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Mandee
Mandee

Mandee

So, Andy and Maddie are having a midlife crisis - quit our jobs, quit the UK and travelling around the world in a tent. Some exciting and difficult times ahead, but ach, it'll be reet! Read more🇬🇧United Kingdom
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  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    Hoh rainforest, Washington State

    October 31, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    The Hoh rainforest is in the middle of Olympic national park, Washington State. The drive from La Push beach through the forest is quite remote. First thing we had to decide was where to pitch our tent for the night. We went past a couple of places, but they were deserted. Seeing a man with his camera out by the side of the road just before the state campsite, we pulled over to see what was happening. There was around 10 or so elk grazing by the river, it was so cool. We then drove into the visitor's car park and into the campsite. There were a couple of trailers around and we stopped by the first one to watch a huge bull elk (picture below) wandering around the campsite eating the vegetation. With the bear issue from Ucluelet still fresh in our memory, we were apprehensive about camping out in remote places and especially deserted campsites. A walk was needed to freshen ourselves and get us thinking more clearly. There are 3 hikes here. Two short ones (ancient grove/hall of mosses) and a longer one that goes straight over the hills and mountains as far as Hurricane Ridge, where we visited some days before. The ancient trees were amazing and the incredible amount of mosses on the trees and vegetation made the trees almost hard to identify. Sitting having lunch at the car park we saw a group of young adults on a kind of learning, training exercises. So we took the opportunity to camp near them, so we could have strength in numbers. A trailer guy popped over and gave us some elk sausages which were very tasty. Settling in for the night we soon fell asleep and when we awoke the huge bull elk was so close to our tent that we could almost smell him. We took many pictures and videos of him before heading back into the forest for another long trek amongst the big moss covered trees and elk.Read more

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    La Push, Washington State, USA

    October 29, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    After driving along the north coast and roughing it in the car, we awoke and decided to visit Cape Flattery which is the most north westerly point (excluding Alaska) of the U.S mainland. The whole area is First Nation Reservation land and after buying our pass we headed to the Cape. From the viewpoint we watched 5 or 6 bald eagles circling around the lighthouse and the seals sitting on the rocks and diving off into the rough looking sea. Eventually we hit the road again in our rather rubbish Ford SUV. We headed for La Push Beach where we would pitch our tent for a few days. La Push is also owned by the First Nation people. The campsite runs alongside the stunning beach where we would see some of the best sunsets ever and I must say, the best campground I've been to. They had a kitchen/lounge with WiFi and plenty of games. We spent most of our evenings in here with beers and lots of food. I planned most of Washington state and one reason to come here was for Maddie to see the hole in the wall on Rialto beach, the formidable rocks that jut straight out of the sand and the wildlife. There are plenty of warnings about the sea on Rialto and the hole in the wall has to be timed at low tide so you can get through. It was fun to clamber over the rocks and we ended up playing chicken with the waves. 'Stupid I know, but so much fun!'Read more

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    Seattle, WA, USA

    October 27, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    A 5am start to the Vancouver Amtrak station this morning and after 1hr sleep for me (Andy), the journey was gonna be tough. The ride to Seattle was gloomy and foggy. We eventually arrived in Seattle and headed to our airb&b where we were greeted by Scott and the dogs. The house was a converted chicken coop and has a really cool tree house in the back. We dumped our bags and after chatting we headed back up into downtown Seattle. We decided to visit Bruce & Brandon Lee's grave which was awesome. The graves were in a huge cemetery that was for the super rich by the looks of it and had the family tombs of the founding fathers of Seattle. We then headed down to the space needle and after getting my bearings wrong and going the total opposite way we eventually arrives at the needle. As we were early we decided to time it right so we could get the sunset. A quick beer stop and then back to needle. The views are incredible and we even saw mounts Olympus and Rainer. So, back to the sports bar for buffalo chicken and a few drinks before heading back on the train. We had to jump off the train and reboard before the ticket guards got us, as we had not paid to go as far. We got away with it!. Seattle is a cool city and bit gutted we didn't have more time.Read more

