Amazing - City, wildlife, exhilaration, food and breweries

Just back from an amazing adventure in British Columbia, Canada. This was a trip that’s been postponed since 2020 due to Covid. It didn’t disappoint.

Flew from Gatwick to #Vancouver (approx. 9.5-hour flight), slight delay out but not too painful. Arrived Vancouver mid-afternoon. Bit jetlagged but after checking in to central hotel, #SuttonPlace, headed out to explore and for some food. Booked table at #StanleyParkBrewery, which was about 30 min walk, thought the walk might help wake us up a bit. Lovely to see a bit of Stanley Park and the lakes. Brewery was great, delicious beers and lots of choices. And the food was good too, we had some tasty fish tacos and some chicken wings. Then headed back to the hotel for an early night.

Woke up very early due to jetlag so decided to get up and check out the sunrise. Ok might have got it slightly wrong and missed the sunrise but still got to check out English Bay. Then headed back towards the hotel to find somewhere open for breakfast. #Denny’s good old-fashioned diner was the perfect choice, open 24 hours too!? Had my first #benny! That’s an eggs benedict. Yum! Then back to hotel ready to be collected by #LandSeaTours for a good orientation of the city. Went to Stanley Park (again) but this time to see the #TotemPoles, then #GranvilleIsland for a bit of exploring. And would you believe it we found the brewery and a bar! Then back on the bus for a bit of a tour around the downtown areas of #Chinatown and #Gastown. Off the bus near Canada Place and now a bit peckish so found a place called Chopped for a tasty burger. Then rushed to catch the bus to #Capilano Suspension bridge for a bit of tree top exploring. Then back to hotel to clean up and dinner at #FannyBaysOysters restaurant. So we had to have some #Oysters, there was a whole menu of them! And some sashimi followed by pork belly with scallops. Very tasty and great restaurant.

Next morning (last day in Vancouver) headed out to find breakfast and came across Cora. Had to try the breakfast #poutine, a #Canadian favourite. Poutine?is made with thick beef gravy on french-fried potatoes with fresh cheese curds. Then off to #FlyoverCanada, utilises state-of-the-art technology to give you the feeling of flight.?Great experience with beautiful scenery. Then off to the Lookout for views over Vancouver. Looks of great photos. Back down to Gastown to check out the steam clock. A must do in Vancouver. Then would you believe it that it was lunchtime and there was a micro-brewery bar right nearby. Spent the afternoon in Commercial Drive area checking out the many local micro-breweries. Some amazing beers and great set-ups. Tried Container Brewery, #PowellBrewery, #StormBrewery and #EastVanBrewery. Back to the hotel in an Uber to clean up for some dinner. Headed to the nearby highly rated Korean for some tasty kimchi pancake and KFC, of course! Back to the hotel with a doggy-bag.

Leftovers came in handy for breakfast then off to pick up our hire car. Avis, of course! Love checking in for car when the ask for my last name! The off we drove up to #DeepCove for some #paddleboarding. We couldn’t go a whole 11 days without paddleboarding!! Amazing experience and such stunning scenery. Slightly challenging with a speedboat/water-skier getting quite close and making lots of waves! Then back to car and headed for the ferry to Vancouver Island. 1.5 hours on the ferry from #Tsawwassen to #Victoria. Then approx. 30 min drive to hotel in Victoria. Stayed at #OswegoHotel in Victoria. Managed to get upgraded to 1-bedroom suite. Very nice with views over the sea. Headed out to explore and find somewhere for a much-needed refreshment. Found #Darcy’spub which overlooked where the #seaplanes landed. Great choice of beers and great views watching the seaplanes. Then back to hotel to clean up for dinner. Dinner booked at #NauticalNellies. Lovely meal and great service. Had some sushi, duck and halibut.

Only 1 night in Victoria so after cooking a bacon roll in the suite headed off on 3.5-hour drive to #CampbellRiver. Had a quick stop in #Qualicum to visit the #Cedar+Fern brewery and pick up some take-outs. Then on the ocean road to Campbell River. Arrived at the #ComfortSuites for an overnight stay as part of the Knight Inlet (bear lodge) package. Headed off to explore Campbell River, and found a lovely bar called #SessionBar for lunch. Had some fish tacos and poke cups. Very tasty. Then did a bit of exploring but due to it starting to rain had to find a brewery to shelter! #BeachFireBrewery was a great find and some tasty beers to sample! Then back to hotel to clean up ready for some dinner. Found a pub nearby called #RipeTide and had some tasty wings and ribs! Yum! Watched a bit of American Football #NFL too.

