Advertisement
Published: June 23rd 2015
Edit Blog Post
So this is it...the final blog, the end of the trip, the goodbye forever...but before all that sad stuff, let us tell you what we've done recently.
Following our tour of the Rockies, we did another moose tour this time of Vancouver Island. Although it looks tiny on the map it's actually the size of Belgium! We started in Tofino where we spent the day walking through forests to get to secluded beaches where we could climb up high to the rocks to watch the ocean pass us by with the towering mountains ahead of us. It very much reminded us of Alaska which should definitely be classed as part of Canada, possibly because it's nice hehe! The beaches and walks were so beautiful although a little scary...there's always a chance of encountering a bear in these parts and we thought we saw bear prints but turns out it was just a dog print oops!
Anyway on to Victoria which is just such a beautiful place. Everything is so picturesque we've decided we want to move there, see ya later fam!
What we were most excited for in Victoria though was whale watching. In Australia, New Zealand and
Alaska we could have seen orcas (killer whales) but to no avail so this was literally our last hope. $85 we set out on a catamaran style boat into American/Canadian water in search of j pod who are residents here...and boy did we find them! Orcas split into smaller groups to hunt so at first we saw about 8 or so but then the whole pod came together and we saw about 25 orcas, yes 25!!! They were breaching, slapping their fins on the water and smacking their tails down. They did this because they were very happy to see Gem and Bef we're sure so we waved back! Seeing such beautiful animals in the wild just makes you hate Sea World more - we've put the world to rights on many occasions regarding Sea World! The oldest orca in existence is called Granny and she is 104 years old; and back to Sea World they only live their till 35 and let you believe this is the norm in the wild when the average age is actually 80 so think about that whilst you're looking into your family trip to Florida! Anyway, having learnt about Granny on our Alaskan
cruise (she's pretty famous in the orca world) it was a privilege to meet her and her family for afternoon tea even though she did hit Gem with her floating Zimmer frame. Until this trip we didn't realise how big orcas are, the males have dorsal fins up to six feet high and their were 4 males in this pod. It was magical and a dream come true to see free willy in the wild. The tour did end with a cruise through the Gulf islands back to Vancouver.
You won't believe it but whilst we've been in Vancouver we've made friends! We spent time with our new tour buds having picnics in Stanley park, freezing to death in the sea and eating ourselves silly on Granville Island. We really enjoyed our time in the city but soon had to leave (by an overnight sleep in the airport) to get to Toronto where we met the wonderful distant cousins of Gem. Let me tell you, since we arrived we were treated like royalty with numerous outings including Niagara Falls (Gem's dream). We went under the falls where we put on bright yellow waterproofs and got pretty soaked however the
view was incredible. The falls are so majestic and powerful; we were told we might be disappointed but whoever said that was talking garbage. They are magnificent. We were given the full tour driving along the river, round the old and new parts of the area and visiting Niagara on the Lake, a small old fashioned town about 15km away from the falls.
Another highlight of Toronto was going up the CN tower for a delicious meal however the view was disappointing as it was just cloud!!! Luckily it cleared up and we went to the viewing point for a mostly cloud free view. Gem also faced her fear by stepping on the glass that looked straight down towards doom basically! She didn't do this quietly!!
We moved on to Washington DC where we stayed with Beth's distant cousin Melody! We had afternoon tea with Obama (ok that's a lie (he was in California, (how rude)), but we did visit the White House), we went up the Washington monument, visited many beautiful memorials and went to the Holocaust memorial museum and the American History museum where we saw the first ever light bulb.
On to the beautiful
Oh hey Obama
White House New York City! It was nice for us both to be back with a very different skyline for Beth to enjoy. New York involved some jam packed days visiting Times Square, seeing Alladin on Broadway, ground zero, Central Park, grand central station, Brooklyn bridge, the statue and all the other must dos of New York. However with the weather, trains derailing on the subway, the airport train setting on fire, and getting told off by airport security who told us 'you should no better' and it taking 3 hours to get to the airport we have taken the hint and it's time for us to leave and we head for Iceland! Random, yes! We planned on visiting the northern lights but with it being June and summer our chances are hugely slim.. But only slim. So there's still a chance right? Wish us luck! Along with our last day being spent on the blue lagoon, a large naturally warm lagoon.
So on to a reflection we've had a whale of a time (haha get it??). Although travelling does have its down sides. We've met so many cool and interesting people and having to say goodbye with the promise to
Excited for Alladin
Prince Ali fabulous he aliababwaaaa stay in touch isn't always easy. We've added Germany, Sweden, Scotland, England, Ireland, America, Croatia, Mauritius, India, Korea, Hungary, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Fiji and Denmark to our Christmas card list. However, what an extraordinary adventure it has been having stepped foot in 6 seas and the Great Barrier Reef, visiting 15 different airports, and travelling a grand total of 26,798.94 air miles. We've experienced weather from a tropical cyclone in Australia to knee deep snow in the Rockies.
After sleeping in 35 hostels, 13 campsites, 5 homes, 1 swag, 2 planes, 1 tent, 6 buses, 1 airport and 1 ship and a grand total of 62 different beds we are ready for our own bed. Bef has enjoyed the food everywhere having munched on shark, emu, camel, kangaroo, eel, frogs legs, lobster, crab and Alaskan salmon. We've been defeated by sandflies and mosquitoes on numerous occasions, and Beth has further been defeated by jellyfish and glaciers!
Highlights from the animal world include feeding wild kangaroos, spotting wild koalas, swimming with sea turtles and dolphins, 3 different types of whales, breakfast with sea lions, Bef chasing a reef shark and cuddling bears in the wild.
We've laughed
a lot, spent a fortune on phone bills, stayed up talking till midnight numerous times. We have had 0 arguments, crossed 11 time zones, visited 7 countries and 4 continents. Dreams have been completed, fears conquered and natural and manmade wonders visited. We've trekked up, over and through mountains, visited stunning beaches, snorkelled in reefs, trekked through rainforests, lazed on hammocks, blended in with the locals... and tourists, became cruise lovers, admired the Canadian wildlife and watched the hustle bustle city life pass us by.
We've learned that Singapore is so different to the rest of Asia, Australia is really big, New Zealand has so much to offer, Fiji is picture perfect paradise, the American Dream is many miles away from a dream (excluding alaska), Canada is just bigger and better than the photos and Iceland is blooming expensive!!!!
We well and truly have had THE best 6 months of our lives, if not the quickest! So here's to the next adventure, and see you in a few days England/ Wales!
??CHEERS!!
Gem and Beth xx
Advertisement
Tot: 0.16s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 7; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0396s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
GrnDa S
non-member comment
See you soon
Final Blog --Sad Moment but we are looking forward to seeing you both back in good ole Blighty!!! No Place like home?? XXXX