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    Vancouver and Whistler, BC part 2

    October 21, 2017 in Canada ⋅ 🌧 6 °C

    Back in Vancouver! But even more exciting this time because Maddie's mum has made the trip over to share some time in Vancouver with us. She made the trip over all on her own which for a very nervous flyer is incredibly brave! We explored a lot of downtown Vancouver and did A LOT of walking. Vancouver is a nice city, but really busy even when you get out of town.
    The highlight of the week had to be Whistler though. We hired a car for the day to drive up there and ended up with a huge Dodge 4x4! Slightly ridiculous car, but it was actually quite fun to drive and a bit of a guilty pleasure :). The drive up the Sunshine Coast is stunning and the beautiful sunshine made it even better. It was pretty cold up in Whistler with some snow on the ground. The town is very touristy, but very quaint and even better in the off season! We walked up to a few lakes and were so lucky to see the autumn colours around the lakes and reflected in the water! Whistler is really a lovely village, but I can imagine it's a bit overrun and commercial in the peak season.
    It was so lovely to spend time with mum, but it really did make us realise how much we miss home and family. She (hopefully) had a wonderful time though and even spent a few days in Vancouver on her own!    Read more

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    Victoria, BC

    October 17, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Our stay in Victoria was a wet affair. After arriving via the Greyhound bus, we walked with full packs to our airbnb which was quite tiring. The annex was really cool, we had our own kitchen and living room. Downtown Victoria is a fairly small place and was nice to see all the old stone buildings. The place looks very British, but then it would seeing as it's a British colony. After chilling out for the first night we decided to visit the parliament building and after handing over Maddie's two knives to the police, we were allowed in! Parliament was in session so we stayed for the P.Q's which was interesting, but then quickly got annoying with all the jeering and banging on tables from the two sides. It felt like we were back at school. We also did a brewery tour and visited about 3 or 4 over the course of a day. This was really cool and a nice way to get out of rain. On the 3rd day we had booked a Zodiac boat to go out and see the whales, but this was cancelled due to the fact not enough people had the guts to get on the zodiac boat, pfffft! Anyway, we eventually got out there on the big boat and could see the USA on one side and Canada on the other. Our sole purpose was to see whales (esp killer whales). As we had rain gear on we ran straight for the front of the boat, Maddie had warned me to put layers on 'it'll be freezing out there' she said. 'it'll be fine, the sun's out' I replied. Well we barely got out of the harbour and the rain started and then the wind picked up! The layers came on! Maddie's correct again. We didn't see much at the start and then we started to see the spouts of the humpback whales. It really was amazing. One in particular got a bit agitated and did a side roll at the boat kicking a big wave up. It was awesome to watch, but left me feeling a little annoyed with the captain for getting too close and provoking the whale. When the whale watching was finished we visited a lovely bar and also the library. We took a taxi boat to the old harbour and looked at the old house boats before retiring back to the annex. Victoria is a beautiful city that can be done in a few days. Highly recommend a visit!Read more

