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Kelowna, the Gateway to Majestic Okanagan Lake
June 1st, 2007 / No Comments
Kelowna is the largest inland city in British Columbia and it is located in the heart of the region’s wine country. It is a mecca of outdoor pursuits and cultural activities. The city is a restful getaway into Okanagan Lake, a 90-kilometer long body of water that has been a haven for boaters, swimmers, and even kite boarders. The lake’s inviting waters shimmer in the sunlight, a wonderful sight as vacationers bask along its beaches.
The city is as beautiful as it is delightful, with blooming surroundings, hanging baskets, and festive banners adorning the tidy streets. Kelowna succeeds in maintaining its image as one of the prettiest cities in BC.Kelowna never runs out of entertaining activities that tourists can enjoy, from championship golf courses to internationally-acclaimed wine tours, from downhill skiing to Shakespeare in the Park. You can browse the Kelowna Art Gallery or inside the city’s Centennial Museum. Visitors can also bask in the tranquility and peace of the Kasugai Japanese Gardens. Enjoy your nights here with free summer entertainment in City Park and Waterfront Park, or can even attend a concert at Skyreach Place. Downtown Kelowna has everything that a family can enjoy.
The Downtown City Park offers a great environment in the summer. One can sun tan, play and have fun. Children can use the playgrounds as well as the water and skate board park. Another place of interest is the Bertram Park at the end of Lakeshore Road, with beautiful beaches and grassy picnic areas. This is one of the most idyllic places in the city, where families can gather around for barbecue.
Gyro Beach is a half-submerged playground by the lake. In the summer you can let yourself slide along the rope into the Okanagan.
The city is also visited during winter time because of their popular ski resorts like the Big White, located 55 kilometers from the city.
Posted in Attractions, Travel
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Queen Charlotte Islands: Getaway to Untouched Wilderness
May 25th, 2007 / No Comments
Queen Charlotte Islands is located on the northwest of British Columbia, comprising of over 150 islands. Of these islands, only Graham and Moresby Islands are densely populated. With a population of about 4,000, the islands retained much of their natural beauty that adventurous tourists crave for.
This vast untouched wilderness is also home of the native Haida people for thousands of years. The native name “Haida Gwaii” translates as “islands of the people.”
Since the area is remote, expect the place to have little development (it only has one traffic light) and the absence of grand resorts. However, this is fully compensated with a whole different experience starting from learning the native Haida culture to exploring the vast first-growth rainforest.The rainforest is comprised of towering spruce and cedar trees, and many types of ferns and other greenery along the forest floor.
Queen Charlotte City, the archipelago’s administrative center, is located in Bearskin Bay on the southern shore of Graham Island. It contains more shops and services than its small size would suggest. The moist, mild climate allows for lush vegetation and abundant wildlife.
Sandspit, a charming village lying on a spit of land extending into Hecate Strait, is located on the northeast tip of Moresby Island. It is the home to the Islands’ main airport and also blessed with a mild climate, lush vegetation, and bountiful wildlife. Tourist reach Queen Charlotte Islands through direct flights from Prince Rupert and Vancouver or a 6-hour ferry ride from Prince Rupert.
Queen Charlotte Islands have two extensive natural parks: the newly-protected Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Naikoon Provincial Park.
Naikoon (Rose Point) is predominantly flat, with a highest altitude of just over 150 meters above sea level. Its native species include black bears, otters, and martins, while some mammals such as raccoons, red squirrels, beavers, and muskrats were introduced in the park. Wild cattle are also spotted here.
Posted in Attractions, Outdoors
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Victoria: British Columbia’s Scenic Capital
May 25th, 2007 / No Comments
Contrary to popular belief, Vancouver is not the capital of British Columbia. Its seat of legislature is located in a beautiful coastal city of more than 300,000 people situated on the southern tip of Vancouver Island.
Victoria has a lot of historic buildings and fascinating museums. It is blessed with mild climate, allowing its residents to enjoy outdoor activities all year round. Every corner of the city has exhilarating scenery, from ocean or mountain vistas to majestic flower gardens.
Tourists have endless options here in Victoria. There are little shops tucked away in every nook and cranny in the center, such as souvenir shops all around the Inner Harbour. Shoppers can also check out Government Street, the biggest shopping district of the city, where live music is also performed during summer; Antique Row along fort Street, which is lined with small antique shops and auction houses; and Bastion Square, where you can also find summer crafts stores similar to those in Inner Harbour.Summertime in Inner Harbour is full of artists, buskers, and other entertainers. Many residents also fly their float planes with amusement. It also has beautiful flowers during springtime.
