered everywhere and we have to tidy up for the cleaners! Once the room was acceptable we set about putting on some clothes that we didn't mind getting dusty and dirty as first up we had RZR (pronounced Razor) at 10.30. This is basically like a two seater dune buggy with a roll cage. We went to the office to sign in and had to basically sign our lives away on a waiver. It actually says you take full responsibility for any injury or death that occurs to yourself even if they have made mistakes or the equipment isn't up to standard! Whether that's legal or not I don't know but it was sign it or don't do it. We signed up. Then we were walked with some other people to a minibus pick up and driven to the base where we'd get knitted up with helmets and goggles. On the way we stopped at a hotel to pick some people up and in the car park out front there were about 30 super cars. Porsche, Lamborghini, Maserati, and lots of other fast looking cars. Turns out a couple of hundred of them had made the trip from Vancouver to Whistler for the weekend for some sort of cruise event. They all had the doors that lifted upwards to get in and were in lots of different colours, it was a sight to see.

Helmets and goggles on we were introduced to Jordan a tall guy from Vancouver and Mel who sounded like she was from Oz. The other groups only had one person but Mel was training. After a quick lesson on how to operate we hopped in ready to go. Jordan was in his own buggy in front and Mel was in her own behind. Engines started and we were off or so I thought. I was driving first and eased my foot on the accelerator but it hardly moved. After a few seconds of checking it was in drive I pushed down a lot harder and it finally started to go. We set off down tracks and trails over big bumps and rocks with me gaining confidence. We hit almost 40km per hour at one point. We then came to a little obstacle course with deep water trenches and tight turns to test my skills. It was good fun and water came right into the footwell on both sides. We then carried on and stopped at a lake where the water was very smooth and still with mountains in the background. It was pretty but there were lots of bugs and midges. We then got back in and headed on further where Jordan said there was something 'interesting' for us to do next! It was another obstacle course but bigger and with three steep downhill sections which looked almost vertical! We had to follow him down and were instructed not to brake as you'd slide and potentially roll the buggy and to ensure the wheels were in a straight line. This was hard to do as there was a tight turn to line up at the top. I was bricking it and there's no way I would have attempted them voluntarily. But we went down all three. The buggy felt pretty grounded and 'stuck' to the ground so it felt safe but going over the edge and straight down was scary as it felt like a roller coaster at the top of a hill! Next it was time for Steph to have a go but she refused. She'd never driven a quad bike or buggy before so wasn't about to get used to driving one off the edge of a hill first! We carried on and drove to another point where we switched drivers.

Steph was pretty good and got used to driving it and picking the right driving line faster than me. I like to think it was because she'd learnt from watching me! We raced along the trail and stopped at a high viewpoint overlooking a valley of trees with mountains and snow in the background. We got a couple of photos including a photo bombed selfie with Jordan and Mel. We then set off back to base where Steph really put her foot down racing at over 50 km per hour. This kicked up a lot of dust and we got back to base with a mouthful of dust and a five o'clock shadow! We both really enjoyed it a lot more than we thought we would and I'd definitely recommend it. It's a great way of getting out of the town, seeing the scenery and having lots of fun at the same time. After dropping our helmets etc off and wiped down with baby wipes we got the bus back to the village and went back to the hotel for a shower to wash all the dust off and out of our hair.

It was about 1.30 by now and with skipping breakfast we went to find somewhere for lunch. After some hummus and pitta, cocktails and some sandwiches later we walked through the village and picked up a few gifts for people back home and Steph bought herself a hoody. Time ticked by and we headed back to the hotel to get changed ready for the bear tour. We were meeting with the guide at 5.45 at the base of the gondolas. After a 20min walk we arrived. The guide showed up on time and we were riding with a couple from Perth, Australia. Our guide was Mike which I was pleased with. All the reviews mentioned him as the best guide. He'd been studying bears for over 20 years and had even filmed a BBC documentary called In The Company Of Bears back in 1998. He definitely knew his stuff and had a genuine interest in bears which was plain to see.