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    Ucluelet & Tofino

    October 13, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Ucluelet and Tofino are beautiful places on the west coast of Vancouver Island. We got to Ucluelet and decided to stay at the Wya First Nation campsite for the night. After driving through the woods we arrived next to a big pile of bear poo (reassuring) and set up our tent on one of the lower pitches in the tree line at the bottom of the bluff. There were only two pitches up above us that were occupied. It was amazing to walk a few feet through the trees out onto the beach. We sat on a massive rock and watched the most amazing sunset. We pulled a bench up to our tent and blocked our tent in then lit a fire and had some food. There were signs about wolves as well as the bear scat in the car park, but we were reassured that no bears were in the area, only cougars..! Eventually we went to sleep only to be woken just before 4am by someone above us clapping and shouting, at what we assumed to be a bear. We were bloody petrified and all we could hear from 4am until gone 5am was the sound of something crashing though the undergrowth and wood/branches breaking. At 6.30am we packed up and got back in the car. An Airbnb was to be booked for the remainder of our stay after Andy's comment at 5am; 'if we survive until dawn, we're staying in an Airbnb for the rest of the week!'. The weather in general was very wet during our 5 days on the west coast. We visited Long Beach on one day which was cool and later, while watching the latest Planets of the Apes film, we saw one scene was filmed there. The forests between Tofino and Ucluelet are very old and there are some cool walks in the ancient groves. The airbnb we stayed in was in Ucluelet and the house was very big, such value for money. We mainly trekked around in the rain and also visited a bar with an old style bowling alley and 'snucker' table. One day we decided we would hire surf stuff, but then it rained hard for almost 36hrs so this didn't happen. Ucluelet and Tofino are beautiful places, but unfortunately we weren't blessed with the best weather. Was still enjoyable though.Read more

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    San Josef Bay

    October 12, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    San Josef Bay was one of the reasons why we wanted to visit the north of Vancouver Island, but we heard it was a 70km drive down a logging road. After realising it may not be too bad and travelling along the worst road ever on our visit to the little Huson caves a few days earlier, well we decided to give it a go. The logging trucks - when they did come - came flying past which was a bit nerve-racking, but eventually after 2hrs or so we arrived at the parking lot near San Josef Bay. The walk through the forest felt very tense what with finding fresh bear scat and the warnings about the wolves (throw rocks at them, apparently)! We met a couple half way down and after chatting we headed on together through the ancient forest towards the Bay. Eventually we came out into the Bay which was amazing, untouched and one of the remote places we've been to. Maddie had a little paddle in the cold sea and after a beer we said our goodbyes to our short known friends and started the tense walk back to the car. No sign of wildlife fortunately, but as soon as we drove out of the car park, a little black bear ran into the road! We had heard that the pub in Holberg did the best burgers on Vancouver Island so we stopped to try and yep, they are very very tasty.Read more

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    North Island, Vancouver Island

    October 11, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    We were excited to get out camping again and explore this remote part of Van Island. It's starting to get into autumn proper now so we're expecting a bit of bad weather, however on reaching Sayward in the peeing rain we were a little disappointed it had come so soon. Fortunately, we managed to look so down-trodden and sorry for ourselves that a benevolent stranger in the bar offered to pay for a hotel room in the place we were camping! Great start to our trip in the North Island!
    The towns in the north are quite industrial, but the scenery more than makes up for it. It's also home to a lot of First Nation communities - we found Vancouver Island to be one of the best places that allowed First Nation people to live their culture in lands that are rightfully their own. Alert Bay in particular was a great example of a First Nation community who are thriving, able to live their traditional way of life in harmony with modern Canadian culture. The 'Namgis First Nation were really welcoming and have done a great job of showing tourists their history and culture - the U'mista cultural centre had an amazing display of masks used in the Potlatch, but it was incredibly sad to learn about how the Canadian/British governments had suppressed and decimated their culture. So much has been lost.    Read more

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    Denman Island & Hornby Island, BC

