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Published: July 14th 2005
32 bus hours and 6 movies later I find my self in the town of Hay River on the edge of the Great Slave Lake. This place is located 61 degrees north - compared to the bottom of New Zealand which is 45 degrees south. Woooo hoooo!
My first problem - how do I get my 6 bags to the camp ground which is 6.5km away? There is no bus or taxi service. Hitch I spose…
Now I was told before I came up here that people only go this far north for 3 reasons:
1) To see family.
2) For the money (mining work).
3) To hide from something.
I was also told that if I wanted to go up north I’d need:
- a gun
- bear spray
- insect repellent
- and as a last resort be able to run really fast
that was just to deal with the people!
Well from what I’ve seen nothing could be further from the truth.
The bus station operator, on hearing my accent immediately told me to chuck my stuff in the back of his “truck” (twin cab ute on
Moon Rise At 1am
I Got Eaten So Bad By Mosquitoes Getting This Shotsteroids) and then drove me around for half an hour showing me the town before taking me to the camp ground. You beauty!
Everyone up here is really friendly and the Ausy accent is a huge draw card. As soon as people hear it they want to know all about what I’m doing and where I’m going.
The first question is always “why Hay River?” as soon as I mention that I want to paddle a large river that starts near here everyone feels it is their duty to warn me about the bears and share with me all the horror bear stories they know- just what I want to hear…
My plan to stay for a week then head off soon took a hammering as I tried with little success to gather the necessary information and hardware for my trip. This wasn’t helped by the fact that when I went to collect my kayak I was informed that they had given it to someone else and that I would have to wait for about 3 weeks until they got another one in - not a happy camper!
THE WORST NEWS WAS YET TO COME when
I went to the pub for dinner and asked about the snitzel. What happened next will stay with me for the rest of my life. The reply from the waitress: "Whats a snitzel?" NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! The day was saved however by a 14inch pizza...
Here I am over one month later still in Hay River and at one stage I contemplated staying as I’ve had such a great time!
Here is the Hay River Highlight package:
• Beach parties that last all night
• The fact that it never actually gets dark. Sunset at 12:30am and sunrise at 4:30am.
• Staying at the camp ground, cooking dinner over the fire on the beach and the awesome sunsets that literally take hours.
• Twilight kayaking in the bay.
• Playing “slow pitch” base ball including a game that we won 33/32.
• Meeting the friendly locals and seeing all the red and white on Canada Day, July 1st.
• Helping a guy I met renovate his house. Painting walls & ceiling as well as putting down flooring.
• Great fishing and seeing lots of bald and golden eagles
• The worst insects you can imagine, both in size and
The Hay River
Great Spot For Some Fishing number. We have mosquitoes, march flies, sand flies and many more all of which are about twice the size of the ones back home.
The nick name “Arzy” is beginning to stick and the running joke around town is that I’m never going to leave. Some people have been doing their best to ensure that I don’t by trying to set me up with some of the local ladies but I’m doing my best to resist…for now. See how I go.
all in all I've had a fantastic time and am sad to be leaving. However when one door closes...
Today (14/7/05) i leave for my paddling adventure and i'm really looking forward to it after all the time and effort I've put in.
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G in Regina
non-member comment
Glad I found your blog
We are considering moving to Hay River (or area) for a year. This has been a long-time dream, to spend a year in the North, work, write a journal with photos....and enjoy an area of Canada that most people never see. I would love to hear more about your adventures and if you would recommend the experience for a couple of Prairie transplants. We are certainly familiar with killer mosquitosLOL.... BFN, G