Julie and I have been caught between our old-fashioned love for large fold-out paper maps and the newfangled way of navigating via GPS and talking devices. Both methods of moving from A to B have merit and each has their strengths and weaknesses. We’ve adopted a blended strategy of using legacy maps to plot our bigger, broader and longer-term journey while sometimes using our GPS, which we call Karen, to … Continue reading →
The Rocky Mountains are probably the geographic centrepiece of the entire North American continent. Running north-south from the far reaches of British Colombia and Alberta almost to the Mexican border, the Rockies define the western stretches of this landmass, create their own weather, influence where and how people live and provide a magnificent magnet for any traveller. And perhaps the best of the Rockies, with apologies to Colorado, are found … Continue reading →
The leafy trees are turning yellow, the temperature is dropping, the skies are always grey, businesses are closing, this must be northern Canada in late September. Our adventure in Alaska is sadly behind us and our aim is to start heading seriously south over the next couple of weeks but we still have many things we want to see along the way and to enjoy more Canadian hospitality, if not … Continue reading →
The old cry for adventure was ‘North to Alaska!’ but when you are in Inuvik, Northwest Territories near the Arctic Ocean you have to go south to Alaska. In fact, from Inuvik you have to go south to go anywhere. Inuvik, population 3,500, is on the banks of the Mackenzie Delta and only about 100 kms (60 miles) from the Arctic Ocean. It has a large First Nation population and … Continue reading →
There are two lines drawn on the map which they say delineates where during a specific period in the summer the sun never sets on the horizon and in a specific period in the winter the sun never rises above the horizon. There are two such lines – one in the south marking the Antarctic Circle and one in the north marking the Arctic Circle. Such is the remoteness of … Continue reading →
The Yukon Territory is often defined by one key historical event – the discovery of gold near the Klondike River in 1898. This gold rush, and the thousands of ill-prepared prospectors who were part of the boom and bust of this region, helped develop the Yukon in terms of towns, transport links and (brief) prosperity. It later became a key player in the US building the Alaska Highway which lies … Continue reading →
Playschool taught all children to love bears. They are cute and cuddly, don’t say much, just nod their head and wave their big flannel paws. But if you are bush camping in northern Canada bears take on a whole new meaning, especially when you see them so regularly on the side of the road you stop taking photos…and then you pull into an open area off the road and set … Continue reading →
Yellowknife is a very cool name for a town but in this case it is also the thriving capital of the Northwest Territories. With 20,000 people, half of the territory’s population, this really was the big smoke. To get there we travelled along the northwest arm of the Great Slave Lake and passed through a few First Nation communities that had seen better days. The road was under constant repair … Continue reading →
The Northwest Territories is big, I mean bigger than can be imagined. We thought Texas was big, we thought Ontario was big but this was all before we crossed the 60th parallel and entered Mr. Big himself, the Northwest Territories. Reaching all the way to the Arctic Ocean and beyond, the NWT features the longest rivers, deepest lakes, largest national parks and biggest horse flies of Canada and seems to … Continue reading →
Alberta is a province blessed with the magnificence of the Rocky Mountains, endless fertile land and almost unlimited oil underground. Visitors flock to the province like no other and for good reason – Banff and Jaspar National Parks are among the best in the world. We had used their capital, Edmonton, as a fly-in, fly-out point to attend our nephew’s wedding in California but now we were back in the … Continue reading →
Well, yes, as it turns out I got it right first time. Bit of a fluke I think. For the annual school spelling bee it is the Canadian equivalent of Mississippi but without the repetition or the famous river. We entered Saskatchewan via its northern-most boundary road with Manitoba and then headed a bit further north, almost hitting the 55th parallel, before camping on the banks of one of the … Continue reading →
We found the herd of bison grazing in a large open meadow some distance from where we were standing. We watched them for a while and noticed they were slowly drifting towards a nearby dirt track. We positioned Tramp to intercept them and then quietly watched as they slowly moved across in front of us, one of them interested enough to come over and almost sniff Tramp. They were losing … Continue reading →
It is said Ontario contains all the fabulous features of Canada in one province. It has the national capital of Ottawa and Toronto – a cosmopolitan city to match any in the world, almost 40% of the country’s population, sharing borders with some of the Great Lakes, vast tracts of agriculture, boundless natural resources, a strong bi-lingual society and all of this in an endless space larger than Spain and … Continue reading →
Parlez-vous français? Well, if you’re asking us – je parle un peu. And we’re right in the middle of Quebec where a little French comes in very handy. The good people of Quebec (Quebecois pronounce it without mentioning the ‘u’) seem to be caught in two worlds. For the most part they are seriously passionate about their French heritage and their French language, which is fair enough. Most support the … Continue reading →
We were camping wild in the bush but we were not alone. Julie spotted him first, a large grey wolf appearing on the hillside near our camp, the bloody results of his hunting skills hanging from his mouth, staring at the strangers who had entered his domain. He disappeared for a moment but reappeared soon after, staring at us, sniffing the wind, trying to assess the situation and plot his … Continue reading →
The day was cold and drizzly, as we’ve come to expect, with low clouds blocking the mountain tops but the beautiful lakes and bubbling mountain streams still in full view. We were on a mission to visit Gros Morne National Park, internationally recognised for its unique geologic features and stunning scenery. The highlight of drive to the park was a young moose stepping out on the road just in front … Continue reading →
Our first view of The Rock, as Newfoundlanders affectionately call their island, was glorious. We were standing on the deck of our huge ferry as it pulled into the little harbour of Port aux Basques in the southwestern corner of this huge province. The early morning sun was shining brightly on the freshly painted little homes on the nearby hillside and the distant hills still featured larges patches of snow … Continue reading →
With Tramp’s new boots we headed north again, up the coast and across the causeway onto Cape Breton Island which covers the northern shores of the mainland and includes world renowned Cape Breton Highlands National Park. And an oddity for us, a city of the same name as our hometown -Sydney.
Continue reading →How many cities can claim to have a citadel? In particular one that protected its people for two centuries without ever firing a shot? Well, Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia can make that claim and we had a chance to explore this fortress on a hill overlooking the centre of town during our brief visit to the city. But Nova Scotia is really more about its famous coastline and … Continue reading →
I never dreamed of coming to Prince Edward Island. In my schoolboy lessons it was always the Canadian province that I forgot and on the spinning global map it was so small it hardly showed up. Prince Edward Island, or PEI, is modest by most standards but here we were, waking up to perfect clear blue skies, a calm sea and curious anticipation of what we might find on this … Continue reading →
How much different can Canada be to the US? Sure, there’s different currency, different national sports, two languages, an odd flag, a Queen, provinces instead of states, kilometres and litres instead of miles and quarts, and perhaps a defensive posture that they are not Americans. I get that, for sure, and national pride is uber important but will Canada stand out as being unique in our experiences while travelling through … Continue reading →