Early start at catch seaplane to #KnightInlet. Breakfast at hotel, made my own waffle with lashings of #maplesyrup! Yum! Then drove to seaplane terminal to be there by 8.15am. After intro talk from Harold, making sure we knew “this is not a holiday”! Boarded seaplane ready for take-off at 9am. Arrived at our amazing floating lodge at 9.30am and greeting but friendly and fantastic crew. Taken to lounge to get keys to our rooms then an orientation tour then a few mins free time for tea and cake before putting on our kit ready for our first tour at 11am. Off on the boats to see bears. First tour didn’t disappoint at directly over the Inlet was a mum and baby grizzly bear on the beach searching for food. We watched from a distance so not to disturb them but got a great view. Then back to lodge for lunch at 12 noon and time to check-in to our rooms, also on the floating lodge. Lunch was delicious, salad with pork ribs and chops. Back in our kit by 1pm ready for the full-on afternoon tour. 1pm was a short boat ride then bus to the stands (bear watch hides) to look out for bears. Sadly, no #bears but we saw #salmon jumping in the river, a #kingfisher and #Americanbaldheadedeagle. So still amazing and beautiful scenery/ experience too! Then back to lodge for quick tea break before off on next tour at 4.30pm. This was an Inlet tour in the faster boat. We went out to see the waterfalls, saw Dolphins too and also got close to the #waterfall that we almost went under it. #Exhilarating experience. Then back to lodge for 6pm ready for bar opening. Obviously, we had to go straight to the bar then back to room to get ready for dinner! Appetiser came out at 6.30pm and due to lovely weather managed to have them on the deck watching over the water and making new friends. Before dinner spoke to Bryn, the tour coordinator, to schedule our tours for the next day. Booked a half day morning #rainforest walk then the afternoon, Above the Clouds walk followed by an evening Inlet #cruise (with almost guarantee to see bears). Dinner was fantastic. Appetisers were freshly caught crab and prawns then main was salad and veggies with lamb t-bones and local salmon. Dessert was pecan choc tart …. So tasty!! Bar shut about 9.30am and light literally went out when the bar shut as the barmaid turned off the generator. There were still lights on in the bedrooms due to the battery power.

Next day an early start. Breakfast from 6.30am then first tours set off at 7.30am. Off on the fast boat to do our half day rainforest walk. We’d been pre-warned that we were unlikely to see bears on this walk and it was more about the scenery and rainforest experience. But we got really lucky and about 30 mins into the walk we could see a bear on the beach in the distance. As we continued our walk we took at break by the river. One of the guides noticed that the bear we’d seen earlier had made her way up the river and was nearby. We sat quietly and waited. Then the guide noticed the bear had crossed the river to our side so we had to get up and set back. Then the bear came round the corner about 20 or so feet away! We all stayed calm and watched (I managed to film). It was so amazing to see a bear so close. Then we continued our rainforest walk. It was about 2 hours to the middle. Scenery was amazing and the stunning trees and nature. We then headed back to the boat with another sighting of the bear. So, boat back to the lodge ready for lunch at 12 noon. It was a bit of a wet day, but probably added to the rainforest experience so need to try to dry off kit ready for the afternoon activities. Lunch again was amazing with local trout and salad. Then put slightly soggy kit back on ready for afternoon tours. First tour was #AbovetheClouds. Our boat was slightly delayed picking us up due to the bears on the beach preventing the previous drop off from exiting. We then got boat to other side of Inlet ready for the 4x4 up to the viewing platform above the lodge. We encountered a bear whilst trying to get into the 4x4s but all safe and good. It was approx. 30 min drive on very bumpy and steep roads, saw 6 deer too! Then we walked up to the viewing platform. Unfortunately, it was not ‘above the clouds’ but very much ‘in the clouds’ today so not great view but still fantastic experience to see nature. Then back to lodge and after quick tea/cake ready for the final tour of the day, an inlet cruise. Saw 7 bears on this cruise so absolutely amazing! Back to lodge ready for the bar opening at 6pm! Then appetisers at 6.30pm and book tours for next day (and our final day) with Bryn. Dinner again was amazing. Lovely fresh seafood to start then dinner was local Sablefish and duck. Dessert was a tasty chocolate trifle too! Tonight’s talk was by Deen one of the long-standing crew. He told a story that was so engaging and funny. Then we popped back to the bar for night-caps and got to see the local Aboriginal artists work he was doing for Knight Inlet. Lovely experience. Then an early night ready for another early start.

