Madness on the Moose Bus

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After another short stay with Tim & Emma I boarded the Moose bus for 5ish days of mayhem en route to Banff in the middle of the glorious Rocky Mountains in Alberta. We were a motley bunch of Aussies, Kiwis, French, Dutch, Italian, Irish, Chinese, and even a couple of Canadians.

Day one saw us leave sunny Vancouver and head for Scotch Creek on the shores of Lake Shuswap. Along the way we visited Bridal Falls and Kawkawa Lake arriving just in time for the boys to take a quick dip in the freezing waters before dinner. We ate the pub next door that night and were treated a pretty terrible band (though they did play Sweet Home Alabama which was the highlight) before we fled for the relaxing waters of the hostel's hot tub. The aforementioned nationalities + beer + hot tub is bound to end in some great stories... lets just say one person lost their boardies, one took a dive over the railing and is now known as Batman, some of the boys got a little closer than you'd usually get on day 1 of a 5 day tour and one of us ended up with a pretty impressive bruise. Ahh beer, bringing crazy people together since god knows when.

Day two dawned bright and early and with hands holding heads together we set off toward the rockies. We saw waterfalls, lakes, glaciers and mountains galore. There was go-karting & kayaking on the most picturesque lake Williamson, and before we knew it, we had arrived in the mountain town of Banff, our stop for night two. Begging saw heads many were keen for a quiet night in, but given that there was some crazy fun going down in town, and it was one group member's last night with us, we all rallied together and set off to see the bright lights of Banff (it was really hard to convince us!). There was drinking, dancing, more drinking, and somewhere along the way we made it home.

Day three we awakened to clouds, which thankfully burned off before lunch. Our first stop was the beautiful (but freezing) lake Louise which I had heard so much from Tash about over the years. It was pretty amazing, and the members of our group who were due to start work there for the summer were looking forward to it. More beautiful mountains, lakes & falls led us to Athabasca Falls in Jasper National Park. There we stayed at the Athabasca Falls Hostel where we slept in rustic log cabins and spent the night singing round the campfire. Great fun was had by all, except for Marley, the epilepsy-detection dog who I feel did not appreciated our keeping him up all night. We did do a mean rendition of Hakuna Matata though 😊

Day four and we were headed back to Banff via Moraine Lake and Lake Peyto which were two of the scenic highlights of the trip. Back in Banff it was time for our 'last official' night as a group and so we were back to the Pump & Tap for a few pints and games of pool before we hit the clubs. Things got a wee bit crazy that night, but somewhere along the line I bumped into Jared so I was well stoked 😊

The next morning several of the group set off on a rafting adventure while the Kiwis explored Johnson Canyon & Lake Minnewanka (who wouldn't want their picture next to that sign!) where we took a dip in the icy cold waters (perfect hangover cure). Then it was a lazy afternoon before our 'actual' last night together. Following a round of Elk Burgers at Wild Bills and a game of 'I have never' we set off for the foam party at Auroras.. it was kinda like being 14 again, only not. It was a whole lot of fun & the only possible way we could end such an insane week!

I spent the next day or so catching up on chores, exploring Banff, hiking around the area and catching up with Jared. One last round (or 6) at the Pump & Tap and a night until closing at Auroras with the Aussies and then it was time to move on, this time to Calgary.

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