Tour Dispatches
Canada and Alaska 2009
Welcome to Vancouver - The Start of out Journey
Friday the 12th of June saw all our group arrive arrive safely in Vancouver British Columbia on the start of out journey. Apart from a fairly rough couple of hours through a weather front out of Auckland the flights and transfers were uneventful. We arrived to a beautiful sunny day of 23 degrees with the promise of more to come. Our Tour Director John Bond met us at the airport coming on duty a day early to give a typical warm Canadian welcome to this great country. Tomorrow is a rest day before our true adventure begins but already we have several plans and options including Grousse Mountain and Stanley Park.
  
Grouse Mountain - A Tonic for Jet Lag
Today we awoke to a bright sunny day and a forecast day for clear skies and light winds with a temperature of 23 degrees. After a group breakfast most of the group made their up Grousse Mountain via the Aqua Bus and bus to the Gondola station. Some went via the aquarium in Stanley Park as the Beluga Whales have recently had a new cub. Grouse mountain is both a summer and winter playground for Vancouver Residents and today was no exception. Locals and tourists alike enjoyed the superb weather and activities on the mountain before returning in the late afternoon.
Tonight was our formal Welcome to Canada dinner before our tour starts tomorrow as we first do a morning tour of Vancouver before making our way to the delightful Alpine Village of Whistler.
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Day 2 Vancouver to Whistler
Another beautiful day greeted us as we awoke early for an 8:00 am start. Our first stop was the Totem Park in Stanley Park. Vancouver is fortunate to have a 1000 acre park within five minutes walk of its CBD. The Totem Park is a collection of Totem Poles. The Totems are story poles telling the history of a family much like a coat of arms would do for European families. From the Totem Park we progressed to Prospect Point which overlooks the entrance to Vancouver Harbour and spanned by the Lion's Gate Bridge. We had a perfect view of our route up the inside passage that we will take as the final leg of our adventure. Our city tour then took us through China Town, Gastown and finally to Granville Island and the Granville market. After a short morning tea stop and a chance to stop up on some fresh supplies we headed for Whistler following the spectacular Howe Sound, stopping for lunch at the Shannon Falls, which are the third highest Falls in Canada. After a stop for lunch we arrived in the picturesque alpine town of Whistler in the early afternoon. Whistler will host all of the Alpine Ski events, the Bob Sled and Luge for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Whistler was alive with people on a sunny warm and perfect early summers day. We got our first glimpse of the new Peak to Peak cable car. With a span of 3 kilometres it is the longest single span cable car in the world and is 1500 feet above the valley between Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb. Most of the group will ride the cable car tomorrow.
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Day 3 Whistler Free Choice Day.
We were blessed with yet another great day in Canada with temperatures forecast to be in the mid twenties. Apart from some early morning low cloud on the peaks the day cleared as forecast to a bright sunny day. Our group dispersed to do there various activities which ranged from Dog Sledding, the Peak to Peak Gondola, and 4 x 4 touring. Most people ended up going up the Gondola in the afternoon as well. We even has some takers for the zip lining in the afternoon. All in all a fantastic day was had and any remaining cob webs from the flight finally erased.
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Day 4 Whistler to Sun Peaks.
With some sadness we departed Whistler on the longest day of the tour to start the journey from the Coastal Range to the mighty Rocky Mountains. Our overnight stop being Sun Peaks, another, much smaller ski resort. Following the steep and often windy Duf highway we cross the Coastal Ranged and the entered the very dry Plateau between the two ranges. Because it sits between the Coastal Range and the Rocky Mountains it lies in a rain shadow receiving less than 200mm of rainfall per year. The land use is mainly ranching and some irrigated crops where the land is close to the Fraser and Thompson Rivers. Our lunch stop today was at the Hat Creek Range which is now an interpretive centre for Canada's First Nations people and it gives a valuable insight into the life of the native Indian. From there it was on the Sun Peaks for our overnight stop and an after dinner talk of how western Canada was settled and explored by the efforts of the Hudson Bay Company and more particularly through the efforts of the North West Company. Tomorrow the Group will get their First Glimpse of the Rocky Mountains as we make our way to Jasper.