We jumped in a big 4x4 truck and Steph got a place in the front next to Mike. He decided we'd go up Whistler mountain first and then Blackcomb mountain later. Within about five mins we pulled round a corner and there was a black bear on the grassy ski run just munching away at the grass. Mike instantly recognised her as Alice a 21 year old female and the oldest in Whistler. We were able to get out the truck to get a better view and all you could hear was the clack of the camera shutters. She was probably about 50 metres away. She was unfazed by us and just carried on munching away. We were off to a great start. Mike told us the night before he'd seen 16 bears including 3 bear cubs so we were hopeful of seeing more. About 5 mins later further up the mountain we rounded a corner to see another bear about 50 metres away. This was Brownie a 16 year old female who had had three Cubs during hibernation. We couldn't see the Cubs anywhere. Mike told us they would be up a tree. He explained normally Cubs wouldn't be more than 50-100 metres away from their mother but Brownie was a bit of a tear away mum who was less careful and very often left them up a tree 300 metres away! Mike scanned the trees to try and find them but they were nowhere to be seen. We stayed in the spot for a good 15-20 minutes trying to find them. Brownie then started walking towards the truck and eventually came within about 2 metres! Mike had jumped out and was behind the truck. Me and Steph were on the side where she was with the windows right down. We couldn't believe how close she came and actually started to get worried at one point of how close was too close especially as Mike seemed to have done a runner round the back of the truck! Steph got some amazing photos while she was close and she looked straight at the camera. After a few more mins of trying to find the Cubs we gave up and carried on to try spot more bears.

Further along we came across Olivia a 16 year old bear who didn't have Cubs. Mike explained that the Bears have something called delayed implantation where every year the eggs would be fertilised but would stay dormant for 3-4 months. The bear would then try to fatten up as much as possible for the winter and the body would only implant the eggs if it felt the body was fat enough to survive hibernation and the pregnancy other wise the eggs would die. He explained this had happened to Olivia but the result was that she looked a lot healthier than Brownie and was even looking a bit fat already! Mike told us that Olivia was a bit of a grouch normally and didn't let him get too close but this time we were about 15 metres away. He was happily snapping photos with the rest of us!

We spent the next hour or so winding round the tracks and trails over Whistler Mountain and then up Blackcomb Mountain and managed to see four more bears - Echo an 8 year old female, Ruby another 8 year old female, Bella and another one that was so far in the distance Mike couldn't tell which one it was. About 8.45 we made our way down Blackcomb Mountain just as it was getting dark and Mike kindly dropped us off at our hotel in the village to save us the 20 minute walk. The tour had lasted 3 hours and was very good. Mike knew his stuff about the Bears, their habitat and behaviour as well as the surroundings on Whistler. We had asked lots of questions and you could tell he loved doing what he did in fact the tours came 10 years after he had already been studying the Bears. Passion obviously came first before his job. On the way back to the hotel we tried to tap him up about information for bears further north. We want to do a hike to some lakes called Joffree Lakes which have stunning glacial view water. They are 15 mins north of Whistler. When he found out we were heading north into the Rockies he said there's loads of bears and wildlife up there including Grizzlies. His tone changed and started telling us they were the most dangerous animal in North America and that if we saw one do not get out of the car! Hmm maybe second thoughts about the hike! But we shall see!

Today we have the last adventure tour booked in Whistler and safe to say it's the one I'm least looking forward too. Zip lining across creeks and walking on suspension bridges in trees. My strong fear of heights is about to be tested to the max. I've researched and watched numerous you tube videos to try and prepare but am genuinely scared! I know the biggest drop is 150 feet so have spent the last few days walking around looking at the height of trees trying to figure out what 150 feet looks like! I've been focussing more on the zip line drops but the realisation of the suspension bridges is now kicking in too with two hours to go! Once you've done the first zip line there's no backing out and you have to do them all. I'm praying there's someone on our tour more afraid than me! But I also keep telling myself that we've picked the easiest tour with the lowest drops and it's for families where six year old kids can do it so it can't be that bad? Can it? .......

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Photos

Brownie
Brownie

Olivia
Olivia

Alice
Alice

Ruby
Ruby