Oops! Looks like we did it again! While being way too busy enjoying beautiful Canada and our roadtrip, we unfortunately “forgot” to keep everyone updated. So instead of sitting in front of the computer, we grabbed another rental car (Jeep Wrangler! Vroom Vroom!), Melanie planned the perfect route and without a flinch, we were already hitting the road again.
Leaving Vancouver, the roads first lead us to Banff, a small but lovely town in Alberta. While most of the people usually go there to either ski or snowboard, we decided to explore more of the hidden tracks and do some short hikes. So we didn’t only end up seeing some stunning mountain lakes, but also wildlife we are not used to from back home. One night, while searching for a free parking spot, we even ran into some elks that were strolling around the neighbourhood right behind our hostel. I mean ELKS – how cool is that?
After Banff, where we btw also got a chance to see an old friend from Fiji again (Hi Mandy!), we headed a little bit further north for our next stop: Lake Louise. Without knowing, we also realized that the World Ski Cup (Ladies) was happening at the very same time when we were there. So we jumped into our warmest cloth, headed to the fan cheering zone and helped our fellow Austrian fans cheering one of our riders all the way to the top and rank #1 – couldn’t be any better, right?
Staying only two nights in Lake Louise, our next journey brought us through the famous “Icefields Parkway” all the way up to Jasper – another highlight of our road trip where we even (just by coincidence) got the chance to have our very first “Northern Lights” encounter. Not expecting it yet (Iceland we still count on you!), guess it was even more surreal than anything else we ever experienced so far.
After chilling some more days in Jasper while making new friends in our remote hostel somewhere deep in the woods, it was about time to say goodbye and hit the road again. Last stop: Whistler! With a small population of approximately 9,965 residents (plus at least one million of rotating Australian/European workers/party people), it was probably the most expensive ski region we even went to. With lift tickets starting around 139 CAD (!), we unfortunately had to skip the skiing part (damn you tight travel budget) and therefore rather rewarded us at the Scandinave Spa with breathtaking views of the surroundings.
Already at the end of the road trip and second last stop of our entire journey around the world, British Columbia and Alberta really fulfilled our expectations. So even if hiking might be a little bit more limited in winter (especially if you don’t have the proper gear with you), it was still a unique experience with the mountains, lakes and roads covered in beautiful white snow. And sometimes it might also have been a little bit more “adventurous” when you fight your way through the one or the other more slippery hiking conditions:
By the time of this writing we are already sitting at the airport in Vancouver (with a flight delay of 6 hours) and can’t believe that we are about to head to our VERY LAST stop on this journey around the world: Iceland, here we come!
So hopp hopp Melanie, it’s time to keep going one last time before we head home again!
Cheers from the airport in Toronto,
Philipp & Melanie
We are going to have to do a follow up interview about your trip. So many fabulous things have happened!!!
Well nearly home guys what a wonderful ,exciting,adventerous journey you have had it was a pleasure to meet you on Bounty Island and see your updates.Enjoy your last stop as you make your way home, not long now to be with family for Christmas .Ohh Wally you don’t have to worry about your wallet now ….it’s probably empty, have a wonderful Christmas much love from me xxxxx