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Day 5 - Sun Peaks to Jasper
Our run of superb weather came to an abrupt end with the start of day 5. We were greeted with a morning of light rain and cloud in contrast to the beautiful sunny days we had experienced to date. Today our journey would take us to Jasper and the beautiful Jasper Park Lodge. Our first stop this morning was Dutch Lake. A picturesque setting made even more enchanting with the mist and cloud. Most of the the morning was spend following the Thompson River which was unusually high due to a late spring and and snow melt. Our lunch stop was at Mt Robson. Mt Robson is the the highest peak within the Canadian Rockies at 13,123 feet.When we arrived at the observation point and lunch stop the mountain was completely obscured by cloud. As we were about to depart we gained a decent glimpse of the mountain and its famous hanging glacier. The weather continued to clear as we drove into the town of Jasper. Jasper is built in the shape of a "J" to conform with its name and is a pretty town. Our group spent an hour exploring the town before proceed in the the Jasper Park Lodge. The Lodge is another Canadian Pacific Railroad property and originally started life as a tent city for the railway workers. It later became a hunting before ultimately developing into a holiday location. It is set on its own 1000 acres of land all set around the focal point of Beauvert Lake. As the afternoon wore on the skies clear and the full majesty of the Rocky Mountains became visible
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Day 6 Jasper
The weather gods again decided to shine upon us and we were greeted to clear skies and sunshine. The Group was split amongst a number of activities from walking the path of the glacier, visiting the Maligne Canyon, Cruising Maligne Lake, Taking a Harley ride through the hills, Canoeing or visiting the hot springs. Apart from the activities there were numerous wildlife sittings of both Black Bear and Elk. After the morning activities a few took the Jasper Tramway to the top of Whistlers Mountain for a breathtaking view of both the town of Jasper and the vast expanse of the Canadian Rockies. Tomorrow we will transverse the Icefields Parkway to Lake Louise.
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Day 7 Ice Fields Parkway, Jasper to Lake Louise
The Ice Fields Parkway between Jasper and Lake Louise is rated in the top five of the worlds great drives. The threatened rain held off as we entered the Rocky Mountain Trench, one of the few natural phenomenon visible from outer space. Everywhere you looked was simply breathtaking with snow capped peaks and hanging glaciers. Our first stop was the Athabasca Falls. This year the power of the water was really evident with the spring thaw swelling the Athabasca River. The quantity of water passing over the falls was amazing.
From the Athabasca falls we headed south to the Columbia Ice Field and one of the highlights of the trip, the Athabasca Glacier. The Columbia Ice Field, or more particularly Mt Snow Dome is the water shed for three oceans. Snow melt from the Ice Field ends up in the Arctic Ocean, The Atlantic via Hudson Bay, and the Pacific through the US state of Oregon. At the 11:30 we boarded our Ice Explorer coach for a trip onto the Athabasca Glacier. We spent 20 minutes on the Ice. At the point we were standing the Ice was 1500 feet deep. We were fortunate again with the weather gods as by the time we were on the Ice the clouds had cleared to a bright sunny day.
Our Final stop for the day was Peyto Lake. This is the highest point we reach on the trip at 2200 metres and in my view the prettiest glacial lake on our trip.
The drizzle returned as we arrived into the magnificent Chateau Lake Louise.
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Day 8 Lake Louise
For the first time on one of out trips we allowed two nights in Lake Louise to have time to soak up this magnificent setting.
Mst of the coach took to opportunity to travel across to the ski field for lunch and take the gondola or chairlift to the top of the mountain. The view from the top gives a breathtaking view of the Lake Louise and the Bow River Valley. The weather gods again smiled upon us with blue sky and clear visibility. The overnight rain had removed any remaining haze to give perfect viewing conditions.
The afternoon was spent lazing around the lake or taking many of the walking trails available.
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Day 9 Lake Louise to Banff
After a leisurely 9:00 am departure we started our relatively short day to Banff. The weather had cleared from the overnight rain. Our first stop was the famous Spiral Tunnels in Kicking Horse Pass. When the rail was first put in it was construct straight down the pass at a slope of 4%, which in railway terms is very steep. After several mishaps on the steep descent a series of two tunnels in the form of a figure of eight were constructed to reduce the gradient to 2%. These tunnels were constructed by hand in the space of 10 months. We were lucky again as we arrived at the tunnels just in time to see a long freight train enter the lower tunnel on its climb up Kicking Horse Pass. This particular train was long enough to see it entering the lower tunnel and still be visible entering it as its engines emerged from the upper tunnel exit. Trains can consist of up to 200 carriages and be nearly 2 kilometres in length.
After the Spirals tunnels we had a morning tea stop at Emerald Lake, another beautiful green lake in a stunning setting and we completed our stop off points for the morning with a visit to Natural Bridge, a waterfall not dissimilar to the Athabasca Falls with the exception that the stone archway is still intact.
We arrived into Banff about 2:00 pm and spent a couple of hours before continuing up the hill to the Banff Springs Hotel, commonly known as the castle in the Rockies.
