Our Long Weekend Away to Pemberton and Whistler
Trip Start
Apr 19, 2009
1
Trip End
Ongoing
Whistler and Pemberton, British Columbia, Canada
Friday, September 11, 2009
On a whim we decided to go and visit a friend Chris had made online over on the mainland of BC. Her name is Amy and she lives in Pemberton which is half an hour past Whistler. This worked really well as I had been asking him for awhile to see if we could go and see the famous Whistler Ski Resort. http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/index.htm also home to the 2010 Winter Olympics.
We left on early on Friday morning and made our way up Vancouver Island to Nanaimo, about a 2 hour drive, to meet Chris dad and girlfriend for breakfast as they live in the area. After an awesome breakfast at Smittys ( famous for pancakes, not great ones! ) we made our way to the ferry terminal in the town centre to catch the 12.30 ferry. We arrived there early and had to wait about an hour and a bit for the ferry to make its way back from the mainland. LUCKY this terminal had some shops to browse in and a few food outlets to grab a bite to eat. Plus good excuse to buy some new sunglasses!
After some shopping and a short nap in the car the ferry arrives and we were able to board. It always amazes me that we are able to drive our car, along with many other vehicles including semi trailers, tour buses, RVs and motorbikes, on board this massive ship and sail across to the mainland and then drive off the other side and continue on our merry little journey!
I do adore the ferry... its just another one of those experiences that you dont get in Australia, seeing as though it is a massive island in the middle of no where! On board there is a cafeteria, gift shops and even an arcade if your really bored. I enjoy the freedom to walk around inside or outside on the decks and see whats happening outside. The scenery is just amazing.
All in all the ride took us an hour and a half on the actual boat... and we were off and driving again.
Again Canada proving to be absolutely gorgeous.... the mountains, the HUGE mountains, the lakes and rivers and the landscape all rough and rugged and just so amazing in its beauty.
Two hours later we met up with Amy near Whistler so we could follow her to find a place for dinner. We ended up in the town centre of Whistler at a Pub called Merlins. They were having a Cancer Fundraising event so another good reason to eat there. We got seated next to a table of noisey, boozy boys. I knew straight away, before I even heard them that they were Aussie boys... I was right! Whistler is FULL of Australians.
We headed to Amys house after great pub food for a well deserved shower, relax and bed!
Saturday we awoke to lots of noise and voices outside on the street, we opened the blinds to see that most houses on the street were having a garage sale. We came to pemberton on the one weekend the street has their annual garage sale.. which was awesome. People had cars, motorbikes, snow sports gear - skis and snowboards etc, childrens clothes and books and lots of the usual junky stuff that is just too good to just throw away :P I was able to pick up some new novels for just $2 so I was stoked with the findings.
We were blessed with such awesome hot and sunny weather while we were away. So later we met up with Amy in the afternoon as she was going to show us some sights. Our first stop was Nairn Falls. We had to hike about 2kms to get to the end of the trail. Up and Down a little windy track through the forest, on a path along side a wide flowing stream. Every now and then you got the ice cold breeze blow off the water and onto your hot skin... it was a welcome feeling.
At the end of the trail there were some steep steps.... and a break was needed before attempting to climb. Up we went... and there at the top was Nairn Falls... Gorgeous. Turn around and you can see mountains in the distance, treetops and the stream meandering through the forest.
Next stop was another waterfall about 45 minutes away, half an hour south of Whistler, to Brandywine Falls. Thank goodness this one was not another hike to get to. A short walk over easy terrain and a train track to a lookout platform! Now when I say platform... I mean platform.. it was so high up that i couldnt stay out there for too long. My legs went to jelly and I felt rather sick to my stomach. Thanks to Chris I have pictures to look at!
On the way home we stopped by at Whistler for a much needed rehydration... we were all so thirsty and hot and bothered by the time we arrived. Such a warm day to be active!
Sunday Chris and I made our way down to Whistler for a little look see on our own... and so I could do some shopping for the family. We had a little walk around and a bite to eat and then headed back home to meet up with Amy again. This time we went for a drive about 45 minutes north of Pemberton to Anderson Lake. We drove through some native reservations which was interesting as one of the reservations had cows that just roamed the streets and went where ever they felt like, in and out of peoples front yards. It was a funny sight to see.
The day again was wonderfully warm, so arriving at the lake was like that feeling you get on a hot summer day, when your driving to the beach and you finally see it peak over the horizon. It was beautiful. We sat on the end of the jetty with our feet in the water. Canada has some of the coldest water I have ever felt... yet some what refreshing! My feet in ice cold water, looking at the mountains outstretched before me was a great feeling. When I pulled my feet out of the water they were numb... the water was so ice cold.
Monday was meant to be the day we drove back home, Amy was gracious enough to let us stay one more day! We awoke to such a different day... overcast and gloomy looking. It was funny as the weekend had been so glorious for us and the day we were meant to go home the weather set in. Me and Chris debated back and forth about doing the Peak to Peak gondola ride. I was phyching myself up for it as I am so petrified of heights... and then decided against it as the weather was pretty crap... and it would just seem like a waste of time and money seeing as though there were clouds everywhere!
So instead we spent the day relaxing and lazing around watching DVD's! I wasnt feeling that well... I think I had allergies so I got to sleep some too! ahhhh
That night we took Amy out for dinner to say thankyou for having us... we went to Mexican which was quite yummy and oh so filling, then back to Amys for a drink and a chat and off to sleep!
Tuesday was our official leaving day which was quite sad. Amy was such a great host, very gracious and welcoming. We enjoyed our adventures with her and Thank her for her hospitality!
Over the next few days we spent time on our own and with Amy seeing many places in Whistler and Pemberton.
