Orcas & Butchart Gardens

Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf is just around the Inner Harbour from the main tourist part. There are a whole bunch of odd little house boats that actually look more like houses than boats. Be assured they all have a motor of some type or other, but I wouldn't think you would want to drive them around in anything too rough. Some of them are even shops of varying types from ice cream shops to art galleries.

Whale watching

This is the way to go whale watching. Take a scarab hull & bolt three 250hp 4-stroke outboards to the back & you've got a brilliant way of getting places in a real hurry!
Eagle Wing Tours only have two boats & ours was the smaller of the two. All the other whale watching operators have either big slow cruisers or Zodiacs which are fast but if the weather's even slightly wind, you get soaked! We made a good choice because we stayed dry, didn't get beaten up by the rough seas & smoked the Zodiacs on the way back.

I'd Like to introduce you to L74. He's a male orca of "L-Pod". L-Pod are one of the "Resident" families that live around Vancouver Island. L74 is about 22 years old. All the whales are studied & given a name (of sorts). They can be easily recognised by the experts by their dorsal fin & the markings on their backs. As you can see from the photo, the orcas are not given much peace. They are surrounded by tourist operators on a daily basis. It's a bit disturbing really.

This female orca is called L12. L12 was born in 1933. She's one of the oldest of her pod. There's a web site that has all the info for identifying the individuals including family trees. L12 & L74 were traveling together when we were there. There were a number of other members of L-Pod we saw that day, but they were a way off & hounded by other boats. Some of the other cruise operators aren't very good at obeying the rules about staying at least 100m from the animals.

Among about 70 photos I took today, about six were good. This one was the best of the lot. The whales were on a serious mission to get wherever they were going & were surfacing only briefly. At one point they were chasing a school of salmon, but otherwise weren't doing anything particularly interesting. L74 got all excited for just a little while & started breaching. He only did it about 4 times & I managed to catch him in the act once.

On the return journey from the whale watching, the captain took us to a favourite hang out for some of the local Harbour Seals. They are the same species as the ones we saw in Alaska & just as lazy! The difference here was the lack of rain.

Everywhere we went chasing the whales, Mt Barker seemed to be watching over us. It towers over the surrounding peaks that are substantial themselves.

Butchart Gardens

 A short drive north of Victoria is the Butchart Gardens. "Gardens" I hear you say. Why would you go there? Well believe it or not, if you get a chance to go to Vancouver Island, this is one of the must see attractions on the list.Above, the Sunken Garden, is one of the many theme gardens within the Butchart Gardens complex.

It is the middle of summer and the flowers in the garden are in full bloom much like their wild cousins we saw in the mountains last week.

This is Ross Fountain. It has a similar fancy water jet display to the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

More flowers.....

And more with the obsession with totem poles! I couldn't help but act the goose.

This is another of the theme gardens in Butchart Gardens. The Japanese garden is one of the better ones.

Like I said, a must see if you visit Victoria B.C.

Victoria Inner Harbour.

This evening we had dinner and wandered around the Inner Harbour enjoying the twilight and taking a few photos. I'll let the photos themselves speak for me.

It was a very rewarding day and it will to be a tough one to top.

Victoria

Monday morning we checked out of the hotel & jumped on a bus to take us to Tsawwassen, south of Vancouver. The bus then boarded one of the BC Ferries and headed for Sydney on Vancouver Island. The trip was actually quite interesting as it went through the Gulf Islands off the SE of Vancouver Island. It was a bit like Prince William Sound in Alaska but DRY! There were no glaciers either. I even saw a few puffins at one point. Apparently they occasionally see killer whales from the ferry.

Vancouver and the Gulf Islands are littered with lighthouses and it seems most of them are still in operation. Above is one was on one of the Gulf Islands we traveled past on the ferry to Sydney.

After landing in Sydney, to bus took us the final 40ish kms south to Victoria. First impressions were pretty good. The downtown area where we stayed is on a small harbour. It's quite the sight with the Parliament Building (below) overlooking the harbour. To the right of picture is yet another of Fairmount's many over the top hotels, The Empress. To the right, a busy harbour. It's picturesque & well worth a look if you get a chance.

Apart from some private boats (and some are very extravagant), there's a ferry that comes up from Seattle and a float plane port that seemed busier than Vancouver (and the aircraft were way closer!). It's another place that I would be happy just sitting & watching the world go by.

This "Undersea Gardens" is the biggest waste time & money in Victoria. Don't even bother going near it. It is badly kept & there just isn't much of interest to see. Save it for something more worth while. There are much better things to spent you time & money on in the area.

The Victorian locals are mad gardeners. The city has the most moderate climate in Canada. It has warmer temperatures in winter & rarely snows, (it doesn't even rain anywhere as much as Vancouver). In summer the proximity to the ocean keeps the top temperatures to the high 20's - low 30's. Consequently, the plants don't get frozen through the winter or roasted in summer so you can grow just about anything there. The city is very colourful with hanging baskets (above) lining the streets and the locals fanatical about having the best garden in their street. It certainly works for them.

