In October I was lucky enough to be one of a group of around 30 agents involved in an APT trip to the West Coast of Canada for 9 wonderful nights of eating, drinking and sightseeing in some of
the most stunningly picturesque places I have been in my life.
Our first stop was the lively village of Whistler. Although it was low season with their not being any snow at that time of year Whistler was still a buzzing community. Mountain bike racing is held in the hills in the off season. It’s a very big ski village and there was certainly no shortage of somewhere to have a drink or something to eat. We stayed at the Westin Resort and Spa which was in a very handy location right at the base of the Gondola and I must give a special mention to their beds which were like a little piece of heaven wrapped in lovely crisp white sheets.
The next day we headed off to Delta Sun Peaks which was around a 6 and a half to 7 hour journey including our stops for morning tea, first lunch, second lunch and actual lunch (they certainly don’t let you go hungry on their tours!).
Delta Sun Peaks is another ski village. It is a very beautiful and quaint little village with a far more traditional European feel to it. A great place to go if you want to be away from all of the action Whistler has to offer.
After spending 1 night at the lovely Delta Sun Peaks Resort and being dumbfounded by the crazy kids swimming in the pool whilst I was wearing the vast majority of the contents of my suitcase, it
was time to hope back in the coach and make our way to beautiful Banff. Banff was a highlight of the trip for me. We spent the next 2 nights at the rather regal Banff Springs Hotel, which felt like we were staying in a castle. The only thing to be aware of with this property is that rooms are very small however this is really of no consequence with the hotel being as beautiful as it is. Whilst in Banff we took a tour around the national park taking in some of Canada’s many beautiful lakes, waterfalls and of course, mountains (we were after all in the Rocky Mountains!). We also got to take the Banff Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain to soak in the incredible 360 degree views of the Rocky Mountain Ranges.
Our next stop was Lake Louise on the way to Jasper. Lake Louise didn’t disappoint and was as picture perfect as you see in the post cards. Here we had breakfast from one of the most amazing buffets I
have ever seen before it was time to continue on to Jasper. The drive from Lake Louise to Jasper along the Icefields Parkway is one of the world’s great scenic drives. I have to give a special mention to Lake Peyto which is possibly the most spectacular lake I have ever laid my eyes on, Atherbasca Falls and Atherbasca Glacier which we were lucky enough to trek out on to in the specially designed Ice Explorer.
This drive is also where the absolute highlight of my trip took place, we saw a bear! After being on bear watch for the past 5 odd days this was a very welcome surprise and was a truly amazing thing to witness this wild bear just relaxing and eating berries on the side of the road. Throughout our trip we also spotted plenty of Elk, big horned sheep and several varieties of deer.
Jasper was another highlight of the trip. Whilst there we went on a wildlife tour and nature trek, taking in more of Canada’s picturesque landscape, took a ride up Jasper’s Tramway to gain a breathtaking view of the Atherbasca Valley and Jasper National Park and encountered an Elk looking for a lady friend whilst riding bikes around the lake at Jasper Park Lodge. We also got to take a short helicopter ride over a section of the national park for an Ariel view of part of the Rockies and some lovely little mountain goats.
After our wonderful 2 night stay in Jasper it was time to board the iconic Rocky Mountaineer. We climbed aboard one of the Rocky Mountaineers Gold leaf carriages and settled in for a day of lovely food, drinks and more of that stunning Canadian landscape we had become so accustomed to seeing. We overnighted in Kamloops before climbing back aboard the following morning to be spoiled yet again by the Rocky Mountaineer staff on our journey in to Vancouver.
We arrived late in the evening for our 2 night stay in the wonderful city of Vancouver where we stayed at the rather luxurious Fairmont Waterfront. Vancouver is now one of my favourite cities in the world. There’s an abundance of restaurants, pubs and bars to suit every traveller and the city just has a great vibe. My highlights in Vancouver were a visit to Granville Island Markets (Yum!), taking a bike ride around Stanley Park, Capilano Suspension bridge, seeing wolves at Grouse Mountain, the Laughing Men Sculptures by local artist Yue Minjum, the shopping on Robson Street and finding my new sunglasses for half the price they were going to charge me in Australia!
I would recommend taking a trip to Canada’s West Coast without the slightest of hesitations; there really is something there for everyone and as you may have gathered from my complete overuse of the words beautiful, wonderful, picturesque and amazing, the scenery in this region really just can’t be beaten.
