JoC 2024 Cruise 2 Canada + Tour

2020 and 2021 were not great times for any kind of local or even overseas travel, so a planned return to Canada was put on ‘hold’ for the foreseeable future.

With the development of vaccines, the easing of travel restrictions and a Holland America repositioning cruise in April 2024 from Sydney to Vancouver Canada open for booking in early 2023, the spending of money and self-planning began for the land component of this adventure.

This 25 day cruise was our first since 2019 and even though it had many sea days, the ship (as Noordam, which we cruised on as part of our 2011 ABC Tour) would be visiting some places we hadn't’t been before, along with one which we had, Honolulu HI back in 2015 on our R.t.W Tour.

As we were returning to see parts of Canada at our own pace that we had visited before, there were two particular locations which have been placed high on the ‘must see’ list.  The first was the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller Alberta and the second was Tofino on Vancouver Island. 

Why Drumheller?

It all started with an almost 40 year old children’s book, Albert the Dinosaur by Geraldine Carlin (1983)** which was part of #1 son’s bedtime reading routine way back when. Who’d have thought a kid’s book would light a slow burning fuse to visit the area where Albert was discovered in an adult? If only Geraldine was around for me to thank her.

And why Tofino?

The scenery. Spectacular.

Anyhoo, after months of meticulous planning, we made our way on a very wet Canberra morning to the White Bay Cruise Terminal to board our ship, the ms Noordam.  Unfortunately, because of weather conditions the evening prior, the Noordam’s arrival was delayed, which of course caused all kinds of disruptions for those getting off and those waiting to get on.

As it turned out, our late departure was quite a sight to see.

First things first, check out the cabin. Certainly nothing fancy and to be honest, the decor is now certainly tired and dated much like the remainder of the ship, although there were some parts of the ship's interior that had been spruced up.

Second on the list was heading up to the Crows Nest and having a traditional pre-departure Cosmopolitan, or two. Soon after, Penicillin was discovered just after a Trader Vic's Mai Tai taste test.

The cruise did provide plenty of time to relax with many ‘sea days’ with spectacular sunrises and sunsets between ports of call. 

With passenger numbers low (850 approximately) as this was a repositioning cruise, people watching became almost boring after the first week, although we did notice some individuals who had remarkable resemblances for example to: Kath Day-Knight, Schroeder Felton and Laura Dern. And then there were the ‘twins,’ Father Bob (drumming up new flock members) and our beloved cruise excursion director to add a bit of interest to our journey.

 

With a 25 day cruise, there were certainly many highlights. One that particularly stood out was the ‘dawn’ service on 25 April (26 April Australian time) which was conducted outside at the rear of the ship. I’m sure that for safety reasons, it wasn’t held as a pre-dawn/dawn service but fortunately the seas were quite calm although the wind was certainly fresh. Karen and I had the honour of placing the flower wreath at its designated position. Turned out to be quite a crowd to witness this, with many Aussies and Kiwis of course but also a sprinkling of Canadians and Americans. Here's the program - 01 02 03 04.

With all this time on our hands, with books to read, walking the decks, going to the gym (not me), starting ‘that book’ (me), playing cards and getting to know our fellow passengers, especially our dining room companions from Michigan and Vancouver, the most difficult decisions to make each day was where to eat! Breakfast in the Lido, the Main Dining Room (MDR) or in the Cabin? Lunch in the Lido (day 4) and a comparrison, day 9, or the Dive-in Burger Bar**? Dinner in the MDR or the Pinnacle Grill?

Also we did have the odd port of call tour or two along the way. Each location has a short (60sec max) YouTube video clip to view. They are:

1. Noumea, New Caledonia
Tours:   a. Penal Colony History of New Caledonia (WL)
b. Tibaou Cultural Centre (KJ)
2. Easo, Lifou, New Caledonia
Tours: nil
3. Lautoka, Fiji
Tours:   a. Leisurely Nadi (KJ)
b. Tau Cave & Zip Line (WL)
4. Savusavu, Vanua Levi, Fiji
Tours: nil
5. Pago Pago, American Samoa
Tour:      East Side Island Drive & Beach Stop (WL)
6. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Tours:
Day 1:   a. Explore & Taste Oahu’s North Shore (KJ)
b. Behind the Scenes at Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum & visit the USS Missouri (WL)
Day 2:   Shopping Hop on/Hop off Trolley (KJ/WL)
7. Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii, USA
Tour:      Waimea Canyon & Sprouting Horn (KJ/WL)
8. Kona, Hawaii, USA
Tours:   a. Kona Coffee, Gold Coast & Cloud Forest Adventure (WL)
b. Kona Highlights 01 (KJ)

While we had previously visited Honolulu back in 2015 during the JoC RtW Tour, we missed out on seeing much of the place.  All other locations were new to us, so when we could, we joined a tour and enjoyed the sights.  If a tour was unavailable (Easo and Savusavu), we did visit the local town for a bit of a gander and shop and/or a walkaround.  Mind you, the humidity was way off the scales, so these onshore visits were kept fairly short.

Once the ship arrived at Vancouver on the morning of the 30th we calmly walked through Canadian Customs and hopped on the coach which took us to the airport for our flight to Calgary later that day. This is where the pre-departure planning kicked in.