This would never happen in Alberta or Australia! It's not even a French translation.

Victoria isn't just photogenic during the day, it's also quite the postcard in the evening.

Vancouver

Today we hired bikes and rode around Stanley park (among other things). Having not been on a bike for a number of months, our back sides were in agony after a relatively short time. We pressed on regardless.Above is the Brockton Point Lighthouse with the Lion's Gate bridge in the background.

One thing you notice in B.C. and Alaska in particular is the obsession with totem poles! I know its native art blah blah blah, heritage.... Apparently, this cluster of totem poles in Stanley Park are part of the most visited heritage site in B.C.

After conquering Stanley Park, we continued along the inlet to the south of Vancouver Downtown to the far end. This "Golf Ball" was part of a World Expo & is now Science world. We chose not to go in because the write-ups on it didn't inspire us.

We continued around the inlet to Granville Island. I'm not too sure why its called an island because it isn't even nearly surrounded by water. The entire place is pretty much a big market. It's a bit like the Fremantle Markets back home. Some people really enjoy it, but its not my thing. I hate shopping and crowds so it has two black marks against it from me for starters.

After having a fairly average lunch there we headed back to town. We cheated by jumping on one of the little water taxis (see centre of photo above) that take you to the other side of the inlet for a couple of bucks. The way my rear was feeling, I wasn't about to ride the however many kms back around the inlet. We sat along the waterfront watching the world go by for an hour or so & happily handed the bikes back.

Overall, Vancouver is OK, but its more of a city of business than tourist place. I'm glad I've had a look around, but I would leave it off the list if I was short for time when travelling. Vancouver Island is far more interesting. We're off there tomorrow.

Vancouver

We had some unfinished business in Vancouver from a year ago so we are spending a couple of days there on the way to Vancouver island. One of the things on the to-do list was to go to the
Vancouver Lookout (Vancouver's answer to the Calgary Tower or Sydney's Centre Point). Every second city seems to have one these days.  It wasn't anything too spectacular, but it was OK. Above is Burrard inlet with Stanley Park in the foreground, and the Lion's Gate Bridge in the background. You'll also notice a gas/petrol station in the middle of the inlet for boating customers. The inlet is a busy port & busy airport (sea planes). You can easily sit along the waterfront all day watching the world go by.

Here's proof that Vancouver has a busy sea plane port. Notice the aircraft control tower on top of the nearby building. I wouldn't say Burrard Inlet was as busy as Vancouver Airport, but it's still busy enough to need constant supervision. The aircraft take off & land just to the right of the tower.

This is the business end of Burrard Inlet. It's the biggest port on the west coast of Canada. There aren't many other options other than Prince Rupert. Notice the rail yards in the foreground as well. I'm guessing that most of that freight comes through Calgary or Jasper at some point. The white passenger trains are the Westcoast Express that brings commuters to & from the outskirts of greater Vancouver. The port facility you see is only the tip of the iceberg. The inlet runs quite far inland from what you can see & the industry follows.

We wandered around the city exploring some of the places we hadn't been before including the Gas Quarter.

We had a great view of the twilight from our hotel room.

It was pretty late when the sky finally almost went dark.

Marble Canyon

Bow Valley Parkway

This morning we opted to have a day with not too much walking. The Twin Falls hike has taken its toll. So we drove along the Bow Valley Parkway looking for animals and stopping along the way to take in the sights. At one of the lookout points, we were sitting, peacefully taking in the view when the peace was shattered by the Rocky Mountaineer bound for Kamloops & Vancouver.

Summer is in full swing and the wildflowers are in full bloom at the moment rushing to reproduce before winter takes back the mountains.

The elk around the valleys are busy growing antlers at the moment and this big boy had a decent point count. He was making the most of the fresh green grass while it lasts.

Marble Canyon.

Our plan was to do a couple of short walks in Kootenay National Park in B.C., Marble Canyon and the Paint Pots. They are only 3 kms apart just on the other side of the border, about 25 kms from Banff.

Marble Canyon has been closed to the public since a "Wild Fire" (Bush Fire in Aussie speak) ripped through this area back in 2003. This summer is the first time it has been open since the fire. It's at least on par with Maligne Canyon near Jasper for interest. At the deepest point it is 60m deep & is only 3m wide at the narrowest point.

More wild flowers. These are wild strawberries.

Paint Pots and Ochre Beds

Our second walk was to the Paint Pots. Along the trail to the paint pots you cross over the Vermilion River on a suspension bridge (above) & across the Ochre Beds (below).

The last 100m or so climbs up beside a small creek laden with iron & other minerals giving the soil a vibrant orange colour (below).

The paint pots aren't actually that interesting, but the walk up to them is worth the short stroll.