Sept 10 / 11 :Had a great time in Banff. Went on a nature walk to try and find some wildlife. Our guide advised us if we come across a bear we are to stand behind her in a group while she sprays it with bear spray. Its much like capsicum spray. Didn’t get to see any bears. Starting to think the black bears and grizzlies are as much a myth as the loch ness monster :0). Seen lots of squirrels.
Hotel, Fairmont Banff Springs, was wonderful.
Click here to see my photos of Banff
My posts of the trip have been lagging a little behind so for those back at home we are currently in Whistler, the home of many of the events of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Hope I got the date right. :0) The people are so friendly here it reminds me of Australia. It would be a great place to move to but brrrrrrrrr it must get cold in winter. I already have the money cogs ticking, buy up land in Sun Peaks as that seems to be coming the new Whistler. The weather up to now has been n the high 20’s Celsius and I am getting a tan. Had I our first rain yesterday but not a problem as the last two days have just been bus journey. Anyway back to my progress post soon.
Sept 9 / 10 : Rocky Mountaineer was a train trip over 2 days from Vancouver to Banff with a stop over in Kamloops. We had Gold Leaf class which are two storey carriages with the dining on the lower level and a glass dome viewing area on the top level. The seating was great, it was like being in first class on a plane, not that I have ever had that luxury. That being said its not something I would do more than once as it is such a long journey. Taking photos from the glass dome carriage is not always great due to reflection off the glass, so I often bustled for room in the open air area at the back of the carriage. One thing that was amazing was the length of the cargo trains they having traveling on the tracks over here. Some of them must be over a kilometre long, Australia has a lot to learn.
Click Here to see some of the sites from our rocky mountaineer journey.
On the map below the journey we are taking is the red line on the map below. Vancouver – Kamloops – Banff
Sept 7: Well the journey was long but the impressive old Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. The current hotel is the third to be called Hotel Vancouver and was opened in 1939. The second Hotel Vancouver, this building’s predecessor a block away, was built in 1916, and became a troop barracks during the Second World War, and was finally torn down in 1949 to fulfil a commitment made by the city with the developers of the third Hotel Vancouver to demolish it – as the new hotel’s design was not as lavish and impressive, and the older hotel was perceived to be too much of a potential rival. The second hotel was in a grand Italianate revival style, and was considered one of the great hotels of the British Empire.
Sept 8: Our first full day here in Vancouver took us on a trip around the must see spots of the Vancouver region.
The first stop was Stanley Park which had a display of First Nation totems. Click Here for full album
Our main stop was Capilano Suspension Bridge. Click Here for full album
Joined the Fairmont Presidents Club before leaving so I can get a decent internet connection for staying in touch. It hasn’t been quite as easy as that with internet timing out all the time. Half an hour on the phone to their service provider and I think I have the problem licked at least until the next stop. So let the barrage of photos begin :0)
