Our last afternoon at St Ives was spent walking along the shore of the lake and watching the sun begin to set over the tranquil and undisturbed waters. Graeme, of course, could not leave it that way and boyhood returned when he picked up a stone and attempted to skip it across the surface of the water…then the challenge was on…..I think his best was about 12 skips…I was most impressed!!!! We then made our way to the games room and played some pool and snooker before going to our unit to pack for an early departure the following morning.

The following morning we started off about 10 minutes after intended towards Vernon, our next port of call. We had scheduled a number of visits to points of interest along the way, the first being Margaret Falls. We just could not find any signage and eventually stopped at a store to enquire, only to find out that Margaret falls had been washed out by a mudslide and was no longer open to the public. So, next stop was Mabel Lake. Easy enough to find, but we were stopped by a construction team repairing the road and told we would have to wait about 10-15 minutes before going forward. We then decided to go back into Enderby to do the Enderby Cliffs trail which we had seen along the road. As we arrived the heavens opened and bucketed its contents over the surrounding plains. So, we had lunch in the car to give the rain time to move on. It so happened that the rain did clear and quite quickly and so we hopped out and started up the hill. It was a really lovely walk which upped and downed its way through the forests and up the mountainside. Saw two pileated woodpeckers in the woods and tried to capture a pic of them but they were too quick for me, and my husband did not understand my gesticulating instructions to move a stupid leafy branch which was in the way of the viewfinder. Eventually, we made it to the viewpoint and the climb was really well worth it. The view was incredible with a full panorama of the Shuswap River snaking its way through autumn colours of the farmlands in the valley below. After taking it all in, we started down again and YAY!!!! I at last found a maple tree. So, the challenge was to find a leaf in every variation of colour we could. But, the trees in the forest do not see enough sunshine so all we got was green and wishy-washy yellow leaves. However, as we were driving past the properties on our way out, we drove past a tree in full colour…you know what happened next….I pressed the leaves as soon as I could that evening. And so we motored on to Vernon to meet our couch surfing host, Terry Black, after completing another 7km stappie here by over the sea!

(Btw….after doing some research…the little grey creature that hid under a leaf from me at Shuswap is most likely a short-tailed shrew)

The directions given to us by Terry took us to a very larney house in a very larney part of town. I found it difficult to believe that these people would be couch surfers and Graeme went first to find out whether we were at the right place. We were indeed, but Terry was the tenant who lived in the flat attached to the house. We settled in for the night after Terry cracked a bottle of local wine. Next morning was overcast, so Terry took us for a long and pretty walk around the Kalamalka Lake. This lake contains a certain mineral that makes the water glow green in the sunshine (phosphorous?)….we, unfortunately, were not to be privileged to see this phenomenon, although we did see hints of it when the sun managed to sneak its way through a crack or two in the cloud cover. Terry then left us for a kayaking appointment and we made our way up to Silver Mountain to do one of the Alpine forest walks to the summit. This mountain is rather high and as we were driving up our water bottle started wheezing disapproval at the change in atmospheric pressure. We were going to lunch at the Bugaboo bakery where Terry told us we would find incomparable Danishes, only to find that the bakery was closed for the day and the only establishment open was Red Antler….so we had fries!!!! Afterwards we went out to start the walk and……it was snowing…..no views visible at all!!!! We waited for about half an hour to see whether there would be any changes, but no such luck….so down the mountain we drove and as we got below the clouds the views made themselves visible, so we did get a few pics. We then made our way to Fintry Park on the other side of the Okanagen (Oh - kih - nar - gen) Lake and read the fascinating story of the Laird of Fintry who introduced hydro power to the area at this very waterfall. Then began the climb to see the waterfall…..the Park has very considerately provided stairs up the trail to the fall……FOUR HUNDRED of them!!!!!!!!!!!! I reached the top with my tongue barely attached to the back of my throat and there, posing on a rock was the cutest little chipmunk. Knowing how quick they are, I set aside my agony, I carefully reached for my camera, aimed and focused on said chipmunk and then heard a resounding "Arrrrrgggghhhhh!!!!!!" behind me as Graeme decided to announce to the world and beyond that he had taken the last step up….needless to say, the chipmunk didn't stick around!!!! We walked further along the trail to get some views of the lake and surroundings. It was on this part of the trail that we had a close encounter with a bear….there on the path in front of us, was the freshest pile of bear poop one could wish to see, but no bear….only evidence of its presence was shredded tree stumps from its search for insect dinners and of course, the pile of poop - I photographed that then!!!! The Okanagen Lake is huge (135km long and 5 km wide) and the stout coloured surface reflects the sky in a deep, rich blue. It is surrounded by wheat coloured rolling hills and mountains. The grasses in this region give the hillsides a velvety appearance and the hills and mountains look more bulbous than their brothers and sisters in the places we have previously visited. After taking this all in, we made our way back to Terry who had promised us a pasta dinner….and how good it was accompanied by a delicious Malbec to round it all off nicely. On the way down the trail, Graeme redeemed himself by finding a very busy chipmunk so intent upon its dinner that I managed to actually snap some really delightful photos of it. All forgiven…

