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Ach it’ll be reet

May 2017 - April 2018
A 332-day adventure by Mandee Read more
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  • MandeeAch it’ll be reet
    Day 81

    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

  • MandeeAch it’ll be reet
    Day 101

    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 reet
    Day 102

    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 reet
    Day 104

    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 reet
    Day 108

    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 reet
    Day 115

    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

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