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Published: March 24th 2009
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So we arrived in Vancouver after a marathon flight that stopped in Auckland for a few hours. We had read up about the typical weather in Vancouver that time of year, and found out that cold, rain, rain and more rain is the norm. But guess what, when we got to Van it was actually sunny and warm. Beautiful. We were immediately excited to go exploring in the morning, we had Stanley Park, the aquarium and a bit of shopping in mind.
On our first day the weather turned ugly, resembling more what the guidebooks said it would be like. So we decided go about sorting out some of the formalities we needed to get done. We had to get our SIN numbers (which are like a social security number allowing us to work) open up Canadian bank accounts as well as a few other things. We got that done and had a quiet night in.
Next day we got some better weather and decided to head to Stanley Park and the aquarium. This place was truly stunning. On the way there we passed a small harbour with row upon row of huge private yachts and picture perfect still water
surrounded on the harbour side by colourful and vibrant autumn trees - mainly maple trees.
Classic pacific north-west forest stands of Douglas Fir, huge spruces and pines are maintained in pristine condition just minutes from the bustling Vancouver downtown. A short stroll throught Stanley Park and we arrive at the Vancouver aquarium. This was one of the finest aquariums I have ever been to, with enough exhibits to occupy for days. Lauren and I especially enjopyed the exhibits of the local marine life, such as salmon, trout, beavers, seals, and coastal tidal zones typical of the Vancouver coastline.
We wanted to see more of Stanley Park than just the aquarium so we set off on an ambitious walk firstly through to the opposite side of the park to the seawall, which is basically like a path that follows the outer perimeter of the peninsula that Stanley Park is on, then proceeded to walk the entire length of the seawall. This walk allowed us to take in the Lion's Gate bridge, countless panoramic ocean views, sandy beaches, tidal flats brimming with marine life and plenty of moments to think about how sore and tired our legs were getting after
walking so very far.
That night we caught up with a friend from Sydney who I went to highschool with, Hacky. He was in also in Canada to live in a ski resort for the winter season, only he was to go to a resort in Alberta called 'Sunshine Village'. That night we savoured a chatted, had a few cold ales, enjoyed some Canadian cuisine and service then partied into the night.
The morning brought more good weather, albeit a bit cool with some low lying cloud and off to the Capilano Park and suspension bridge we went. This attraction (in the native tongue written as Kia'Palano) was situated a 30 minutes bus ride north of downtown, across the Lion's Gate Bridge. The Kia'Palano Park is a natural 27 acre reserve with special focus on preserving the ancient heritage of the native aboriginal people, called First Nations people. As well as the suspension bridge itself, there was a rainforest of HUGE coastal fir and cedar trees, and a treetops adventure - which is a series of seven suspension bridges through the evergreens thirty metres above the forest floor.
This place was truly beautiful, we became immersed in
the scale of the suspension bridge, the cedar scented rainforest and the amazing treetops bridges. We strolled around, taking it all in, at one point I looked down from the bridge into the Kia'Palano River 70 metres below I could see a very big salmon swimming slowly upstream. I could tell it would have been at least 50 to 60 cm long as I could see it clearly. Oh how I would have loved to get down there somehow and throw some fishing lures around, maybe wrestle with some of these Pacific heavyweights of fish. The air was damp, thick with the scent of the cedar trees, a smell similar to that of a good sauna.
We really loved our experience of the Capilano Park, the next day we were to set off for Kelowna, a hub of 120,000 people on the banks of Okanagan Lake. It was to be a 6 hour Greyhound journey north east, crossing a number of mountain passes, and quaint country towns. It would bring us one step closer to our Big White mountain home.
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