Confirmed bear sighting

Took a train from Vancouver to Jasper yesterday(18 hours). Well worth the upgrade from the bus, got to drink whiskey and dry and slept for about eight hours.
Followed the path of the Fraser River for the majority of trip, saw huge pine forests and frozen lakes on the way.
About an hour out of Jasper we passed a steep slope of scree were 2 black bears were sitting having a munch on some leaves, it was amazing seeing them, highlight of the trip so far.
Write more soon.

Ben

Tags: Black Bear, Vancouver, Jasper

Leaving Vancouver Island

Well dudes leaving Vancouver Island tomorrow after 2
weeks on our RV Odyssey. Had an awesome time just
relaxing on deserted beaches walking through forests
and sh**ing myself at the prospect of being eaten
alive by bears while taking a sly pee outside the RV
at night.
Next stop is Banff national park where we plan to do a
bit more walking, hopefully will get to see some
interesting wildlife as well.
First impressions of Canada

1) Lots of water
2) All the trees look like massive xmas trees
3) People always say "your welcome" after you say
thanks
4) shop assistants like to entertain you with a
standup act even if you are not buying anything
5) everyone drives massive trucks (oversized utes,
some are bigger than hummers)

Beer is pretty good here it is also fair cheap which
is always a good combination.
Anyway this computer has told me my session is
expiring so scratch ya later!

http://www.bandmcanada.blogspot.com

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Tags: Vancouver Island, RV,

New photos uploaded

I have posted some new photos to flikr today, enjoy!

First Steelhead

A monster from the deep!

Tags: Steelhead

RV part II

We are about half way through our RV trip. Have visited the west coast town of Torfino but had to leave due to driving winds and rain. It is still very cold over here and we have had some snow in places. The weather isn't so bad though as the mist hanging over the pines in the mountains makes it seem a bit more mystical in a way. Have been doing a lot of walking seen amazing rivers with really crystal clear waters from ice run-off lots of waterfalls and old growth forests filled with massive Douglas Firs and Giant Red-Cedars. Also visited a few beaches including one called long beach which had thousands of logs rolled up on it from the swells of the pacific. Some guys were surfing but it didn't look overly inviting so i decided to edge the offer of surfboard hire(makes Tassie winter surfs seem tropical).
I have got some photos to post but will need to find an internet cafe that allows use of a USB port to download them. Will post again as soon as.
Ben

Tags: Torfino, surfing, RV, red cedars

The hunt for Bigfoot

Am in the middle of an RV tour at present(mobile home) enjoying the weather in sunny Torfino(there is snow)

No sign of Bigfoot as yet although did hear a heavy splash in a puddle near RV last night, could have been him.

Will report more later.

Stop

 

Ben

http://www.bandmcanada.blogspot.com

Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com

Tags: Bigfoot

Hons Wun ton House

Visited Hons Wun Ton House today, Ate Hong Kong style Congi(rice porridge with tripe duck and pork) Chicken Potstickers(gyoza) and steamed Asian broccoli.
Thought you may be interested in diet.
Ben

Tags: congi, Hons Wun Ton House, gyoza

The first Canadian post!

So some may have been wondering why there was so much Australian content on a blog about Canada. Well it was mostly due to the fact that up until yesterday we were still living in Tasmania.
Today this has changed after spending our first full day in Vancouver i can actually post some relevant info.
So survived the 17 hour flight from Sydney with out to much trouble apart from some crazy jetlag last night(cured with a ham sarnie and a cold turkey sausage at 2.30am).
Air Canada actually provide you with an okay amount of leg room which did enable me to catch a couple of hours of sleep. The trade of for this however is a rather dodgy selection of films(one film i saw was In the Line of Fire with Clint Eastwood must have be about 1980 something)i say selection but you actually had to share one screen with the rest of the cabin so your only choice was to watch the film or not.
Today we had an active day hiring bikes to tour the park(saw first Totem Poles), walking to China Town(largest in Nth. America i believe) where we sampled a bizarre drink called bubble tea which was like a milkshake with a large layer of black tapioca at the bottom it was super sweet but with a strange aftertaste the tapioca felt like frog spawn but was actually quite a taste sensation in my opinion. Maz felt a bit ripped off though, i think she was expecting a more refined beverage.
Went to a place called Gas Town in the historic quarter of the city, there is some Vancouver shots posted at my flikr account here.

Tags: Vancouver, jet lag, Sydney, Air Canada, Clint Eastwood, Totem Poles, bubble tea, Gas Town

On the move.

Well after an emotional last day at work finally got the chance to get into the enthralling business of packing and cleaning the flat. Got up about 8.30 am on Thursday had breakfast and then proceeded to move the couch on to the balcony in preparation for lowering it to the van. At this point the heavens opened and large droplets of rain began to soak the couch, still at least there was a 40 knot southwest breeze to cool things down a bit.
The wind and rain persisted throughout the day as we made multiple trips to drop our gear into storage, Maz's lifting prowess was invaluable for the heavier items.
We got to sit down at about 7.30 having completed everything, Pippy cooked us a risotto and provided some vino, sweet.
Anyway we are now in Sydney awaiting our flight next week to Canada just about to head out for a surf at Bondi the weather is 23oC and all is good.

Ben

Tags: Sydney, Bondi, packing, moving