Hi All,

We are in Jasper in the Canadian Rocky Mountains now enjoying the stunning scenery and gorgeous mix of sunshine and snow. We're loving Canada as it is truly living up to our expectations and even surpassing them. The skiing season has just finished and the summer season not yet started so everywhere is really quiet with not everything open yet. This is resulting in amazing scenery of snow and sun without the crowds that sound quite unbearable in the height of summer. Here is what we've been up to since our last update...enjoy.

Monday 20th April - Vancouver

This was a planning day sorting out cars, accomodation etc for the next week or so. We did manage a short walk to the local shops and later cooked for Adam and Sara as a thank you for having us. We made Brownies and bought ice cream as a treat for them (read us and them).

Tuesday 21st April - Vancouver

We ventured downtown again to see the things we didn't see before such as Gas Town, home to the famous steaming clock, and English Bay (the other side of Stanley Park) that we missed on the saturday. The evening saw us getting in to Ice Hockey as we cheered on the Vancouver Canucks from the arm chair with Sara.

Wednesday 22nd April - Vancouver to Victoria (Vancouver ISland)

We picked up our latest hire car (a brand new, 75km on the clock, Toyota Corolla) from central Vancouver and hit the road towards Twasassen where the ferry departs from. The ferry ride was a highlight in itself with beautiful views of the various islands between the mainland and Vancouver ISland. Once checked in at our HI hostel in Victoria we had a wander around the town which had a lovely inner harbour and shopping/bar area. It was pretty cold that evening so we headed in to a lovely pub called the Bard and Banker where we enjoyed some chips.

Thursday 23rd April - Victoria to Tofino

After another wander around Victoria we jumped in the car and drove towards Tofino, a small town on the west coast of the island. The drive took 6 hours but we did stop off at a fantastic beach called Rathertrevor to have our packed lunch. With the tide out the sea was about a kilometre away which made for some great views back towards the mainland and also back to the island. From there we continued to Tofino and got our first Canadian wildlife experience. Driving along a grassy stretch of the very scenic road west we came across a Black Bear just happily munching grass about 5 meters away from the road. Having not been able to stop immediately to view it we managed to turn around and go back for a better look and some pics, very cool! Our hostel in Tofino was gorgeous with fantastic views in to the Clayoquot Sound from the social area.

Friday 24th April - Tofino

Today we explored the Pacific Rim National Park which covers most of the west coast. We drove down to Ucluelet where we did a short coastal walk. We then had some lunch Wickinnish beach where we watched numerous surfers braving the incredibly cold looking Pacific Ocean. This beach was covered in hundreds of huge fallen tree trunks which had washed up which was quite a sight. After this we tried to spot some whales from Long Beach, unsuccesfully, then drove to the top of Radar Hill, a great vantage point giving views of islands and sounds for miles. We returned to Tofino and looked around a brilliant art gallery showing Ray Henry Vickers art, an aboriginal painter who incorporates native american images in to stunning scenic views of the area. That night we walked to a local beach to take in the sunset which was stunning as it set over the islands and sound.

Saturday 25th April - Tofino to Whistler

On the drive to Nanaimo we had another, much briefer, Bear sighting. No pics this time though sadly. The coastal drive to Whistler was again absolutely beautiful as the mountains got bigger and bigger. We arrived at Mell and Chris's and had some dinner before heading straight in to Whistler where the final night of the annual Telus world ski festival was taking place. Saturday night was 'Big Air' night which meant a very steep course had been created for numerous snow boarders to throw themselves down and do crazy jumps and spins. This was all good fun until one guy completely wiped out and layed pretty motionless for a while. He was eventually carted off on a stretcher not looking in too good shape! This delay only made us colder as we waited around for the course to clear and having been used to beaches and sun for the vast majority of the trip so far the cold got too much and we headed back to the apartment for hot chocolate and tea - rock n roll!

