DESIGN YOUR OWN HOLIDAY Part 1

• October 11, 2008
• General
• Editor

Canada/Alaska by Betty Fielding (part 1 of 3)

After checking out all the tours offered to Canada and Alaska we realised that none of them suited us so we tailored our trip to suit our wishes – we designed our own holiday.

I did a lot of research on the net and through tourist boards and got some great hints from Joanne at Samford Travelscene.  Working together we put together a trip that suited us brilliantly.

My husband Garry and I, along with good friends Karenne & Lawrie (yes – we are still good friends!) set off from Brisbane to Calgary via San Franciso.

My fondest memory of Calgary would have to be the people – they are so friendly, courteous, tolerant, helpful and easy going.  While in Calgary we hired a car and escaped “town”. We ventured to the Olympic Village where the Jamaican bobsled team became famous, the Drumheller area which is just magnificent for prehistoric fossils, the Badlands (straight out of the old western movies) and Fort McLeod where the Mounties got their man!  One place we just had to visit was Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump – you can’t drive past a place with a name like that and not stop.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage site brimming with history and some good looking First Nation dancers.

Heading off to Banff, we were completely blown away by the Canadian Rockies – the scenery is awesome.  The Rockies are so immense and breathtakingly beautiful and the beauty goes on for miles and miles and miles.  The Gondola ride in Banff is a must – the views are unbelievable.

At Lake Louise Karenne and I  played ladies and partook of High Tea at the Fairmont Chateau.  We were seated at a huge picture window with one of the best views in the world – definitely money well spent.

The drive up the Icefield Parkway to Jasper was just as spectacular and we ventured up onto the Athabasca Glacier.  Glaciers are not a rarity here – around every bend there’s another one!

We said good-bye to our car in Jasper and boarded the Rocky Mountaineer for a rail journey that was 2 days of unsurpassed scenery and service.  My recommendation to anyone considering this journey is to go Gold Leaf Class – the experience is outstanding and well worth the expense.

On reaching Vancouver we settled into our suite and rode public transport to see the city.  Vancouver is a very liveable city – from the city centre you can see the mountains and Stanley Park is 1,000 acres of gardens and forest in the centre of the city.  We took the skyway up to Grouse Mountain for a spectacular view of the city and walked across the Capilano Suspension Bridge where we discovered that lots of people on a suspension bridge equals lots of swaying of said suspension bridge.  The look on Karenne’s face made a great holiday snap!

Travelscene Samford would like to thank Betty for this great article, stay tuned for the last two instalments in the next Dayboro Grapevines.  Don’t forget that only Travelscene American Express lets you travel anywhere, any time and pay with your membership rewards points so contact us on 3289 3700 and let us help you turn your American Express membership rewards points into your next trip.