CANADA – VANCOUVER AND SURROUNDINGS - White Rock Beach

CANADA – VANCOUVER AND SURROUNDINGS - White Rock Beach (*****)

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In the summer small beaches by the Vancouver’s lakes are usually crowded. If you want to avoid hustle and bustle, choose the picturesque seaside in White Rock by Semiahmoo Bay. The 8 km long beach with a lifeguard on duty, in fact consists of two beaches: east and west (with a pier and a marina). A white glacial rock is it’s symbol. This is a perfect place to relax, swim, sunbathe, organize a picnic or even have a go at catching crabs. To do so, you need to equip yourself with a crab trap as well as a license (both available in Marine Market by the west beach).

Children can play in sand or shallow water. In the morning, low tides reveal acres of sand and blooming eelgrass (a kind of sea grass), which serve as a shelter for different kinds of fish. There is a lawn with picnic areas along the beach. An operating but rarely used railway line runs behind. There is also a boardwalk with restaurants (including a popular fish and chips restaurant Moby Dick) and shops.

Free public toilets are located by the entrance to the pier. On the other side of the pier you can find the marina, wherefrom touristic boat cruises combined with whale and seal watching start.

It’s worth staying one the White Rock beach for at least a few hours.

The beach during high tide

The beach during low tide 

Boardwalk

The beach during high tide

CANADA – VANCOUVER I SURROUNDINGS – Queen Elizabeth Park and Bloedel Conservatory

CANADA – VANCOUVER I SURROUNDINGS – Queen Elizabeth Park (*****)

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Queen Elizabeth Park is one of the most beautiful parks in Canada. Its location on the highest hill in Vancouver (152 meters above sea level) gives a great opportunity to admire the panorama of the city.  The 52-hectare park is perfectly maintained. There are different specimens of trees as well as thousands of flowers (including rose garden) and blooming shrubs. In the past the hill was quarried for rock, used to build Vancouver’s first roadways. Thanks to this, nowadays the park can pride itself on diverse landform. Bridges stretch over streams full of salmons years ago.

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The park is an artist friendly place, where you can buy pieces of art during the walk. It’s famous for unique sculptures, which create an artistic vibe and an unusual backdrop for pictures. The bronze sculpture  (by  J. Steward Johnson, Junior) of a man taking pictures of three figures posing with the city as a background is one of the most interesting photo spots with panoramic view of Vancouver.  The park’s most popular piece of art is one of four copies of an abstract sculpture Knife Edge – Two Piece by Henry Moore.

Under the acrylic dome of Bloedel Conservatory, visitors can also admire over 120 species of wild birds  all year long. The birds are not kept in cages so you have to look hard to find them among tropical vegetation and flowers. This place is worth seeing especially in rainy days (which are quite frequent in Vancouver). Entrance to Bloedel Conservatory is free for children under 3. Regular ticket costs 6,5 $.

There is an astonishing Dancing Waters fountain with 70 jets of water adjacent to Bloedel Conservatory.

Visiting Queen Elisabeth Park takes 2-3 hours. It’s accessible to disabled people. Although it is located on the hill, visitors can get there by car just to the entrance.

CANADA - ALBERTA - JASPER PARK – Jasper Skytram - Whistlers Mountain

CANADA - ALBERTA - JASPER PARK – Jasper Skytram (*****)

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A tourist attraction you cannot miss - Jasper Skytram. The lower station is located just 7 km away from Jasper, by the Whistlers Road.
Since you can choose a departure hour while buying a ticket, there are no queues. The flight, in a cable car containing up to 26 people, lasts 7,5 minutes and takes you up 1005 m at a speed of 6 metres per second. This is just the beginning of the adventure.

Once you reach the upper station, situated 2263 m above sea level, you will find an unspeakable view and a promise of more discoveries during the walk on the Whistlers Mountain. The Summit Trail (1,2 km long - 5A) runs through alpine vegetation. Although the trail is easy, you need to be equipped with a proper footwear. One can also stroll along established paths to several view points below the summit. The Whistlers Trail (6,6 km long) is prepared for tourists looking for more challenging activities.

When you get to the moutaintop you will find red chairs (deployed in different Canadian Parks in most suprising locations) and an astonishing scenery of lakes fed with glacier water (Patricia Lake, Pyramid Lake, Lac Beauvert, Lake Annette i Lake Edith), Athabasca River or six mountain ranges. The snowi is also guaranteed, even in summer.

There are toilets, restaurant and rest areas in the upper station. Established trails are available for famlies with children and elderly people. Nevertheless you cannot forget to take warm clothes and mountain boots with you.

Experts from Jasper Planetarium arrange periodically – depending on weather conditions – night flights to the upper station combined with stargazing through telescopes as well as telescope adventures by the lower station during the day.

Information leaflet, which is available at the skytram stations, shows pictures of animals met on the mountain. We came across an animal not mentioned there. Do you know this animal? Please write in comments below.