Kimberley is a small town about 11 hours drive East of Vancouver into the heart of the Rockies and where I head for my 3rd house swap. This is good fly fishing country and will be quite different to my last 2 house swaps.
Bev and Brian leave me their home while they visit family and friends.
With less than a week before I leave and I am only now starting to finalise everything.
Bev and Brian leave me their home while they visit family and friends.
With less than a week before I leave and I am only now starting to finalise everything.
Last weekend I booked the flight and first nights accommodation in Vancouver.
I have been to Vancouver a couple of times before and it is well worth staying an extra day or to.
One of these days I will take some extra time and head for Vancouver Island as that is also supposed to be a nice place to visit, but not this time.
Since it is an 11 hour drive to Kimberley I will stop somewhere along the way.
I will take my sleeping bag and hiking tent so accommodation should not be an issue as there are plenty of camping sites and, just as important, it is summer.
I have been to Vancouver a couple of times before and it is well worth staying an extra day or to.
One of these days I will take some extra time and head for Vancouver Island as that is also supposed to be a nice place to visit, but not this time.
Since it is an 11 hour drive to Kimberley I will stop somewhere along the way.
I will take my sleeping bag and hiking tent so accommodation should not be an issue as there are plenty of camping sites and, just as important, it is summer.
I leave Melbourne on Saturday the 16th August (my birthday present to myself) and return back Saturday the 20th September.
Finally booked another rental car today with unlimited Km's. I did book a car last week but cancelled it a couple of days ago when I realised that I would be doing more than the 3000km now that I am planning to meet my fishing mate Ron and his partner Liz in Banff on the 11th. They fly to Calgary then bus to Banff and return with me to Vancouver, most likely via Jasper. Ron won't be doing any fishing but he will be able to listen to all my stories :)
This time I have my "ESTA" which is the Visa waver valid for 2 years into the USA, not that I am leaving the transit lounge, and I know the address where I am going to, and I don't think I need a Visa for Canada, so should be no issues with the flight this time!
I am taking my company laptop with me as there will be a need for me to do some of the more urgent things that should not wait the 5 weeks until my return. Unfortunately I have not been able to get anyone else to do the work in my absence. By the time my next holidays come around I will have to ensure that I have someone else that can do the work. In this case it won't be too bad as I will only need to log in at night so that should not interfere with my fishing or any sight seeing.
It will also help reduce the pain of all these urgent things that apparently get saved up until my return.
I hope I am not over the weight limit with taking my laptop ... I better check that part soon.
I have arrived at Kimberley after an 11 hour drive from Vancouver through the Rockies ... Great scenery. Stopped at Salmo along the way and fished the Salmo river, caught a few small rainbow trout so have had my necessary fix for a few days.
Bev and a Brian gave me a tour of the house and shared this nice photo of a Brown Bear that they took in their backyard last week. I hope I can get my own photo... Will have to keep a watch for him/her
I was on a nearby walk and met a man walking his dogs. He showed me the location where a Black Bear normally hangs out. That is less than 500m from the house on the walking trail. So I will have to do a few more walks to see if I can see him.
Kimberley Photos Slideshow
This time I have my "ESTA" which is the Visa waver valid for 2 years into the USA, not that I am leaving the transit lounge, and I know the address where I am going to, and I don't think I need a Visa for Canada, so should be no issues with the flight this time!
I am taking my company laptop with me as there will be a need for me to do some of the more urgent things that should not wait the 5 weeks until my return. Unfortunately I have not been able to get anyone else to do the work in my absence. By the time my next holidays come around I will have to ensure that I have someone else that can do the work. In this case it won't be too bad as I will only need to log in at night so that should not interfere with my fishing or any sight seeing.
It will also help reduce the pain of all these urgent things that apparently get saved up until my return.
I hope I am not over the weight limit with taking my laptop ... I better check that part soon.
I have arrived at Kimberley after an 11 hour drive from Vancouver through the Rockies ... Great scenery. Stopped at Salmo along the way and fished the Salmo river, caught a few small rainbow trout so have had my necessary fix for a few days.
Bev and a Brian gave me a tour of the house and shared this nice photo of a Brown Bear that they took in their backyard last week. I hope I can get my own photo... Will have to keep a watch for him/her
I was on a nearby walk and met a man walking his dogs. He showed me the location where a Black Bear normally hangs out. That is less than 500m from the house on the walking trail. So I will have to do a few more walks to see if I can see him.
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| The local wildlife |
The river in the back yard is called Mark Creek, and yes there are a lot of fish in it. I spoke to one fisherman that was going up the river and he said that he had caught about 15 for the day.
There is a doe and 2 fawns that hang around the neighbourhood. The street is a dead end so the traffic is only local so they are not in danger of getting run over.
They are quite tame and you can get quite close to them
Every day there are dear to be seen on the side of the road.
Today it was a trip to Montana in the USA. The border is only 1.25 hours away.
The border crossing was easy with only a 5 minute delay getting through.
I drove to Whitefish and Columbia Falls, and then onto a river called North Fork Flathead river.
The scenery was great and the river looked ideal for fishing. Several people were rafting but I suppose I have to learn to share. I did not spend all that much time fishing as my main aim was just to have a look at the place and return in a few days time and camp there for 3 or 4 days.
Perhaps I will get a chance to meet one of those Bears.
Now I know how to see the difference between the black bear and the grizzly, I just have to check their feet.
Perhaps tomorrow I will drive to the North Fork Flathead river that is on the Canadian side. It is also a long trip over a long forestry road. But I like these remote places rather than the places that everyone goes to.
Well I went along a few extra forestry roads... They are not well signposted, well that's my excuse for spending and extra 2 hours than really needed. I asked one guy if I was on the right road and he said yes. It turned out that he was wrong!
I eventually got to where I wanted to and it was a beautiful river and very remote, which is just the way I like it.
The river may have looked good but the fishing was not all that great. But I am more there for the scenery.
I got out of my car when I was on a small track leading to the river. Just as I got out of the car there were two lots of very fresh spoor. I suspect that there were 2 bears looking at me. I did not wonder very far from the car, and did feel a bit safer when I returned.
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| Looks a good place to fish - non caught :) |
An old school mate (Alastair) visited from Calgary and stayed one night.
We talked about the travels we both had done and our future plans.
Alastair has plans of taking a year off work and traveling down to South America and thought I also may like to go. Sounds like a great adventure so may have to take a year off house swapping to go on a road trip. Alastair already speaks fluent Spanish so looks like I may have to enrol in a class when I get back to Melbourne.
I have been amazed at the wildlife around Marysville. There are a lot of dear that are resident in the town and a lot of them have 2 fawns. I see them everyday when going for a walk.
The second last day I went on my normal walk from the house along the Mark Creek trail.
I saw the black bear and it's cub for the third time. But this time I had no one with me to scare them away so was able to get a bit closer to take a photo. So cool to see the Bears.
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| Mule deer are seen roaming the streets |
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| A beer in the woods - a few minutes walk |
More animal photos in the Slideshow below....