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Day 10 Banff
The morning was clear but with the hint of low cloud and possible afternoon thunderstorms and rain. As this was a free choice activity day the group dispersed widely. Unfortunately due to low cloud at Canmore the helicopter flights were ground and that group proceeded up Sulphur Mountain instead. All of the other activities proceeded in fine weather with the promised rain arriving around 2:00 pm. Most people continued to explore the town or get lost in the Banff Springs Hotel.
Tomorrow our tour shifts a gear as we board the Rocky Mountaineer for our two day journey back to Vancouver.
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Day 11 and 12 The Rocky Mountaineer
We left Banff on our two day journey on one of the great train trips of the world, The Rocky Mountaineer. Apart from the food, drink and service, the journey follows the the Thompson, Kicking Horse and finally the Fraser River to Vancouver. The river gorges change from Alpine, to the near desert conditions between the ranges and finally into the lushness of the Coastal Ranges. Words cannot do the journey justice and hopefully our photo gallery will convey a little of what we saw.
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Day 13 and 14 Victoria
After the Rocky Mountains the pace of our trip slowed a little as we reached the quaint seaside town of Victoria on Vancouver Island. Our arrival started with a tour of the world renowned Butchart Gardens. The gardens were in their full spring glory and the two hours only just did them justice.
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After the gardens we arrived at the magnificent Empress hotel situated right on the inner harbour. This grand old hotel is steeped in history and character from the colonial Indian Begal Room to the ballroom with its lead light doomed roof to the corridors which were made wide enough for ladies wearing steel hooped dresses to pass!!!
Our free choice day saw the group split into several activities from Whale watching, float plane flights horse drawn carriage rides and the splendour of High Tea in the Empress' veranda room.
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That evening it was with some sadness that we fare welled out Tour Director John Bond in our far well dinner. John had been not only a great tour director but a fun friend and a wealth of knowledge. It is a privileged to share his passion for his country.
Day 14 - North to Alaska
Toady we made the journey back across to Vancouver to join the Zuiderdam for our cruise up the inside passage to Alaska. After a lengthy US border clearance we were all on the board at 2:30 and settled in before our departure at 5:00 pm. The sail from the Port of Vancouver is spectacular as we sail past Stanley Park and under the Lion's Gate Bridge. It seemed like an eternity ago that we had all stood at Prospect Point and looked at the bridge and our passage north at the start of our trip.
Day 16 Tracy Arm.
One of the highlights of any cruise to Alaska is Tracy Arm. It is a spectacular ice carved fiord with a glacier at its very end. The day started with light drizzle as we entered the fiord at 8:00 am but the weather gradually cleared giving us a cleared view with cloud adding a majesty. Words cant do the Fiord justice so again I will let the photo gallery do the talking.
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Day 17 - Juneau
After a great day in Tracy Arm we arrived in Juneau at 2:30 pm. Juneau is the state capital of Alaska and from a shopping sense the diamond centre of the United States. As Alaska was purchased by America from Russia it still has a strong Russian influence in its culture and customs. The native Eskimo of Alaska is identical in race to the Eskimo of northern Siberia.
The group split up and partook of many shore excursions, from scenic flights over the four glaciers, glacier walks on the Mendenhall Glacier, dog sledding, and whale watching. Those who took part in the whale watching were fortunate to witness a very rare event. Every northern summer the Humpback Whales migrate from the warmer waters of Hawaii to their feeding grounds in Alaska. For two weeks of the year they engage in a practice called bubble net feeding, where they lay a circular path of bubbles trapping schools of herring. The pod then swims up from underneath swallowing the herring and surfacing at once.
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Day 18 - Skagway.
At 10:00 am we pulled into the historic town of Skagway. Skagway was the gateway to the Yukon and the Klondike Gold Rush. Thousands of would be prospectors landed here and faced the arduous walk over the pass to the Yukon. Today Skagway is a tourist town where visitors can relive the historic past. The White Pass Railway takes tourists up the path the early miners had to trek with their one ton of gear.
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Day 19 - Glacier Bay
After Tracy Arm Glacier Bay is arguably the most spectacular sight on the cruise. After traversing the length of Glacier Bay we arrived at the Grand Pacific Glacier and drifted from a hour alongside its vast ice wall watching sections of it carve into the bay. A true once in a lifetime experience.
From there we tracked back down the Bay and up John Hopkins Inlet to take a look at the vast John Hopkins Glacier. The John Hopkins Glacier is one of very few glaciers in the world that is actually advancing mainly due to the fact that its ice field is above 10,000 feet.
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