Our roadtrip to Nelson had a little bit of a rocky start.. We originally hired a standard FWD Hyandai Elantra. This was one of the most ridiculous decisions I've ever been a part of.. Pure ignorance with a touch of tight-ass spurred it. After picking it up at 5pm on Sunday and using it to drive down to the Vancouver Hare Krsna temple's Sunday Feast (Awesome), I awoke the next morning to find it had been snowing all night and the roads were covered in ice and snow. This was a blessing as i quickly discovered attempting to stop even at 10 kph meant slipping and sliding all over the place and it was obvious that driving 700km into the BC interior was simply not going to happen in a car like this. So we drove directly to Avis rentals and switched it up for a 4WD Ford Escape with winter tires. Best decision ever.
The drive was amazing. Apart from the snowy overcast conditions we started with, and the experience of learning to drive on the wrong side of the road on ice, the scenery along the way was nothing short of breathtaking. See a couple of photos:
Lani and I overlooking Osoyoos
Lake Christina
Eventually, we arrived at Nelson, where my friend Leah was kind enough to put us up in her livingroom for 3 nights!
Whitewater is an amazing ski area. just 2 lifts it is a modest size, but there is NO ONE there! I didn't have to wait more than 2 or 3 people before loading. My God the powder. I just cannot express how amazing it is to ride on fresh fluffy dry powder. You can do ANYTHING you want and fall as hard as you want and not hurt yourself! (Well most of the time..) Then when you stand up, it is so cold and dry it just falls from you like sand. Two days in a row, talking to locals these happened to be the 2 best days of the season!! Knee-deep in parts I seriously consider riding it to be one of the greatest experiences I've ever had. Backside 180s down pat too ;)
After our first day of riding, we took a short drive to Ainsworth Hot Springs. This is a natural hot spring, sitting at 40degrees that is within the side of a cliff.. It has unfortunately been commericalised but once you're inside you dont care.. We forgot to take the waterproof camera Kathy had so check out this photo i found online:
Sweet as it gets, also there was a plunge pool outside that sat at 1degree.. I jumped in a few times, and yes it was very invigorating ;) Also, it was a full moon and this was the view:
After Nelson, we took mostly the same route back but detoured via Penticton, where Monica, a Canadian friend of mine who I worked with in Melbourne lives. She took us out to dinner and drinks and pool which was great. Mon also informed me of some slow-pitch softball tournaments that i could possibly be a part of over summer :) Penticton is right in the middle of two giant lakes. There is a canal that runs through the town joining them together and in the summer there is a tradition of buying a whole bunch of stuff that floats, tying it all together and cruising from one end of town to the other over 4 hours while drinking out of your floating esky. I'm so in. :)
The next day we took the North route home and witnessed a different sort of scenery. All extremely beautiful with rich colours. Absolutely loved it. Check some Panoramic Photos I took along the way there and back here.
To see the full route we took, click here.
It's really funny, initially I just had in mind, "yeah we're going to see leah and Monica and do some snowboarding, yay!" But it was SO much more than that. The roadtrip itself was just fantastic. I loved every second of it. Cant wait to do another one in Summer! All the way to The Rockies next time!
The drive was amazing. Apart from the snowy overcast conditions we started with, and the experience of learning to drive on the wrong side of the road on ice, the scenery along the way was nothing short of breathtaking. See a couple of photos:
Lani and I overlooking Osoyoos
Lake Christina
Eventually, we arrived at Nelson, where my friend Leah was kind enough to put us up in her livingroom for 3 nights!
Whitewater is an amazing ski area. just 2 lifts it is a modest size, but there is NO ONE there! I didn't have to wait more than 2 or 3 people before loading. My God the powder. I just cannot express how amazing it is to ride on fresh fluffy dry powder. You can do ANYTHING you want and fall as hard as you want and not hurt yourself! (Well most of the time..) Then when you stand up, it is so cold and dry it just falls from you like sand. Two days in a row, talking to locals these happened to be the 2 best days of the season!! Knee-deep in parts I seriously consider riding it to be one of the greatest experiences I've ever had. Backside 180s down pat too ;)
After our first day of riding, we took a short drive to Ainsworth Hot Springs. This is a natural hot spring, sitting at 40degrees that is within the side of a cliff.. It has unfortunately been commericalised but once you're inside you dont care.. We forgot to take the waterproof camera Kathy had so check out this photo i found online:
Sweet as it gets, also there was a plunge pool outside that sat at 1degree.. I jumped in a few times, and yes it was very invigorating ;) Also, it was a full moon and this was the view:
After Nelson, we took mostly the same route back but detoured via Penticton, where Monica, a Canadian friend of mine who I worked with in Melbourne lives. She took us out to dinner and drinks and pool which was great. Mon also informed me of some slow-pitch softball tournaments that i could possibly be a part of over summer :) Penticton is right in the middle of two giant lakes. There is a canal that runs through the town joining them together and in the summer there is a tradition of buying a whole bunch of stuff that floats, tying it all together and cruising from one end of town to the other over 4 hours while drinking out of your floating esky. I'm so in. :)
The next day we took the North route home and witnessed a different sort of scenery. All extremely beautiful with rich colours. Absolutely loved it. Check some Panoramic Photos I took along the way there and back here.
To see the full route we took, click here.
It's really funny, initially I just had in mind, "yeah we're going to see leah and Monica and do some snowboarding, yay!" But it was SO much more than that. The roadtrip itself was just fantastic. I loved every second of it. Cant wait to do another one in Summer! All the way to The Rockies next time!
2 comments:
WOW!! How amazing!!! Thanks for sharing the experience Danny! The snow sounds like a dream come true - hehe it sounds like you are going to forever be comparing all other snow to it from now on!
The views and your pano-photos are breathtaking. It is so revitalising travelling through, and *being* a part of such magnificent natural beauty.
I was just marvelling this morning at the beautiful clear view I have from my window today- clear right across Mount Macedon and the Lerderderg State Park which is quite rare, and even just that lifted my spirits!
Venture On!
xoxo
PS. I love maps. Yay!
Danny, your photos are amazing. It certainly looks like a beautiful place!
I had actually forgotten about your blog, so I've just caught up on all this. Fantastic. (I'm getting there!)
Love Mum
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