Sunday 26th April - Whistler

This was the final day of the skiing season on Whistler mountain so everyone was out enjoying the great conditions for one last time. Not really being able to afford to don ski's etc we settled for a trip up the mountain in the gondola/cable car to see the views from way up the mountain which were stunning in the sunshine. We also took a trip in the new Peak to Peak gondola which now ferries people from one mountain (Whistler) to another (Blackcomb). This is quite a sight and experience as you literally travel between the two stations with nothing but the trees and valley (a long way)beneath you. The views from Blackcomb we equally good and this made a great place to stop for our lunch, though our fingers did get a bit cold as we tucked into our sandwiches on a bench surrounded by skiers and boarders. It even started to snow whilst we ate which was a nice touch. That night we cooked up an impressive looking Cottage Pie as our 'thank you for having us' dinner.

Monday 27th April - Whistler

Pretty chilled out day. We did a walk to the frozen 'Lost' lake in Whistler and wandered around the pedestrianised 'Stroll' area doing some window shopping. Mell cooked us all up a fantastic pasta dinner and we relaxed enjoying the sunset and views from their lake front apartment.

Tuesday 28th April - Whistler to Clearwater

The drive from Whistler to Clearwater, a tiny little town in British Columbia, took about 6 hours but we again broke it up with numerous scenic photo stops as well as lunch over an incredibly blue hydro lake, who's name escapes us! The mixture of frozen, snowy scenery and rich forested areas was truly stunning and the drive was great day out in itself. We arrived at Clearwater to find our little wooden guest house to be a little gem. It had been purpose built by a couple in their garden/land and was surrounded by forest and mountains, plus the added bonus of horses (one Shetland pony) in their pen immediately in front of the guest house. Though quite isolated we enjoyed a cosy night in front of the TV and also watched '8 mile' with a Canadian guy called Chris who told us all about the local area and Wells Grey National Park.

Wednesday 29th April - Clearwater to Jasper

We drove in to the Wells Grey park not knowing what we would be able to do due to the snow which still covered most of the ground. Though the main road was clear the roads off it were not but we did manage to get to the Helmken waterfalls which we pretty spectacular. The snow build up was still there from the winter and the falls had created a snow cone around the base which was cool to see. On the drive to Jasper from there we saw bear number 3 sunning himself on the side of the road. We checked in to our hostel and relaxed for the night.

Thursday 30th April - Jasper

We drive in to the town to get some tips from the info centre and from there we drove to Maligne Lake. Again the snow, which is late to thaw, was thick and covering all but the main roads so once we arrived at the lake we were only able to take in the breath taking views from one view point, but this was enough to see the completely frozen lake and snowy rocky mountains that surrounded it. I braved a brief walk on the ice and Liz threw some snowballs at me before we headed back along the road to Jasper. On the way back we stopped at the gorgeous Medicine lake and then at Maligne River Canyon which had a great 3km walk showing us frozen waterfalls and amazing views in to and away from the canyon. Though most things were/are still frozen the weather was actually amazing again with clear blue skies and sunshine keeping us warm as we followed the path. We later explored the town itself and bought some groceries before heading back to the hostel for a home cooked (and incredibly cheap!) steak dinner.

Friday 1st May - Jasper

Today we have explored more of the local sights in Jasper. We first headed up to the tramway which is at the end of the road our hostel is on. The views from there were pretty good of Jasper and the mountains so we decided not to pay to go right to the top. We then drove to Beauvert lake, a stunningly beautiful lake backing on to a pretty exclusive resort. This lake is one of the few that have already thawed this spring and with its green colour it looked just like all the pictures of the Rockies that we had in our heads before we arrived here. We walked all the way around the lake before heading to another lake, Annette for our sandwiches (braving the bears - haha!). This made for an amazing setting as the sun beated down on us sitting on a bench by the lake with no-one else around. Other lakes we took in were Edith then Pyramid and Patricia before heading to the town again and the internet cafe that I type in now.

Hope you've enjoyed this update. Hope all is well back home and you're all escaping swine flu!

Love

Phil and Liz