Next morning, while in the shower I bent down for my shampoo and felt the pinch of that herniated disc that gives me grief. I prayed that my holiday would not be beset with that discomfort! Terry gave me some Tiger balm to apply and I took my trusty anti-inflam. And then just prayed!!! (The pain and pinch were gone by the time the tablet had worn off - a miracle I have not experienced before)

We took our farewell of our gracious host and made our way towards Kelowna, where our next couch surfing hostess was awaiting our arrival. As we were leaving Vernon, we stopped at a view point that Terry had advised, to see the Kalamalka Lake from an elevated position. Again, the sun was not strong enough to cause the glow, but what a stunning view of an enormous lake that corners its way around a vast area of its valley. We kept stopping as we followed the lake along its course and soon found ourselves entering the Kelowna vicinity. I was not expecting such a big city! But big it is! Now, this area is known as the wine-making region of Canada so…we started our wine estate trail by stopping first at Gray Monk Estate. It is the strangest thing, but the vineyards and orchards are not like ours out in the spacious and wide-spread farmlands of the Cape…..they are situated almost in suburb areas amongst lovely homes all along the winding roads around the Okanagen Lake (or should I say ocean…..so enormous it is!). Gray Monk had just won an award at the wine festival so we scored some special wine tasting in celebration as well as discounted prices. Kelowna produces the best of the white wines of Canada…the reds coming from the Osoyoos (O…soy….yuse) region. The estate has a wonderful view of the lake from the tasting room, so it all adds to the marketing experience by dulling your senses and resistance.

We then made our way to the Bear Creek Canyon to do a 2 ½ km climb to the waterfall. Another lovely walk with killer inclines, but again, so worth it. We went across the road to the recreation area to have our picnic lunch on the grassy banks of the lake, surrounded by a family of Canada geese and refreshed by the icy blade of the gale force breeze coming off the lake. We found the most sheltered table we could find and did not stay for too long other than to imbibe our meal. From there we moved on to the Quails Gate estate to try their wines. We were not that impressed, but did take in their view of the lake before moving on to our next stop….The Hatch. This boutique estate only produces 6 wines, but we did not taste any since they charge for their tastings and we had to be very picky about our choices considering the limitations of our budget. So…on to Mission Hill Estate we went. We walked in and then out….waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy to upmarket for plebs like us…in fact one of the hostesses took one up and down look at us and did not want to serve us. She left us for a young man who introduced the wine list to us and then went back to his very wealthy Asian clients who were more likely to make a substantial purchase than this pair of windswept rug-rats in their hiking gear, windbreakers and tackies!!!! We followed our checklist to Vibrant Vine. Oh man….the coolest boutique wine estate yet. As you enter you are given a pair of 3-D glasses and everything in the room takes on a new form….all the wine labels, the artwork and the silkscreened work on the clothes of the proprietors!!! Such a fun way to introduce your product. We tasted 5 wines and also got to taste Ice-wine (a speciality of the Canadian wine trade - deeeeelish! - served in a little chocolate cup). Their wines were really yummy and we had difficulty in choosing one - we ended up taking Woops….a long story, but a good one, behind the name. Will share it with anyone interested, or with those privileged enough to be in our company when we open it, once we are home. Last stop was to Frequency. I didn't think anything could top Vibrant….but this one took the cake for me. You enter a music studio (literally) and the walls are all shelved and packed tastefully with bottles of wine. The tasting experience is accompanied by a demonstration of how frequencies move and settle particles. So…they use music to settle the sediment in their wines. The wines are exposed to all recording artists who use the studio and then sold from the wall of that very studio. They then pair the wines…not with food…but rather with music genres. Needless to say, we entered the studio to choose our bottle of wine. From here it was time to meet our hostess at her mom's new home where she was doing cleaning and restorations in preparation for her mom to move in. It so happened that this lovely house is situated right next door to the Quails Gate Winery! Lovely view of the lake, very warm and welcoming.

