Nanaimo to Whistler

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We were treated this morning to a delightful breakfast of mixed fresh fruit platter, homemade blueberry scones and a huge croissant filled with scrambled egg; all eaten in the company of our fellow guests, one lady from Texas and one from West Kelowna in Canada. We were sorry to leave this town without exploring it more, as it seemed delightful, but we had a ferry to catch.

Our 1 3/4 hour ferry ride took us from Nanaimo across to Horseshoe Bay just North of Vancouver. From here we took highway 99 which is known as the Sea to Sky highway and what a beautifully scenic ride it proved to be with incredible sights at just about every turn. It begins at sea level in Vancouver, then travels along the shore of Howe Sound, before climbing through mountains and forests to teach Whistler at 670 metres above sea level.

There were many places to stop on the journey so we had to choose just a few. Our first stop was at the Shannon Falls Provincial Park to admire the dramatic falls which at 335m are the 3rd highest in BC.

The next stop was a viewpoint called Tantalus Lookout which was breath-taking and we then visited yet another waterfall called Brandywine Falls. These falls were only 70 metres high but were still very impressive.

We had read that one of the best places to see bears was on a particular road heading to the Olympic park so when we saw a sign to this we ventured down the road despite a sign saying the Olympic Park was closed. About halfway along the road we saw 3 cars pulled over on both sides of the road. BEAR jam we shouted and quickly pulled over ourselves. There, just a few metres from the side of the road in a small clearing between the trees, was a mother black bear and her 2 cubs. We all watched as mum foraged around eating and the cubs played chasing and fighting each other. All too soon they disappeared into the trees, but we felt very lucky to have seen them. We continued along the road but we had to turn around as a little further on the road was indeed closed. We did spy a side road to yet another waterfall called Alexander Falls and then we returned past the bear spot but the clearing was empty.

We were soon in Whistler and after checking in to our apartment we went for a meal and a walk around this famous ski resort. Obviously the ski season is now over and biking is now the 'hot' past-time. The youngsters were putting their bikes on the ski lifts then following them up to bike back down what in winter would be the ski runs. I think we might be a little too old for such extreme biking.

Here's hoping for good weather tomorrow so we can go up the mountains.

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