    September 22, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We were to stay with Ricia on Denman Island for two weeks. After a few hours on the bus from Nanaimo we jumped on the ferry over to Denman Island. The sun was out and we were very much looking forward to our stay with Ricia. After a beer, way too much ice cream and a long wait, Ricia pulled up and we set off a few miles north to her house. The land used to be a co-op and there are three other households on a large piece of land. The house was amazing, one big room with a beautiful stove in the middle and a really eclectic design. Ricia informed us there was another wwoofer from Scotland staying, a man called Liam who was in his mid/late fourties. Liam would rile myself and Maddie up on a number of occasions during our stay. He was nice enough, but a bit of a know it all and the type of person that could sit down with a brain surgeon and tell them them they were doing everything wrong! We would retire on more than one occasion to an early bed. Anyway, this didn't effect our stay. The chores were small and we never quite knew how we could help Ricia out with her small homestead. She would give us a few five minute jobs which I guess she expected us to take fours hours to do! Most of the day we would just be sitting about or going out for a cycle. When Ricia did have time she regularly encouraged us to go off round the island and she often took us around the island to show us things.
    On one day me and Maddie got up early and cycled the 7 miles to the ferry so we could go to the next island over, Hornby Island. We managed to catch the early ferry and spent the day cycling round the island it was a beautiful sunny day and we stopped at Fords cove before hitting the tiny downtown of the island. We cycled down to Tribune Bay and Andy jumped in for a swim in the beautiful crystal clear waters. Back on the bikes we then headed to Helliwell Provincial Park and did a walk along the volcanic cliff top to the point and watched the sea lions. On the way back up the east side of the island we stopped off again in a harbour for another swim in the beautiful crystal clear bay. Eventually we got back to Ricia's after cycling around 25 miles.
    We had our own room in Ricia's out house above the garage which was comfortable enough. We ate good food had a lot of drunken darts nights with Ricia. We went to a couple of concerts on the island which were very hippy type events. On some nights we visited a pot luck at Ricia's friends farm. Everyone had to bring food and we all sat round and chatted and drank beer. On another occasion we visited the beach to watch the full moon, it became quite a boozy messy affair and Maddie became designated driver. Ricia liked her tincture which was an alcohol based marijuana. Cracked me up in the back of the car when she said to me about Maddie's driving. 'I could do better'; she was completely mashed! I was like, nah, Maddie's doing great! Eventually our time came to leave the island and head north. Ricia got up late and like a bat out of hell, drove us to the ferry which we caught with seconds to spare. Farewell to two beautiful islands!    Read more

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    Nanaimo BC

    September 21, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Our visit to Nanaimo was brief, only a day. The weather for the ferry crossing was really sunny. We ended up in an Irish bar on the harbour and after a few lunchtime drinks headed onto our airbnb at Graham and Vicki's. The room was very comfortable and after a nice bath, a first for me (Andy) we headed off for a Indian curry which was Canadian hot.Read more

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    Vancouver BC

    September 20, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    A first visit of two trips to Vancouver. Just one night here at Julia's. There were quite a few rules to the airbnb but we didn't mind as we had been on the move for nearly 3 weeks and after heading to the mall for some fast food we headed back to the airbnb for some much needed sleep. We saw the amazing glow of the sunset on our way back and are excited for future sunsets on Vancouver Island!Read more

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    Berg Lake, BC

    September 13, 2017 in Canada ⋅ 🌙 5 °C

    Berg Lake was set to be our most challenging trip yet... Especially as Madeleine mistakenly thought it was half the length it actually is! We set off in the early morning drizzle, slightly disappointed that the weather was a bit crap. 20 minutes in and we were already stripping off our waterproof layers - who knew there would be a rainforest at the bottom of the tallest mountain in the Canadian Rockies?! We made it up to Kinney Lake in good time and the weather was already starting to brighten open. Kinney Lake really is a stunning start to the hike with turquoise green waters and the valley opening up around you.

    We met a few hikers and campers at Kinney Lake and stopped for breakfast. The next section starts to climb quite significantly and we started to feel the weight of the bags and the heat of the day! All layers now stuffed into the top of Maddie's bag. We finally made it to halfway at Whitehorn campground and got to go over the rope bridge! Very cool. We had been warned about how steep the next 5km was, but we weren't quite prepared for how tough it would be with a full pack! Emperor falls was the destination that kept us going in the distance and it was pretty awesome when we got there! Never seen so much water! We thought it would be an easy last few miles, but what a slog it turned out to be.

    But we eventually arrived at Berg Lake with Mount Robson looming above us in all its glory. The weather was as clear as it could be and we could see right across the valley and mountain range. We arrived the campsite completely knackered, but in good time to enjoy the view and the lake. They have an amazing hut up there which everyone cooks in - a great place to rest and keep warm at the foot of the mountain. We were in bed by about 9pm, dressed in as many layer possible to keep warm. Would hate to be up there any later in the year!