Heather Myers greeted us with a platter of appetisers of cheeses, dipping sauces and artisans bread and of course, a bottle of Italian bubbly. She then produced a dinner of maple glazed salmon and fresh farm vegetables ….. oh man … what a spoiling!! She and I discussed a number of ideas for restoration of furniture and decoration of the rooms before we hit the sack. We slept very snugly that night.

Next morning we decided to walk the Kettle Valley Railroad Trail which is shared by both cyclists and hikers. It is a very high, but very level path that follows the route of a discontinued industrial line through some beautiful and very steep hill/mountain country. The hiker crosses over 16 trestle bridges and through 2 tunnels. It has been wonderfully prepared for its new purpose with a solid path for cycling and/or walking and the trestles have been restored to show off their old glory but also to accommodate their new purpose by the installation of a solid wooden centre pathway over the slatted wooden or steel structure beneath. The whole trail is 12 km long, so we decided to walk about 8 ½ km until having gone through the first tunnel. We found a nice rock to sit on to eat our salmon sarmies (very kindly provided by Heather) before turning back. The weather conditions were cool, to say the least, and because there are no inclines, my body did not heat itself terribly much along this walk. I thought that speeding up the pace would do the trick, but my fingers and toes remained frozen little icicles and even more so when we went around the bends that saw no sun….one in particular that I called freezer corner (ice everywhere you looked). Upon our return, we had just rounded the corner from freezer corner and approached the next trestle that was baking in the sun and all I wanted was to spread my hands over the warm surface of the wooden railing, so I made a targeting bee-line for said railing……only to take my eyes off the path and to lose my footing when my ankle twisted awkwardly as it slipped through the slats next to and under the wooden pathway. My hands hit the railing as I grabbed to steady myself and I landed in a very unladylike fashion on my butt!!!!! I sat there while my very concerned hubby tried to lift me, but my foot was at such an awkward angle that I had to forfeit his kindness and wangle my own way up again. I stood there for a while with tears of frustration popping unwontedly to the surface. I warily tested my ankle, but all was well and we completed the 6 km left to us with ease. My fingers warmed up very quickly though with the pounding they took!

After completing that marathon, we made our way to the Spierhead Winery, but arrived too late for tasting - tasting room was closing as we arrived….no worries…we would go just further down the road to the Carmeline Goat farm for some cheese tastings…..but they too had closed just 5 minutes before our arrival!!!! So, we tootled down to the local BC liquor store where specialist advice is given regarding local wines, etc. We really wanted a red wine, but since we were not going to Osoyoos anymore, we had to rely on a lovely assistant who advised a wine from the Hester Estate in the Wine Bench region. Home we trotted to find nachos and salsa with red wine awaiting us, followed by a rolled lamb roast with delicious vegetables and dessert from heaven - purchased from a French Patisserie in the area. Oh to be so spoilt by a couch surfing hostess!!! While having dinner, I felt my foot crashing (adrenalin levels must have depleted by then!) and when I got up I seriously thought that my holiday was over!!! The pain was excruciating and I couldn't put any weight on the foot at all. I retreated to my bedroom to apply some "MOVE" ointment and to take yet another anti-inflam. I then elevated my foot and kept it that way for the whole night. Praise the Lord, it was truly healed by the morning and all I have now is a slight bruise above my ankle where my leg knocked against the wooden slat.

And so the time came to leave Heather and her undeserved, kind hospitality. We left in the usual manner of taking a zillion photographs of the lake we thought we were leaving behind, but it followed us for many kilometres before new countryside introduced itself.