Sir, is this Scenery?

Banff, Alberta

Tuesday 30 April 2019

My Dad once told me about a school trip he organised to take some kids from Peterlee to a nearby country park. Once the bus got beyond the outskirts of the town and as urban buildings gave way to green fields, one of the kids pointed out of the window to the countryside and asked “Sir, is this scenery?”.

Well goodness knows that pupil would make of the scenery in Canada, well British Columbia and Alberta to be precise - I can’t vouch for whatever lies to the east of the Rockies. 

Vancouver, our arrival point, is a fairly pretty city. It’s no Auckland but nice nonetheless. An I a similar way it has harbours, a few islands and typical coastal city type facilities. Just like Auckland Domain, Vancouver has Stanley Park to provide some greenery bathing. We really enjoyed our few days here and it’s really only once you get beyond the city boundary that the landscape really explodes into life. 

We spent a few idle days in the mountain resort of Whistler and despite the low clouds and snow fall it is in an undeniably stunning setting. Were it not for the dozens of snowboarders milling around it could be Keswick. 

A short cable car ride up the mountain really opened up the vista and we were only thankful that we had decided to get a return ticket and didn’t have to negotiate the snow-clad precipitous slopes to get back to our hotel. It would’ve been quick but not necessarily pain free.

Equally, the train we took from Vancouver to Banff travelled mostly on a single track and spent a great deal of the time hugging the side of a mountain like its  life depended upon it. Which it probably did, as did ours. The train, dwarfed by the snow-capped peaks that towered above us served to emphasise that this was scenery scaled up by a factor of “Wow!”. 

Admittedly, New Zealand has similar views but the lack of infrastructure means that you will need serious kit to see the best of them. Not to mention a pretty good level of fitness and a keen sense of direction. Not for the faint-hearted and certainly not views you can see whilst sipping Sauvignon Blanc and eating cheesy nibbles.

And just like New Zealand, British Columbia is blessed with an expanse of coastline on the Pacific, and with that beaches, harbours and miles of coastline to explore. Sitting on a beach or bench and gazing out to sea has to be one of the more grounding and calming ways to while away some time.

In just a few weeks we have seen beautiful coastline, rugged mountains and glacial blue rivers. Canada, or at least this part of it, is certainly a beautiful country and is reminiscent of New Zealand. As with all things one is encouraged to offer an opinion. So which is better? Hhhmmm, I’d rather not say.