29 May to 4 June 2010

UBC Okanagan, Kelowna, Canada

After a week in Vancouver we headed up to Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley on the Greyhound bus.The trip took 6 hours through the spectacular Columbia ranges - high snow capped mountains, deep ravines with rivers flowing through them, forests, farmland and finally the vineyards around the stunning Okanagan Lake. The Okanagan region is Canada's premier wine making area that extends down to the USA border.

On arrival in Kelowna, the largest lakeside town in Okanagan, we went out to the airport to pick up a hire car - a very swish Jeep Cherokee.From there we headed to University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) where we had booked a room in the student accommodation for 4 days. It is currently the summer break, so there were few students and staff around.UBCO is undergoing immense growth with CAD$300million input from UBC and government - there is construction going on all over the campus - new office buildings, accommodation, geothermal heating, landscaping and car parks. It is a sign of commitment in rural University campuses where the research and education has a focus on building a capacity in rural communities.UBC will be placing a cohort of medical students at UBCO in 2011 for rural medical training. UBCO campus is strategically positioned in a growth corridor overlooking the town of Kelowna and is adjacent to the international airport.It is surrounded by pine forests and farm land and so it is a beautiful campus to walk around and spot wild life, bird life and plant life.

Lynda has conducted a number of interviews here which have been very insightful into administering rurally positioned research institutes.

In terms of exploring the region we spent one day driving around the north aspect of the Okanagan Lake and visited a farm in Vernon.On our journey on the western side of the lake we came across an osprey's nest on a power pole and lucky for us, across the road from a hill.We scrambled up the hill and managed to get a bird's eye view of the osprey's nest from a respectable distance as she was sitting on her eggs/ young - we have uploaded some photos and talked about the magic of the osprey nest in a previous blog.

We also explored the southern aspect of the lake and visited a goat's cheese artisan "Carmeli's" which was set on a mountainside overlooking Lake Okanagan. They have about 30 milking goats and 1 male that live on about 2 acres and are protected by two working dogs.We enjoyed tasting their range of french style cheeses and indulged in goat's milk gelato that was absolutely delicious.We then went on to a few wineries - Summerhill Organic Wines, St Hubertus and Cedar Creek - and we came away with a Sparkling Rose, a Pinot Noir and a Gewürtztraminer (respectively) to complement our Piccolo and Heavenly goat cheeses. At the end of this hard day we shared a charcuterie platter at the Summerhill winery overlooking Lake Okanagan as a storm front moved over the lake from the south.The platter was fabulous - ox prosciutto, lamb sausage, duck confit, roasted garlic chevre, marinated olives, gherkins and house made bread roll. Lynda washed these gourmet delights down with an organic pinot noir and Rachel drank water because she was driving!!

During our last afternoon in Kelowna we wandered along a waterfront path that took us to a nature reserve that was being rehabilitated by the local Rotary Club - it was amazing!! We spent about 40 minutes watching a female beaver appear from the water, go up onto the embankment to wash and groom and then feed on willow branches. A local guy who was standing near us commented that he had been trying to see a beaver since January, so they are not frequently seen so publicly. While she was being as a busy as a beaver, a musk rat and loons swam around her. We have uploaded some photos of this moment in time.We were also privileged enough to see a deer, red-winged blackbirds, a kingfisher, a grey heron, a coot-like bird, and other birds that we have yet to identify - it was a magical space in an otherwise, urban environment.

The next morning we got up early to listen to Sam Stosur's semi-final match at the French Open on the internet radio - amazing how the internet has brought the world closer in so many ways. Later that morning we headed back to Vancouver on the Greyhound bus through the same spectacular route.We saw a black bear from the bus which was very exciting!!!We travelled alongside the Rocky Mountaineer train for a while which brought back lovely memories! Our last night in Vancouver was a gentle one - a lovely Japanese meal on Davie St and a walk.

Next stop - Hawaii…………………