    We woke up a bit late, so we packed up and set off quickly. Another incredible morning, even clearer than the night before! We hared it down the mountain and made good time. Stopped at Kinney Lake for a much needed rest and a swim! Cold, but very refreshing! The last 5km felt like 20, but we finally made it back to the car hoping to head straight to the cafe. Unfortunately, on closer inspection of the car, we found a squirrel or something had got in the car and nibbled all our food! We spent 30 mins cleaning up and throwing away all our food and finally made it to the cafe. We still had a drive back to Jasper where we tried to find a place to stay for the night, but no such luck in September apparently! We found a cheapy hotel in Hinton in the end - not sure we'd been that tired on our trip since we started!    Read more

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    Jasper, Alberta

    September 9, 2017 in Canada ⋅ 🌧 7 °C

    Madeleine visited Jasper last year and was really looking forward to going back. Jasper didn't disappoint! We stayed at a little campsite called Wabasso a few miles out of town. Seeing as the other cattle farms in Jasper were full, we were expecting Blackpool beach, but it was pleasantly quiet and private. Andy decided he wanted to pack almost every Jasper attraction into one day so we did Maligne Canyon, Pyramid Lake, Old Fort Point and Lake Annette. Busy day, but worth it! We did an early trip to Edith Cavell and had a fantastic walk to the meadows. We saw pikas and marmots and some ice fell off the glacier! Back down to Jasper for a swim in Lakes Edith and Annette - we do love swimming in those beautiful clear (and cold!) lakes. We left Jasper for a couple of days to hike up to Berg Lake, but returned for a trip to Miette hot springs and Maligne lake. The boat trip up to Spirit Island is really fantastic and we has the perfect day for it, but the number of tourists shoving you out of the way with cameras spoils it a bit! We were planning on setting up in Wabasso again for the night, but ended up getting drunk with a lovely Aussie couple who invited us to stay in the spare room at their Airbnb! Dylan and Aleisha, you are our heroes!Read more

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    Banff, Alberta

    September 7, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We arrived in Banff whilst a forest fire was raging somewhere south so the whole place was quite thick with smoke. And hot! Nearly 30 degrees which we weren't expecting in September. We decided to walk up Sulphur Mountain anyway which was a nice walk, but not too much of a view. Andy almost had a heart attack at the price of the gondola so we ended up walking back down... A dip in the hot springs was much welcome afterwards!
    We didn't spend much time in Banff as it's really a tourist trap. We had to stay at one of the biggest campsites there and it felt like a bit of a cattle farm. Fairly pleasant few days there, but glad to move on to Jasper.    Read more

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    Calgary, Alberta

    September 6, 2017 in Canada ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    After viewing Calgary from the air and Maddie saying that the city was a bit rubbish, the one day we were here was pleasantly surprising. We walked the half mile or so to Ken's airb&b in fairly hot weather. After dumping out bags, we headed across the river through a very picturesque Park. After a few drinks in a bar we had a meal and hit another bar before we headed back to Ken's rather tired. We would recommend Calgary to anyone as it is clean, modern and generally has a nice feel about the place.Read more