Butchart Gardens is a favorite destination of both tourists and locals alike all year long. This former limestone quarry is home of the most wonderful flowers come spring, as well as musical fireworks during summer and winter nights. The gardens are also lit up depicting twelve days of Christmas.
You can also go to the local Chinatown for an afternoon of dining and ornament shopping. You can try out some bubble tea as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. It is also here in Chinatown where you can find Canada’s smallest road, Fan Tan Alley.
Victoria has some of the most interesting museums in Canada. One can see extensive miniature displays of different cities in Miniature World, witness the cultures of the First People and coastal marine life in Royal BC Museum, get inside a huge Victorian-era mansion at Craigdarroch Castle, and get close with famous personalities in the Royal London Wax Museum.
Tourists can also get closer to nature through a visit in Victoria Bug Zoo where you can see different multi-legged creatures (even handling some critters for the more adventurous), a bike ride to Galloping Goose Trail, and even searching for whales on the ocean.
Posted in Attractions
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Cat Skiing on Powder-Fresh Snow
May 25th, 2007 / No Comments
If skiing on overly-used snow resorts does not give you the thrill that you used to have, consider taking your passion for skiing up a notch by skiing on higher altitudes and on fresh snow. British Columbia is one of the world’s foremost cat-skiing destinations. It is also here where the sport first started, in Kootenay Rockies over 25 years ago. The reason it is called “cat-skiing” is because you needed to ride on a snowcat (snowmobile) to reach the snow tracks that you have been dreaming about.
You get into high altitudes of freshly-fallen, powder-white snow, winding you down along open slopes and tree-lined tracks. Expect to ski of up to 18,000 vertical feet per day, which translates to between 6 to 15 runs. The longest runs range from 2,500 to 3,000 feet.Accommodations vary from high-end luxury lodgings to a more budget-conscious room-and-board options. Participants of cat-skiing are expected to be intermediate to advanced skiers, although those with less experience can opt for gentler terrain. Age restrictions also apply in these resorts.
Each region of British Columbia offers something unique to your cat-skiing needs. The Resort Municipality of Whistler in Vancouver Lower Mainland is one of the sites for Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is one of the largest skiing resorts in North America with panoramic vistas. Most resorts here provide discounts for university students as well as residents of BC and even Washington State in the US.
The Thompson Okanagen region is a cat-skiing nirvana, with several mountain ranges that provide vast, high country areas. Expect to ski here in higher elevations. Meanwhile, the Kootenay Rockies is one of Canada’s snowiest regions, assuring you of fresh champagne powder snow almost everyday. It is also where you find luxurious, high-end lodging and dining, as well as spa-style amenities such as after-cat massages.
Posted in Activities
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Storm Watching Season in British Columbia
May 22nd, 2007 / No Comments
Winter vacationers from different parts of the globe travel to travel to the beautiful fishing villages of Ucluelet and Tofino to participate in an unique activity called storm watching.
The season of storm watching range from November to March, when the province is visited by 10 to 15 storms every month peaking into December to February. It is during this time Tofino gets a majority of its annual rainfall of 5 meters. The storms are also so strong, the rain falls almost horizontally.
Storm watching is a relatively new tourist attraction in the west coast of Vancouver Island, although this has been practiced by the locals for thousands of years as they watch, brace against, and surviving winter storms. This activity does not require additional equipment, only that the observers should be still and feel at awe on nature’s show of force. Witness the waves of the Pacific Ocean pound agains the coastal rocks and the wind rattling against your double-paned window.If you plan on storm watching, it is best to check in hotels and B&B’s that are facing the ocean. It is also a plus if you find in the establishment some good books, a fireplace, and perhaps a down duvet that you can put on your lap.
Or if you are planning on becoming a little bit more adventurous, try heading out into the storm and experience the power of the wind, observe the giant waves, and hear the two sound harmoniously together.
Among locations that are recommended when it comes to storm watching are the following:
* Wickaninnish Inn, the birthplace of storm watching. This luxurious oceanfront accommodation has a special package for this season, including a 3-hour guided nature walk, storm caps, and even a special storm watching drink. Guests can also enjoy morning whale or bear watching while on a boat during spring, as well as private yoga lessons, and a sumptuous dinner to cap the night.
* A Snug Harbour Inn, which is nestled on the edge of an 85-foot cliff overlooking the rugged Pacific coastline. Guests can experience the incredible sights and sounds of a winter storm from the comfort of their own luxury oceanfront room.
Posted in Activities, Outdoors
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Vancouver’s Marijuana Cafés
May 22nd, 2007 / No Comments
Vancouver is among the few places in the world were recreational use of marijuana is tolerated. Like the progressive social policy used in the Netherlands, the city has a small number of marijuana cafés (as opposed to “coffeeshops” like in Amsterdam) where open smoking of soft drugs like marijuana and hashish is tolerated.
