Arriving in Clearwater a little after 9:30pm, we found our room keys in an envelope taped to the main lobby front door. Unfortunately, the room wasn’t exactly what we had been expecting, but considering the time and only staying the one night we settled down to catch some sleep. The next day we went to the information centre to get an idea of some easy walks we could do before setting off on the road to Kelowna. We wanted to see a little of Wells Grey Park, as we had been told that bears were frequently spotted here. We were pushed for time that day as I was eager to check in at our next apartment early in the day…sadly this wasn’t to be.
We started out through Wells Grey stopping off at most viewpoints on the way to check out the waterfalls and finally ending our drive at Baileys Chute, a place renowned for being the end of the Salmon trail. Here I was sure we would spot the plucky fish springing up river. I was determined and stood there watching for a good half an hour, finally being graced with the appearance of 1 leaping salmon. So shocked was I, that I didn’t manage to capture the moment on film forever, I guess I must be happy that I have seen it. By the time we had made our way back out of the park it was late, and we still had a 4-hour drive ahead of us. Luckily for me, as driver, it was a fairly simple route and there didn’t appear to be much in the way of traffic. However, after stopping on the way for food we didn’t pull up to the ranch until nearly 9pm. We were shown to our apartment inside and were blown away by how amazing it was, this was by far the best place we’d stayed for the whole trip so far.
Waking up the next day to an incredible view, as there were no curtains on the window opposite the bed for this very reason, was incredible. That day we decided to take a trip into Kelowna city have some lunch and get supplies for a BBQ on our terrace that evening, before heading back to spend a few hours relaxing. We had lunch at Earls on the waterfront, and due to it taking slightly longer than usual for the food to arrive we were given it free of charge. We were so astounded by this, as we’d be lucky to get free drinks at home, that we left a generous tip for our lovely server.
Back at the apartment we had some chill out time before starting to prepare for are BBQ feast. Sadly, it was far too cold and dark to sit out on the terrace but bringing the cooked food inside was just as good. We were sad to leave the beautiful ranch the following day but were equally as excited to head onwards to Vancouver for the last stop of the trip.
The weather turned as we made our way down the highways, the heavens opened and the downpours commenced. Luckily by the time we reached our destination the sun had decided to make an appearance. Successfully checked in to our AirBnB we walked round to the local supermarket to get some supplies in and something for dinner. After cooking pasta, we were both feeling tired and a little under the weather so we relaxed on the sofa and caught up on Netflix.
The next morning, we both awoke to the realisation we had been struck down by a cold. Trying to not let this hamper our time in Vancouver we set out to catch the ferry to Granville Island. As luck would have it as soon as we arrived at the dock the ferry arrived and we sailed the 4 minute journey, alighting right behind the public market. After much mooching around we stopped for lunch before making the decision at 3pm to head back home and have a quiet evening, hoping for the best we would feel a little more rejuvenated the following day.
Still feeling rubbish, and now even more full of cold, we decided to spend our last day of the trip at Grouse Mountain. Taking the skyride up the mountain we watched a lumberjack show, went to see the resident grizzly bears and listened to the ranger talks before having lunch at the Altitudes Bistro. As we had bought a peak pass this meant we could go up on the open chairlift to the very peak of the mountain.
Arriving at the top we realised there wasn’t very much to do but it did offer a lovely view over the city. My now keen animal spotting eye, managed to catch a glimpse of something in the hedge just slightly below the footpath, stopping to look we realised it was a deer and her young fawn. They were so tame that they let us stand right near them to take photos. Distracted by just watching this wildlife go about their day we began to notice a real chill beginning to set in, so we went to grab the chairlift to take us back down the mountain.
Driving back into the city it was a sad realisation that we would be leaving for home the next day, and trepidation at the 30-hour journey that lay ahead of us. No holiday ever feels like long enough, but with so much to see and do in Canada we really did feel as though we could have stayed. It is a country I would recommend to everyone, and I will most definitely be heading back!
