Once we had left Kelowna behind a whole new world opened its path to us. We were now on our way to Whistler, which to all accounts cannot be missed. Leaving the Kelowna area brought into view rolling hills and mountains, much like the KZN landscape, only covered in those velvety appearing yellow grasses.

The Thompson-Nicola district en route to Lillooet (Lil-loo-ett) takes on a more desert-like character. Enormous and dramatic mountains with very little vegetation. Rivers in the valleys and the accompanying farmlands along the rivers' borders provide the only colour, but the contrasts are extremely aesthetically impressive. The road is very loopy and with very few pull-over spots for viewing, so many of my pics were pot-shots through the windscreen.

We eventually arrived at Lillooet, a tiny little one street town on the banks of the mighty Fraser River. It is in a very striking valley, so of course, we had to get elevation to see the full aspect. We popped into the visitors' centre for info regarding walks, hikes, etc. and were directed to a pathway up the mountain just behind the village. We were also advised not to camp the night in Whistler since the temperatures were going to be at freezing point that night. So, the decision was made to camp over at the Seton Dam campsite just outside Lillooet, where temperatures were expected to be more reasonable through the night. My darling husband assured me that conditions would be warmer than we had experienced at Lake Louise.

We then went to find that path up the mountain - shees!!!! Up, up, up……relentless in the grade and loose gravel of the path. I was still very nervous about my ankle, so we simply went up far enough to get a decent view and then very tentatively made our slippery way down again. I cannot tell you how much of a blessing the purchase of the walking pole has been. I am pretty sure I would have many grazes, ripped clothing, bruises and shattered body parts if it had not been for the steadying, sturdy force of that trusty rod. We then went to the store to stock up our supplies and forward-marched/drove to the campsite…..only long-drops….no ablutions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GREAT!!!! One of those adventures!!!! Any wayyyyyyyyy….we set up camp and then took ourselves up another 90 degree incline to see the Seton Lake. Made it up with the usual commentary from me and then the walk was level all the way. We followed a very underwhelming path, only to find ourselves crossing the road to get to the lake…..WE COULD HAVE DRIVEN THERE!!!!!!!!! Even Graeme was a bit cheesed off! But the lake was glorious to behold!!! We are back in aquamarine waters country again. This lake also feeds the hydro dam so the noise of gushing waters created an even more dramatic ambience….but, even with that, the tranquillity was wonderful. We sat there for about an hour before making our way back to the campsite via the loop trail at the top of the hill we had just crawled up.

And so the camping adventure began. Graeme had purchased a space blanket sleeping bag liner for me in Vernon, so of course I lined my sleeping bag. I was pretty sure that with the newspaper and cardboard lining of the tent, the sleeping bag liner and the covering space blanket, as well as the layers of clothing that make me look like the Oros man, I would have a warm and comfortable (relatively, of course) night. Mmmpphhhffffff!!!!! I was truly warm all over, but for that part of my body in direct contact with the mattress!!! Jack Frost laughed in the face of our insulation lining and simply seeped right through it to freeze anything within 20 cm of the ground. I did find that if I inserted my begloved hand between said body parts and mattress, it eased the chill, but have you ever tried sleeping with the full weight of your body on your hand???? Then, the stupid glacier at the summit of the mountain joined the party by groaning and cracking its discontent throughout the night!!!

Worst of all though, was that it had to be here, on the coldest camping night of all, that every camper's nightmare had to eventuate!!! Our mattress sprung a leak!!!! So throughout the night, at about 3-4 hourly intervals, Graeme found himself having to re-pump the mattress - all of the above not a good recipe for cheerful dispositions upon the waking hour.

Needless to say, we did not rise or shine all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!!!

We packed up camp in relative silence, freezing fingers and toes in the process and taking note of the frosty conditions around us. Ate breakfast and got out of there as fast as our wheels could carry us!!!

However, the scenery on the trip from there to Whistler did everything to successfully cheer us up as we drove through forest-decked, snow-capped mountains until we encountered one of the most stunning lakeside landscapes on our trip yet. We pulled off the road and sat there, gawking at a lake in the misty morning atmosphere, steam filtering off the glazed surface, with a duck or two leaving gentle trails behind them and right in the centre of the scene, a murky snow-capped mountain finished off this depiction of perfection.

We drove on and encountered the sign indicating that the Joffre lakes trailhead was off to our left. We made a spontaneous decision to give it a try - the lake had worked its magic. This trail was absolutely stunning as it wended its way up through rich and luscious emerald carpeted forests, but it was murderous to negotiate. Very wet paths, surrounded by iced-over rocks and relentless in its incline….not good for the levels of amiability after a sleepless night. However, the trail takes the hiker past three lakes, each one upping the beauty of the last. En route one encounters the Holloway Falls …. What an unexpected surprise….the falls flow with full force over a natural stairway…really quite remarkable and very engrossing. We sat beside it for quite some time before moving on to lake #2. A rich aquamarine blue met us and again a clear glassy surface that reflects everything around the lake in perfect mimickry. The lake is guarded by a rather imposing mountain with a magnificent glacier at the helm. Again, we sat there for a long while simply unable to absorb the full extent of all the beauty around us. But, we only had one more km to go to reach the third lake.