The only difference between the pot cafés of Vancouver and its Holland counterpart is that patrons in Vancouver must bring their own smoke since marijuana is being sold outside the establishment.
Smoking marijuana within city limits is technically considered illegal, but as long as one carries small amounts of pot or hashish for personal recreational use you are off the hook. However, cultivation of cannabis and possession of large amounts of soft drugs are not allowed by law at all and is punishable by stiff fines and (sometimes) jail sentences.Many tourists go visit Vancouver’s soft drug cafés, a majority of them Americans considering the city as a cheaper alternative to Amsterdam. However, do remember to practice etiquette when partaking into the local marijuana scene. Tourists are advised to exercise same common sense, respect, and precautions used when smoking pot. For instance, do not try to smoke a joint while walking down the city streets out of respect for the locals. Also, try not to flaunt or talk in a loud voice about your use of soft drugs in public. Doing so would make you stand out to the locals, not to mention the unwanted attention you may draw yourself from police and criminal elements that exists in some streets. Keep also in mind that Vancouver has strict anti-smoking laws inside of most public buildings including bars and nightclubs, which is why smoking a joint inside a pot café is very much advisable.
Posted in Attractions, Travel
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Golfing on British Columbia’s Greens
May 22nd, 2007 / No Comments
Golfing under the British Columbia skies is an experience all by itself, with courses ranked among the finest of the world. Being a geographically diverse province, golfing in BC has an array of choices. For one, the courses range from gently rolling greens overlooking the ocean to tiered fairways in the mountain country.
Golfing in British Columbia lets you live and breathe the best that the province has to offer. With virtually pure air and comfortable temperatures, it is not unusual to see eagles, ducks, or even mountain goats while you are out hitting the greens.
The BC has golf courses that are so spectacular, even PGA designated the province as an official golf destination, and we believe that you will agree with us as you play a few rounds in any of our 250 courses with challenges that are as various as its terrain.The sport is even played year round on southern Vancouver Island and over at the Vancouver Coast and Mountain Regions, that is if you are willing to play under the rain during the winter season. The region’s rainy winter has even made the province a favorite destination of Canadians themselves, who usually venture south to escape the harsh chilly winter.
When you play golf in British Columbia, expect to play championship courses all throughout the region without even having to pay extravagant championship fees. You can also choose the less expensive nine- and eighteen-holers with sceneries that are just as astounding. Remember that when teeing off in BC, expect to be distracted in a pleasant way. Distracted to the beauty of waterfalls cascading down, mountains towering high, dense fir and cedar trees, sparkling lakes, fjords, and panoramic views. Not to mention the good chance of spotting wildlife on the fairway like white-tailed or fallow deer, elk, and coyotes, which are common on our golf courses. Watch out for eagles even, and don’t be surprised if your golf ball get snatched by an audacious raven.
Posted in Activities, Travel
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Fishing Activities Around British Columbia
May 22nd, 2007 / No Comments
Canada’s British Columbia has an intricate system of lakes and rivers around the province, not to mention the long Pacific Ocean coast along the west. This has long been one of North America’s best fishing destinations, where fisher from all over the world are reeling in with hopes of getting giant-sized steelhead, huge sturgeon, and mammoth salmon. The waters of BC is also abundant with rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, Yellowhead perch, and other species.
It is in British Columbia where you find the Salmon Fishing Capital of the World, Campbell River, which is one of the finest salmon-fishing destinations. Here, you are most likely to catch the big ones. You can also try becoming a member of the Tyee Club, which is an association of conservative fishers with strict regulations against the use of engine boats. Being a member here means that you need to row your bow and use light tackle in order to fish the famous Tyee Pool.Almost the entire coast of British Columbia provide ample supply of salmon, halibut, or ground fish for the adventurous fishers. Meanwhile, the Hakai Pass, Queen Charlotte Islands, and northern waters near Kitimat and Prince Rupert boast excellent salt water fishing opportunities. Fishing lodges can be found almost anywhere in the province, ranging from deluxe fly-in remote coastal lodges to budget-minded motels.
BC’s lakes and rivers boast of thousands of magnificant fishing opportunities for the freshwater varieties from fighting steelhead to Kokanee salmon, to Dolly Varden, the famous Kamloops trout, and the world’s largest breed of rainbow trout found only in Kootenay, the Gerrard.
Various fishing tours and activities have become abundant in the province, which is why you need to consult with British Columbia’s expert and knowledgeable fishing guides to provide you with your dream fishing vacation.
Posted in Outdoors