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Published: October 10th 2008
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Starting the trip in Canada proved to be tougher than expected. Matt's dizziness took a turn for the worst in New York and after being bedridden for 4 days, we planned to cancel the flight and stay in New York. This was a tough situation as money was low and accommodation was full in New York, so staying appeared to not be an option. Waiting for us at the other end was the wonderfully hospitable Hindley's who we knew would kindly look after us...if we could just get on the flight.
Without any dizziness medication, Matt relied on strong sedatives and miraculously got on the 6 hour flight to Vancouver, amazing everyone. When we arrived we were picked up and taken to our wonderful refuge at Coquitlam, Vancouver. The weather was rainy and cold, but with Matt heading straight to bed for the next 5 days it didn't matter. The host's extensive library, delicious food and warm house gave us a long awaited refuge, and brought Matt to a better level of health. Matt's Dad, Robert, arrived after two days, bringing with him a supply of Pineapple Lumps, books and stories from home. After talking his ear off for the
next few days in Vancouver, Jane and Robert left Matt to bed and looked around Vancouver town. We explored Stanley Park, with the red and yellow autumn/fall trees, totem polls, lush greenery and harbour views. We then walked around the CBD, had a filling lunch (with meat!) and drove up to Mt Seymour for city views. The weather was becoming clear and sunny, so we drove off to Whistler the following day to go 'hiking' and explore the village. The village is quaint, new and expensive with nice views up to the mountains and beautiful trees. After Jane sampled her first pizza in 6 months, we took off to sample the hiking trails.
Matt and Jane went on their daily 'bear hunt' through the nearby forest, where bears have recently been sighted (along with horror stories of a woman being scalped on her daily walk two weeks previous). There are three resident bears in the nearby forest who venture onto our host's property when hungry and one even decided to do his business in the middle of the street while a frustrated neighbour had to wait in the car for the bear to leave. Matt was always praying to
see one, Jane always praying to not see one, so when we spotted wet bear trails on the road leading to the forest, a full-on bear hunt resumed. After walking past the road and returning two minutes later, new tracks were visible and our hunting skills intensified. But to no avail; the bears are smart and maybe Matt's skinnier frame isn't as appetising as other locals.
We left Vancouver to head east to the Rocky Mountains on the border of BC and Alberta. The bear hunt was in full swing with Robert added to the force, and our hosts mild threat that 'you cannot return to our house without spotting a bear'. Whilst driving 100km/h on our first days drive, Jane turned her head to the left to speak to Robert and saw a small movement in the distance. "STOP DRIVING I THINK I SAW A BEAR!" Matt pulls over (illegally) on a tight two lane highway, and we rush to the side of the nearby river. Yes it's a bear, and better than your typical black bear...it's a grizzly! The bear was standing on the side of the river, presumably looking a big feed of salmon before it's
Morning frost
With Lake Louise in background hibernation, in the freezing waters. After taking some grainy, long distance shots and being tooted at by truckies we moved onto to the nearest hick town (Kamloops) to stay for the night. Our wonderfully healthy host's would despair at our first night's dinner away from their kitchen: KFC. After months of no indulgence, twisters, fried chicken and chips had never tasted better!
We spent the next three nights at Lake Louise, in the beautiful lake district of the Rockies. Lake Louise has calm turquoise waters and isn't far from other similarly beautiful Lakes: Moraine Lake and Lake Peyto (amongst others). The weather was a bit dicey on our Rockies venture, with snow forecasted. The temperatures sure delivered and the hostel was quite cold at night, as were the day temperatures for our hikes. On the second day on our trip up to Lake Peyto, the snow fell and Jane childishly ran around loving her first taste of falling snow. The lakes were beautiful and bright, the mountains so abundant and the trees turning orange from the shorter days. Our thermals, gloves and heavy jumpers may not have been well used in Australia, Asia or Europe, but they were much
needed in Canada, especially when temperatures hit the minus scale overnight.
Back to Vancouver via a stopover with other wonderful host's in Kelowna, we arrive the day previous to our flight to LA. On the way home through the Rockies Matt states that he isn't flying tomorrow and his dizziness has taken a dive. Without mucking around this time we cancelled our next three flights (to LA, Tahiti and home) and book a direct flight to Auckland on Sunday the 12th October (13 hours overnight). The next five days (for Matt) were spent sleeping and occasionally eating, with intermittent doctor visits. Jane and Robert kept busy with the library, american politics, walking and eating (thanks Linette). With one last hurdle to overcome we are praying hard and attempting our last plane trip home before reality really sets in. Bon vonage to Canada and our gypsy lifestyle!
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Marg
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The memories!!
The colours are amazing. Snow definitely adds an extra dimension but that glacial sediment steals the show.