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    Pontoon Lake, NWT

    August 17, 2017 in Canada ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    So after being at France's house on Madeline Lake, we were asked by France's neighbours Laurie and Francois if we could house sit for them 1km up the road on another lake called Pontoon Lake. Well, after driving past the house on our way to Whisky Wednesday we jumped at the chance. Yes please! "Oh, we don't want to put you out", said Laurie. Trust me you are not putting us out. I mean, basically two houses, a sauna cabin and the lake to ourselves, for swimming, fishing, paddling, canoeing etc. The only thing we had to do was look after the dogs. Scott and Siku. Scott was the older of the two and although Siku had the biggest jealous streak ever, he was the boss and the leader. We were told by Laurie that the dogs would often walk down the highway or through the forest to the other side of Madeline Lake 4km away. Of the nearly 3 weeks we were at the house, we drove down and picked the dogs up 5 or 6 times. They even arrived at France's farm a few times looking very pleased with themselves that they had found us. They really were one of the highlights of our stay and we were sad to leave them behind. I joked that I had their passports. It was also comforting having them with us on there daily walks in the bear/wolf/lynx inhabited forests and back end of nowhere, even if the split second we turned to head home, Scott would take that as a cue to head straight on home leaving us at the mercy of the bears! During the second week we had to rush into hospital for Maddie and after a couple of long midnight drives back to Yellowknife stopping to see the northern lights and coyotes yapping, it was decided Maddie would need an operation. Again, thanks for the comfort of the house on Pontoon Lake for her recovery.
    It was the perfect spot to view the aurora, but we never thought we'd have a chance to see in august. How wrong we were, seeing it almost every night for about a week! A thrilling and emotional experience to see the bright green lights glowing and then waving like tentacles across the sky.    Read more

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    Yellowknife, NWT

    August 13, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Yellowknife has not had the greatest recommendations from most people we spoke to before we arrived. The Northwest Territories has rave reviews, but not so much its provincial capital. It's pretty industrial, being built around the mining industry, but definitely has its charm. The farmer's market is a real hub of activity, the bars and restaurants are plentiful, have a good atmosphere and serve great beer and food. They even have a pretty big local baseball scene - Marie being the star player :)
    It also has a great health service which we had the unfortunate opportunity to sample when Maddie went in for emergency surgery to remove some painful ovarian cysts. It could have been a very scary time in terms of health and expense (we did think it might be the end of our trip a couple of times), but the care we received was just fantastic. Get sick in Yellowknife everyone!
    It's also apparently one of the best spots to view the northern lights which we didn't know before we got here! Even in August, we saw it several times very clearly! It's a place that transforms in the winter - the lakes completely freeze (including Great Slave I think which is the size of the south east of England!) opening up the iceroads and tons of winter sports! Would love to come back in March which is the party month apparently. It's cold, but not as inhospitable as people think. Although I'm sure that's a secret Yellowknifers want to keep to themselves!
    It has its fair share of wildlife.. we were visited by a few bears whilst at Madeline Lake who were after France's compost, came too close to a howling coyote on the highway at 1am, watched the eagle's, ospreys and beavers on the lake, got woken up a rowdy family of lynx and heard tales of wolf packs terrorising and befriending the dogs!
    One very sinister aspect to the area is the legacy the huge gold mine has left - tons of poisonous arsenic spewed into the atmosphere, polluting the lakes. It's an incredibly sad story which has a lasting legacy. Millions of tons of arsenic are being contained below ground at great expense. If it ever leaks out, best case scenario it makes the area uninhabitable, worst case.. well there's enough to kill every human on the planet several times over. Arsenic will never decay either so it's here to stay. For ever and ever and ever...
    But it's pretty safe right now and perfectly fine for a visit! Forget freezing nights watching a cloudy sky in Iceland - get to Yellowknife!    Read more

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reetMandee

    Madeline Lake, NWT

    August 9, 2017 in Canada ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    And so we arrive at our second placement - just a short plane ride over to Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. We purposefully picked a few places up north that were quite remote - it's a part of Canada we were really keen to visit, but it's not that easy to do on the cheap. Wwoofing seemed like a good option. Although Yellowknife itself is fairly isolated and remote, it's big enough that we didn't feel at all isolated even out of town on Madeline Lake.

    Our host, France, lives 25km out of Yellowknife on the road to nowhere in the summer, but extends to an iceroad in winter! Her farm is immediately impressive - up here, soil is hard to come by so all the beds are contained and artificial with a lot of effort going into creating good soil for growing. Which France and Marie (her business partner) do in abundance! We couldn't even count the number of beds or types of produce they're growing, but the whole thing took the two of us 3 hours to water everyday if that gives you an idea of the scale!

