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Published: August 8th 2007
Stawamus Chief
The Stawamus Chief (big rock in background) towering over Squamish.Well hello there
Its been a while since we last wrote but its not due to a lack of things to tell you all about. In the last month or so we have enjoyed a concert by Sting and The Police, celebrated our first overseas birthday and taken a trip to Whistler.
A few weekends back Emma and one of her colleagues received a phone call from one of the staff members working for Sting and The Police on their comeback tour. Apparently the group (who kicked off the tour in Vancouver) are fans of some of the L'Occitane product range and offered a deal where The Police would gift a number of tickets to the groups first concert in 25 years in exchange for a few care packages for the boys to enjoy backstage prior to their shows (apparently they enjoy the moisturisers, shower gels and scented candles - not very rockstar). Emma's workmate is a huge fan of the group and was not going to let such a good opportunity pass her by. So the next day Emma and I headed along to GM Place stadium with Emma's workmate Beth and her boyfriend Partch and enjoyed what
Rainy Squamish
was a fantastic concert, considering it was their first in 25 years. The show was not an official show of the tour but was a full dress rehersal infront of a small intimate audience of 4000 fan club members. It probably didn't have quite the same atmosphere as the two subsequent Vancouver shows which were infront of 20000 strong sellout crowds, but it was a pretty interesting experience and it is pretty awesome to be able to say we saw their first gig in 25 years. Although we're not huge fans we both really enjoyed the show. Apart from the major hits like "Roxanne", "Don't Stand So Close To Me", "Everybreath You Take", "Message In A Bottle" and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" we're not all that familiar with The Police's back catalogue of tunes but they were all very catchy and performed very well. Prior to the show the group had come out to address the crowd and, given that it was their first show in sometime, apologised in advance for all the mistakes they were expecting to make. However the performance was flawless. Sting's voice was spot on, Stewart Copland is a very talented
Whistler McDonalds
How many Maccas have you seen with gas fires? and energetic
Whistler McDonalds
How many Maccas have you seen with gas fires?drummer to watch and guitarist Andy Summers blazed his way through a number of blistering solos. We were definately not left disappointed so if you're a big fan I would recommend shelling out the dosh to get tickets to see them.
A few weeks after all the excitement of the concert it was time to celebrate my turning another year older. This was our first birthday celebration overseas and the first time I had spent it away from freinds and/or family. As such the event this year was a pretty low key affair. As a bit of a birthday treat we decided to head away for the weekend and took a Greyhound to up to Whistler, a couple of hours north of Van. Whistler is the Canadian version of Queenstown. A lively, scenic alpine village, in winter it is a popular ski resort with two major mountains (Whistler & Blackcomb) and
Bike park at the base of Whistler Mt
a countless number of ski runs down through the mountainside forests, as well as snow mobiling, snoe shoeing and snow tubing etc. In summer the ski runs turn
in to mountain biking trails and the skiers and snowboarders are replaced by downhillers and hikers. As well as mountain biking and hiking, other summertime activities include rafting, jet boating, ziplining, bungee jumping, atvs, back country 4WDing and wildlife viewing, basically everything that Qtown offers, although Whistler also offers sking and snowboarding right through the summer. Also like Queenstown is the lively nightlife. Bars and clubs are abundant and at night the carless village is positively thriving with people strolling from bar to bar and enjoying street performers etc. The road from Vancouver to Whistler is called the Sea to Sky Highway and winds its way along the edge of the mountains along Howe Sound (similar to the Devil's Staircase although with major construction building up to the 2010 Olympic its a little bit wider). The first major stop is the town of Squamish which, while we're making NZ comparisons, kinda reminds me of Te Anau. Its in a pleasant alpine setting with plenty of outdoor recreation opportunities, but without all the
A better pic of the bike park at the base of Whistler Mt
hussle and bussle of the busy tourist traps. The Sea to Sky Highway was also
where we saw our first wild bear. It was a Black Bear that was just foraging in a clearing right next to the highway, seemingly oblivious to the passing motorists. It wasn't the only bear we saw on the trip, we also encountered another half dozen or so on our trip up the top of Blackcomb Mountain, including a mother with 2 little cubs. From a distance they look very cute and very harmless although there are plenty of warnings around the village to keep your distance. On our way down the mountain we saw some dude hiking up the mountain to get close to one of them. I can't help but wonder if he made it back alright.
Unfortunately the weather in Whistler wasn't the best which kinda put a damper on things but we still managed to have ourselves a pretty good time. The first afternoon we basically just explored the village with plenty of shops to look at and people watching to do. After a quick dip in the hotel pool and jacuzzi we headed back into the village for a
Whistler Village
No cars!bite to eat and to sample some of the nightlife. We stumbled
upon a downhill mountainbiking event at the base of Whistler Mountain where they had some of the top riders demostrating some pretty amazing tricks off the jumps on the course they had created. The name of the event was Fire and Dirt and it also featured a fireworks display, all very spectacular. The big finale was a huge drop off a really high ramp and the very last rider off it on the very last run messed it up really bad and kissed the dirt facefirst, knocking himself out and breaking his arm in the process. Ouch!
