Whistler to Powell River

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The day didn't start off quite so well with Linds having a stomach upset probably from something he ate last night so I had a lovely breakfast by myself. We packed our bags and with some instructions from Alan to call on an excellent bakery in Function Junction and some water falls on the way south, we were off on the road again. It was sad to leave Whistler where we know there was so much more to do than we had time for.

Not far from Function Junction are some waterfalls called Brandywine Falls which proved to be very popular with weekend travellers. It is a 15 walk into the falls that cascade over a cliff at the back of a horseshoe shaped amphitheatre made up of basalt. Because basalt shrinks into columns as it cools the rocks break up easily and fall into piles or slide downhill. It is this that has made the falls erode back to the shape it now sits in. The setting is lovely with forest all around and a lake further down the valley. There are trails to walk here too which would have been nice had we had the time.

We passed cyclists all the way back to Vancouver either on their bikes or with bikes on the backs of their cars or utes. The race yesterday must have been hard work as we drove downhill quite steeply in places and they had been biking uphill. Some of the hills were classified as 6 to 10 percent grades so were very steep for bike riding - a piece of cake most of the way back today though.

We had intended to stop at the Shannon Falls too but there wasn't a park anywhere so we gave that a miss and picnicked further on on a viewpoint looking out over the inlet.

The scenery from Whistler is stunning with high rugged mountains in the background, some with glaciers. Along the road are very high sided vertical cliffs with smooth rounded surfaces from ice grinding during glaciation. As we got nearer to Vancouver the road wound around the long inland bay and eventually into the outer city, over Lions Gate Bridge and into the city by Stanley Park where we were 2 weeks ago. There, we reached gridlock and this was on a Sunday. It took ages to get through the city as we stopped and started at so many lights for kilometres until we finally cleared the main city area and out the other side to the airport. Fortunately we had allowed ourselves plenty of time to get to the airport to drop off the rental car then get a shuttle bus to the domestic airport further south. We were astounded at how the white races had been almost overtaken by immigrants particularly from Asia. They were certainly in the majority (at the airport anyway) and our conversation with the bus driver indicated the same problem as we have in Auckland. Property is being snapped up by foreign investment and immigration which has pushed up the price of real estate making it beyond the reach of ordinary citizens who have always been there. Watching the news we have seen that this has become an issue bringing about a lot of debate - for this city anyway and I think the conversation was about adding 15 percent tax to try and dampen down the prices.

We got a small Beechcraft 20 seater plane to Powell River and flew north between Vancouver Island and the mainland. Once again the scenery was lovely as we flew past islands and inlets with high mountains in the background and large forested tracts from the mountains to the sea. The size and scale of everything is huge compared to our compact and varying country of NZ. David picked us up and we travelled to their house along the coast for our next Home Exchange. David and Mary have a lovely home set amongst trees on a large section right on the beach. We will be very comfortable indeed!

After a chat and a drink, David took us for a familiarisation trip around Powell River. It is a lovely isolated town almost at the end of the road going north. It has an older area around the paper mill with charming older styled homes and another separate area north which is newer and has most of the shopping locations. There are trails along the waterfront and in the forest behind the town with all the amenities of a modern town. Behind the Mill and upriver is a large lake surrounded by forest where holiday homes and boats abound. Several ferries run to islands or across inlets. There will be more than enough to keep us occupied for the next week.

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Photos

Mountains and glaciers seen on the way to Vancouver
I'm not sure if these are part of the Cascade Moutain Range