One km of treacherous boulder-hopping, that is!!! Again, my trusty stalwart, my walking pole, saved the day. But, man-oh-man…how is it possible that this lake could be even more overwhelmingly beautiful than the last?!!!! What a treat. There were a good number of people there, but everyone was awed into a deep respectful, silence. Each one of us found a boulder upon which to perch ourselves and simply emptied our brains of everything but the view in front of us. The awe-inspiring glaciered mountain once again glared down on us (we did, of course, encounter one crazy teenage type on his way down [thankfully] as we were going up, with his heavy rock music blasting through the veil of stillness)…. I will not repeat my husband's thoughts on this occurrence!!!

And so the time came to reluctantly leave this spectacular gift from God. I was so very grateful that it was downhill all the way and I found myself feeling so very sorry for the poor people who were only starting on their upward journey as we were finishing our downward trail.

We then moved on to the Nairn Falls just outside Pemberton, where we sat under the shade of a small copse of trees. After that we took the walk along a very well prepared trail to the falls. Again, a powerful rush of waters through pot holes that have been corroded into the rock face of the canyon.

From there we moved on to the hostel in Whistler and they could find no record of Graeme's online reservations. My heart sank, since the weather was not being very friendly, but they had room for us and so all was well. First thing was to hit the showers, then to have supper, then to settle on our beds and elevate our aching feet before falling asleep. I was woken a couple of times for snoring noisily enough to penetrate through Graeme's earplugs, but it was nothing an extra pillow couldn't sort. Fortunately, we were alone in our 4-sleeper dorm.

We woke to miserable, overcast and drizzly conditions. So, I spent the morning getting a blog prepared and then we joined the hostel group for the hike along the Train wreck suspension bridge and trail. A very different walk of differing degrees of difficulty along the way to a number of wrecked train carriages from an accident a number of years ago, which have all been turned into graffiti works of art. Then we passed yet another waterfall, before taking the path which led us back to the hostel. Graeme very kindly offered to make hot chocolate upon our return and I thoroughly enjoyed the rich, warm liquid finding its way down to the tips of my toes. It tasted strangely different with a slight spice to it and upon taking my last mouthful I discovered why…..I tossed my head back and my cup up, only to have my lemon and ginger tea bag from my early morning beverage land with a splat in the cavern of my mouth!!!!!! He didn't even apologise - just smirked a little!!!!

In the afternoon we dressed for wet conditions and took ourselves to the village to see what we could see - and all that we could see was what one would expect to find in a tourist oriented little town. Back we went and took ourselves off to the local Whistler Brewery to taste their wares and to be treated to an evening of live music. It was a very loud man-cave type of place filled with bearded lumberjacks - or that's what I imagined them to be. I was one of a handful of the female gender present, but it was a pleasant enough evening….that is until the music started!!! They started off the evening with an Eric Clapton number and both Graeme and I thought we were in for a good gig of familiar music….but that was the only familiar number they played. From there on it was simply a rendition of noise that prevented any form of conversation. We returned to the hostel to prepare our supper and make it to bed. Whistler was meant to be one of our highlights from all correspondence with our travel network, but the weather was not on our side…so we've seen the village, but without the glory of its scenic setting.

And so we started, the following morning, on our journey via the sea to sky route towards the ferry at Horseshoe Bay to take us to Vancouver Island. The rock faces in these mountains are all granite or volcanic deposits which make for some dramatic scenery and about a third of the way, the Howe Sound of the Pacific Ocean becomes your neighbourly travel companion. We stopped at all the very have-to touristy spots like Brandywine Falls and Shannon Falls and we were duly impressed. We missed one of the view points and decided to stop at the Murrin Park to have our lunch. However, to our delight we discovered a most beautiful loop trail that gives you a most unexpected and glorious view at the Quercus viewpoint, of the length of the Sound. The clouds had lifted sufficiently to create an atmosphere and beauty that was awe-inspiring. The loop trail was meant to be a gentle stroll around the lake and so I left my walking pole in the car….what a mistake. My legs and hips worked very, very hard as they had no crutch upon which to depend as we mounted boulder, root and step to reach the viewpoint…but it was a good outing!

We decided to go further down the coast to Furry Creek for lunch, but this is simply a residential area on the beachfront of the Sound. Took some pics of a bird with its enormous dinner stuck in its throat and then we again moved along to Porteau Cove, where at last, we found some picnic tables and gladly sat down to appreciate the quiet and beauty of the spot. As we sat down, one of the park workers started up her weed-eater and simply ruined our aspect for lunchtime!!!

So, the last thing to do now was to get ourselves to Horseshoe Bay to check out the ferries. We decided to take the last ferry of the day which was a good 20 Dollars cheaper than the others and then went to the "waterfront" to find a cup of hot chocolate and coffee. We drove around a bit too and eventually found ourselves watching the sunset on the beach of Caudfeild Village (and yes, that is how they spell it!!!). We returned to purchase fish n chips for supper before making our way to the ferry. While in the queue, we ate our supper and then drove onto said ferry, which is where I find myself now!!!! So, you will hear from me again at the end of my last week of time share luxury!!!