The next day we took a sightseeing trip up Blackcomb Mountain. The chairlifts leave from down in the village and it took us three different chairs and a five minute bus ride to get to the top, about an hour all up. Along the way we were treated to pretty amazing views of the valley and Whistler Village below, as well as the bears we mentioned earlier which were only metres below our chairlifts passing over top. The top of the mountain however was covered in cloud and bloody cold.
Whistler Village
Still no cars!The wind picked up and it started snowing
so we didn't last long up the top. The rest of our time in Whistler was pretty chilled out and eventually we headed back to Van. Unfortunately there was a major accident on the Sea to Sky on the way home and as its the only road between Squamish and the Vancouver area, we were held up for an hour and a half which really sucked. Back home it was present time for me. Cheers to Mum, Dad and the siblings for the gifts they sent over, they are all greatly appreciated, especially with the All Blacks winding into the season. We've had plenty of mail from home over the last couple of weeks which has been great.
You may remember a few entries back I wrote about how much I was missing the good old meat pie which I simply could not believe did not exist in Canada. Well imagine my suprise and my excitement when while surfing the net the other day I stumbled upon a review for a fledgling Vancouver eatery named The Kiwi Pie Shop. It turns out I'm not the only Kiwi in Van who is
Emma finds another bear
It was raining. The
Emma finds another bear
It was raining. The bears are well prepared. bears are well prepared.missing the NZ delicacy. A couple of Kiwi blokes, one of whom is a Pastry Chef, had a few ales one evening and, as it so often does when indulging in a few liquid refreshments, the conversation turned to the great NZ tradition of the meat pie and how it was criminal that Canadians didn't share our passion for them. Their solution to the problem was to open a shop of their own and release the glory of the meat pie on to the Canadian people. According to the article the first shop had become so popular that a second outlet had been opened in the downtown core. In my euphoric state I hunted out the shops own website for more info but my elation soon turned despair as I read that both outlets had since closed their doors. I guess the owners quest to show Vancouverites the light and introduce them to the magical experience of indulging in tasty steak and cheese covered in crisp golden pastry had failed to take off. The exact reason for the closure wasn't spelt out on the website but it did say that they will be back soon so there
Bungee Jumping Bear
Even the bears in Whistler are extreme. is still hope
Bungee Jumping Bear
Even the bears in Whistler are extreme.that the Kiwis can bring the simple pleasure of pie eating back to the streets of Vancouver. I'll be sure to let you know if they do.
Thats about it from us for now. There are plenty of things coming up that we are looking forward to. This week we will be attending the long awaited Roger Waters concert. I have spent much of the last couple weeks educating Emma on the history and greatness that is Pink Floyd and The Dark Side of the Moon. We're also buying tickets tomorrow to go and see The Deftones in a few weeks and also have plans to see Def Leppard, the Vans Warped Tour and NZ's own Crowded House. Now that we both have All Black jerseys and have found a pub that is playing the Tri Nations rugby matches we will be out supporting the boys in black. We'll be watching the games with the two South African fellas from work so I'm sure it'll be lots of fun giving each other shit along the way. I just hope the ABs can find some more form so
Whistler is Bear Country
One of the signs in the village warning of Bears I'm not on the receiving end of it all. The boks look
Whistler is Bear Country
One of the signs in the village warning of Bearslike they might be pretty hard to beat this year and having already heard all about the Super 14 result at any opporunity the South African guys can find, it would be great to be able to get back at them. Another thing we have to look forward to now is a visit from Emma's parents later in the year. They have decided that while they are in the northern hemisphere visiting number 1 daughter in Scotland they may as well take advantage of some pretty reasonable airfares and pop over and see number 3 daughter for a week, which is great. It will be kind of strange to see some familiar faces in the flesh in such a foreign place as we have got used to being in a strange place and not really knowing anyone. But it will be fun showing them around the city and them being able to experience first hand what we have written about in the blog. It hasn't all been confirmed yet but hopefully will be shortly and
then she is all go for the start of October.
Last entry's telling off regarding the lack of comments that were being left by
Whistler Village
Again, no carsour readers must have had some impact as we had quite a few comments posted and from people we haven't really spoken to for a while which is awesome. So thanks for that and be sure to keep it up. We have also received a few postcards and greeting cards for our wall since last time which look really good, although some have been lacking somewhat in information on the back. We also now have a big poster of Captain Ritchie looking over us with very menacing eyes, which when ever the South Africans visit us should hopefully remind them what they're in for in the Tri Nations and World Cup.
Right, we really have to bounce. It is almost Tri Nations time. Look after yourselves.
Bye
Gaz and Emms.
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Michelle Harvey
non-member comment
Hello!
Hey Guys, sounds like you are having a blast over there! Ive just read all of your blogs, its great to hear what you have been up to, and now I feel all caught up, and extremely jelous! Im glad to hear your job is going so well, Emma, thats awesome :) Looking forward to the next installment,