    France and Marie sell their wares (produce, cheese, baked goods) at the Yellowknife Farmer's Market once a week. We were parachuted right into the market as soon as we stepped off the plane and to say we were impressed is an understatement! It's a huge affair with 30-40 stalls all selling a wide wide variety of foods. It's a really popular social event too and hundreds of people turn up each week. France and Marie have a queue every week at least 10 minutes before the starter bell goes and there can be some tension in the queue as to who gets the beautiful Romanesco! France is currently the president of the market and she founded it 5 years ago amid conversations about food security in NWT. She's a great activist and well known figure in Yellowknife! We even met someone in the Rockies who knew her!

    We learnt a hell of a lot from France and Marie about growing and have taken plenty of ideas for ourselves. Marie has signed up along with Cory to come and set up our farm for us when we get back to the UK :) We were fortunate to be there when all the produce was reaching full growth and we really really enjoyed picking and preparing the produce for market. But I think we have a long road ahead of us before our growing can match theirs!    Read more

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    Whitehorse, Yukon

    August 4, 2017 in Canada ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    So we left our tent in the woods at the farm and booked an airb&b in Whitehorse for a Saturday and Monday. On Sunday we would travel back to the farm for our group farewell of Sow's ear and one more night in the tent. Whitehorse is situated on a very fast part of the Yukon river and is the biggest town in the Yukon - 32,000 or so people live in the Yukon and 27,000 of those are in Whitehorse! It's a lovely town with quite a lot going on given how remote it is relatively. We visited the Beringia museum which was fascinating (although I'd give the transport museum a miss..), the Canada Games centre which has an AMAZING pool, plenty of lakes around the town which are beautiful to swim in and even played piano at the salmon run thanks to one of Cory and Jodi's friends who's installed public pianos!
    We ended our visit on a high with two great leaving meals, one at the farm and another at the Rib and Salmon in town to say goodbye to Gary and his wife Bev. We're sorry to have to leave the Yukon!    Read more

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    Sow's ear

    July 15, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    We arrived at Cory and Jodi's farm and we brought the beautiful weather with us. The farm was amazing and we had our own little scamp caravan for a couple of weeks. We got into lots of things here from feeding the animals to cutting trees down and clearing areas for the new duck pond and the mega greenhouse going up (engineered by the unflappable Gary who I think we all want to be when we grow up,!). Cory and Jodi are a great couple who made us feel very welcome and from very early on it was apparent how hard they both worked. Cory being a pilot and Jodi a librarian, both having to juggle this with what appeared to be a growing farm. We looked on them as super human beings! It was great to work with the animals (pigs, ducks and hens). They had two pets, Oscar the faithful, but naughty 'guard' dog and the lazy cat, Woozel. One of the funniest things, was how Oscar eyed up Woozel the cat. For six years he has stared at Woozel with knife and fork eyes.. Jodi says he's confused why they pet and feed a huge fluffy ground squirrel! You had to be there, but unusual and hilarious. The farm sits overlooking Lake Laberge and we had some stunning dawn and dusk views. Starting to get dark a little for the first time since we arrived! Near the end of our visit we camped out in the woods on a bluff, listening to coyotes and having on one occasion something sniffing my (Andy) head through the tent. We also met Elisa, Heleen and Dion here who were all, also travelling Canada and the world. A full month of hard physical work for us which is new for Madeleine, but we've both really enjoyed it, learnt new things (so much from Cory and Jodi who are experts in horticulture, biology, construction, solar, languages, accents... the list goes on) and had time to reflect on what we want from our life back in the UK. Seeing how Jodi and Cory live off the land and are self sustaining has been inspirational and we have so many ideas of what we now want to build and grow back in the UK. And Cory has already been volunteered to build our strawbale house, although this might be the first he hears about it...Read more

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