Heading for the Rockies

Up early this morning to get the 9am ferry from Sidney to Vancouver. It was a beautiful trip across on the most beautiful day so far. Not long into the crossing the Captain informed us that we were passing a whale pod on starboard. I'm sure the ferry listed as most of the passengers rushed to see the whales. And we did! They waved their tails at us from a distance too far to be photographed but close enough to be sure that we weren't imagining things! 4th variety of wild creature that we have seen in the past week. 3rd sighting was Friday evening when we went for a walk from the house and saw wild deer but very tame deer as they are now living in the suburbs.

During the walk we discovered that we were really close to the sea.

Anyway, the crossing was beautiful as I said and really relaxing. It took one hour and 40 minutes.

A view from the ferry

Before we could get on the road to the Rockies, we had to go to Vancouver Airport to pick up our guide - Gypsy Guide, a sort of GPS system that acts as a tour guide and gives a commentary along the road. That involved a lot of circling round Vancouver until we got on Highway 1, the Trans Canada Highway. The road was fantastic and, unlike most motorways/dual carriageways or whatever, it was scenic all the way! We went from seeing the Rockies, snow clad or sprinkled in the distance, to driving with them on either side.

Jim on the motorbike, I'm in the car!

We stopped for lunch at Bridal Veil Falls where we had a picnic and climbed up to the foot of the falls.

A very different Bridal Veil Falls from the one we saw in New Zealand - more like My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding!

We went from Hope through the Fraser Valley and into the Fraser Canyon, a lush region with tree-covered mountains and deep ravines. At Lytton the Fraser River met the Thompson River and we proceeded into the desert. It was unbelievable!

Jim was amazed - he was expecting snow, not desert! The Thompson Canyon was very barren but there were a number of ranches with irrigated land. Ginseng is a serious crop here! I forgot to say that the south of British Columbia (around Chilliwack and near the border with the US)  is a serious place for marijuana. Some enterprising beings dug a tunnel to Lynden in the Us to transport drugs etc. They were caught!

We proceeded to Kamloops where we found a motel for the night at seniors' rate!! In the suburbs to avoid figuring out the city. It had restaurants in its vicinity so we headed to Harold's Family Restaurant,the only one open, for food - or cardboard in my case! We were certainly slumming it after last night at the Royal Theatre in Victoria where we enjoyed Beethoven's 9th, The Choral Symphony. Anyway, the views from the restaurant and what we had enjoyed en route more than compensated for  a greasy spoon! Have a photo of the area but the connection here is a bit erratic so I am trying no longer. Night, night!