Breakfast again at 6.30am and ready for final tour at 7.30pm. Today was a local #kayaking tour from the lodge. There were just 2 couples and the guide. Did a little loop, didn’t see bears but great to be on the water and a final farewell to the amazing scenery. Back to lodge for a quick tea and pack up. Then seaplane arrived with new guests at 9.30am ready to take us back to #CampbellRiver. Arrived back and picked up hire car and drove to the ferry, #DepartureBay to catch ferry back to mainland at #HorseshoeBay ready for then next and final leg of our adventure. Ferry was 1.5 hours and partook in a quick burger on board. Ferry had to swerve at bit due to a #HumpbackWhale on course but unfortunately, we didn’t spot it. Then off the ferry and 1.5 hours drive on the sea to sky highway to Whistler for a few days (sort of) R&R! Parked up and checked in. Lovely upgrade to a 1-bedroom suite. Then headed off to explore and obviously a well-needed refreshment! Found a bar called #Blacks with views over the not-snowy #pistes to watch the #mountainbikers. Then back to the hotel to clean up and sample the food in our hotel restaurant. Very tasty indeed and served by lovely Irish lady called Megan. Dinner was steak tartare, wings, scallops and Lois Lake fish.

Finally a morning without having to get up too early! Wandered down to hotel restaurant for a light breakie (smoked salmon bagel and eggs and avocado on toast then off to try to paddleboard. Found the lake and saw the boards but sadly seems to be only on the weekend in September due the change in seasons. Well, there were signs everywhere that from 1 Oct it is mandatory to have snow chains … and that’s only next week. So managed to find some beautiful hikes to rainbow falls and Lost Lake. Then stopped in Upper #Whistler for a slice of NY pizza and a beer. Very tasty and lovely sitting out in the sun looking at the non-snowy mountains. Headed back to Whistler Village for a bit of grocery and liquor store shopping then popped to Amsterdam pub as it was happy hour. Then back to hotel to clean up before dinner at #MexicanCorner. Lovely restaurant and very tasty food. Had my first #Mezcal cocktail, it’s an acquired taste but got better after 2nd mouthful.

Final full day of holiday so up early and cooked bacon sarnie in the suite then ready to head off to #TheAdventureGroup for some outdoor fun and activities. We arrived ready for our first activity at 9am. This was riding the #RZR cars, lots of fun but very bumpy and a bit hair-raising! Preferred driving it to being the passenger. The short break before 2nd activity of #ziplining. Totally forgot my fears of heights and trusting ropes etc etc. so did very nearly chicken out. So glad I did it though. Think I screamed about halfway down the first #zipline of 1.2 km with 200m height until I realised it was actually quite enjoyable. Then next one was bit longer at 1.3km followed by 2 shorter but faster ones. Great fun! And good to test your nerves!! Then back to Whistler village as getting pretty hungry. So stopped at the nearest pub, Lonestar for a #burger and fries. Spent afternoon doing a bit of wandering and shopping in Whistler village then after getting cleaned up pre-dinner drinks in our hotel bar. Followed by tasty supper at Sachi #Sushi. Yum sushi, dumplings and soft-shell crab. Walked back to hotel via the ice cream shop #Cows.

Home time already, been a whistle stop tour of #BritishColombia, but we’ve managed to pack in loads. So packed up and set off for Vancouver airport in the hire car. Stopped at Wendy’s for a sausage and egg biscuit for breakfast (the American kind of biscuit not British). Then dumped car before checking in. Only to find we had 4-hour delay. Oh well best we book into the airport lounge to help soothe the 4-hour pain. It has been an amazing holiday (although definitely not a relaxing holiday, more of an adventure. Loved every minute. So where next?