Olive, my little sister, came to visit British Columbia in Spring 2022. Experiencing BC through her eyes made me fall in love with this province all over again. Here is her trip, in her words, but be warned you’ll be looking at flights to BC before you’ve finished reading.
Guest Blog by Olive D.
When my sister moved to Canada at the start of the pandemic I don’t think anyone in our family could have predicted it would have been so long until we could see her again.
After hearing that Canada had opened its borders I knew that I wanted to go visit Helen and Jacob, as I hadn’t left the UK since before the pandemic began and I was feeling so bored of my first adult-ish office job. So I booked the flights and started planning!
My Vancouver solo trip
I flew into Vancouver and spent 5 days exploring the city whilst staying in a hostel. The hostel I chose was in Gastown which is known for being the young and hip area of the city with lots of independent stores and mini art galleries to wander around.
I love to explore new places through my taste buds and I discovered that Vancouver has some tasty vegan-friendly restaurants and coffee shops.
On pancake day I ate some unreal Canadian style buttermilk pancakes, definitely the best pancakes I have ever eaten on pancake day (don’t tell my mum this though)!
My short stay was spent walking around the city’s incredible parks, reading on the beaches and going to art galleries and museums.
Stanley Park was a highlight of my trip, as the park is huge and very easily accessible from the city. It has everything from beaches to forest trails and it felt like a calm oasis away from the busy city.
In the park there is an impressive collective of first nations totem poles, coming from the UK it was so eye-opening to learn about the history and culture of the first nations people.
I would also recommend the Vancouver art gallery to anyone who enjoys arty stuff, whilst I was there Yoko Ono was staging an exhibition about ‘growing freedom’ which was super thought-provoking and interactive.
Prince George – seeing my sister!
The flight between Vancouver and Prince George was literally insane, I’ve never seen such incredible views of mountains before!
When my plane landed I was so happy to see my sister again, I was also shocked that I had forgotten how much shorter than me she is (she is my little big sister).
I’m not completely sure what I had imagined Prince George would be like but my first impression was that it was an industrial town with a lot of snow and really friendly people.
On my first night in town, I met my sister’s lovely friends and went to Shane Lake which was frozen over for a fire pit and s’mores! According to my sister, fire pits are a must-do Prince George tradition even in the thick snow and minus temperatures.
The rest of my week was filled with going cross country skiing for the first time which I loved, eating the yummy vegan food that Prince George had to offer, going to a pub quiz and some cool Canadian breweries. We also went to see the Prince George Cougars play because if you are in Canada you obviously have to watch some ice hockey!
Coming face to face with an upset mumma moose
I’m still in shock from the unexpected madness of my second day in PG, as on a walk through Forests of the World we had a proper Canadian wildlife experience.
As we walked through the path a huge mother moose and a baby moose came out onto the path and separated me and Helen from Jacob.
Honesty, coming from the UK I had no idea what to do when met with an upset moose and all I remember thinking was ‘wow, moose are really big in real life’.
Luckily my sister did know what to do in this situation and her first thoughts were slightly more helpful. She told us to go and find a thick bunch of trees to hide in so that if the moose decided to charge at us the trees would provide some safety.
The mumma moose was still upset with us for crossing its path and stared at me and my sister and then charged towards us, stopping less than a meter away.
At this point, I was fully freaking out and was doing my best to not burst into tears or just collapse in panic. A serious staring contest then ensued between my sister and the moose, which I guess my sister won as the moose was satisfied enough to leave us alone.
My legs were shaking the entire walk back to the car and after a quick google I found out that moose seriously injure more people in Canada than bears, so I feel very grateful no one got hurt.
Road tripping and a little stay in North Vancouver
On my last weekend in Canada we did a road trip from Prince George to North Vancouver. This meant I got to see loads more of British Columbia, sleep in an odd motel in a tiny traditional Canadian town and eat a Canadian road trip classic – the A&W burger.
We stayed in Deep Cove which is one of the most magical places I have ever been, the combination of the forests and the fjord make the town seem like something out of a fairytale.
Whilst in North Vancouver we visited Lynn Canyon suspension bridge which I’d recommend. The forest felt like a playground with suspension bridges over rivers and trails to waterfalls and clear blue swimming holes.
The trip finished on an absolute high as we drove into Vancouver to watch the Vancouver Canucks play Tampa Bay Lightning. I was buzzing with excitement to watch NHL ice hockey and to feel the atmosphere of a massive arena. The Canucks lost but I still could not have asked for a better ending to my stay.
From writing this I’ve been reminded of just how much excitement we managed to squeeze into a two week trip in British Columbia. Honestly, I can’t wait to go and visit Helen and Jacob again (if they’ll have me?).
. . .
Convinced you need to visit BC? Here’s some blogs to help you plan (and further convince you)…
A guide to the Icefields Parkway to celebrate the opening of the Canadian boarder
Chasing the Aurora Borealis in Northern British Columbia
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West Country Wandering 
Well done Olive! You survived ! Nice moose and calf!
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Olive. I really enjoyed reading your blog. I’m so glad that you were able to spend time with Helen and Jacob and enjoy sharing their outdoor activities with them. With best wishes, Pat
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