The flight with Air Canada was fairly standard. Unknown to us, was the snowstorm that hit Calgary as we were landing, which didn’t at all help the very nervous flyer sitting next to me (not Karen). Fortunately, the snow mostly fell towards the western side of the city, so we didn’t need to drive our hire car through any of it on our way to Drumheller that afternoon/evening.

Let us just say, the weather out there was a bit of a surprise compared to our tropical cruise. Yes, we did prepare for cooler weather, but not quite that cool. As Karen will forever say, “thank goodness for Walmart!”

As mentioned previously, Drumheller was planned as the start point for our westward road trip across to Vancouver Island and as far as Tofino before returning to Vancouver prior to our return home. The following ramblings will attempt to describe our journey along with observations on the places we stayed, the roads we travelled and the food we consumed.

The drive from Calgary to Drumheller along Highway 9 was uneventful, even though we were driving on the wrong side of the road for the first time in an unfamiliar vehicle, a 2024 Ford Edge (from Hertz). One just had to remember "Lefty Loosely, Righty Tighty" when driving. We were certainly thankful that the snowfall was behind us, however the weather did look like things may change over the next day or so. The highway was quite wide and open with very little traffic as it was later in the day. The Ford’s satnav was excellent at this time…

Our arrival at our accommodation, Sure Stay Plus by Best Western for the next two nights was very late in the afternoon, but before sundown. The room was certainly comfortable for our needs and as we were fairly tired, we opted for the Maccas near the hotel for a quick feed. Tasted just like Maccas at home.

The following day started wet and remained that way for most of it. This is when we finally met Albert, the happy one with the really BIG smile and sharp teeth:

 

Trust me, if you ever wish to visit a dinosaur museum, the Royal Tyrell Museum is the one you want to see, where many of the displays are original fossils ;-). Remember to pre-purchase your tickets as it could hasten the entry process. We then headed out of town to have a look at the ‘famous’ Hoodoos. Quite interesting, however not quite what one would call ‘spectacular’ like the Waimea Canyon is. Maybe being a wet and stroppy day didn’t help here. Anyway, along the way, we passed a turnoff to Wayne. Just had to visit and cross those nine bridges later on taking in the interesting countryside along the way. At this point it wasn’t wet, but a lot cooler. Hence the visit to Drumheller’s Walmart.

That evening, we followed the tip from the receptionist to dine at a local restaurant, the Yarvis Family Restaurant**. If you arrive with an appetite, you will leave totally stuffed, if you arrive just hungry, they can arrange a trolley to take you to your car afterwards. We ordered an appetizer each (Calamari and Spring Rolls), which turned out to be a rookie error on our part (HUGE serve), followed by their version of a Surf & Turf (we picked 8oz steaks, the smallest). I can’t find that on their current menu, but if you have a look at it on-line, you’ll see you are not short of choices. I think I followed all that with either a chocolate brownie or cheesecake and we both managed to fit in a couple of Heinekens as well.

Before we departed our hotel for Banff, we were given a tip about where to get the cheapest fuel between here and there, which turned out to be quite accurate. As this was our first refuel and it was (as most appear to be) a pay at the pump jobbie, I wasn’t too sure on what grade of go juice to fill with. The Canadian fuel ratings, as I was to discover later, are 87/89/91(MON), slightly different, but oddly nearly the same as our 91/95/98(RON). Being a turbo, I opted for the middle choice, much like my own car, only to find out later that the lower/cheaper grade was OK. We ended up paying $CAD1.83.9/ltr on that day (Dead Man’s Flats AB), so not a bad price considering it was in effect the equivalent to 95RON which would have cost over $A2 at about that time. The most expensive fuel for us was at Nanaimo at $CAD1.98.9/ltr and the cheapest at Banff at $CAD1.65.9/ltr. (We did refuel at Tofino before returning to Vancouver and the current price there is around $CAD1.80/ltr). This part of the road trip was mostly uneventful apart from the snow. Canadian drivers are so courteous aren't they?

This was our second visit to Banff and if nothing else has changed, the view of the surrounding mountains certainly had.

 

First things first when visiting and staying here, is to get a Park Pass (for all occupants of the vehicle I do have to add). As we were to ‘probably’ visit other Parks Canada locations, we purchased 2x Discovery Passes, then had lunch and a drive out to Lake Louise (which was very different from our first visit) for a gander before checking into our home for the next three nights at Rundlestone Lodge.

The last time we visited Lake Louise, you could have paddled a boat on it. This time, people were walking on it. Lots of people as it turned out.

Back in 2008, on our NRMA Tour, we had a quick whistle stop at Johnston Canyon and didn’t allow a longer hike unless you wanted to run. (Not a hike then or even a ‘fun’ run either come to that.) This time, with knees and hips saying ‘don’t do it’ I managed to make it to the Lower Falls. It was worth it.

The following day was spent mostly on Sulphur Mountain, soaking in the snow covered vistas and followed with a visit to the local first nations museum. Fortunately, the Rundlestone provided free bus/transit passes so much of our local travel was by bus, especially when heading downtown for our evening meals.

Speaking of which, the following are worthy of a visit if you are ever in Banff and in search of a decent meal (all recommended, with Sky Bistro being a bit more expensive and bring an appetite to Melissa’s Missteak:

St James Gate Irish Pub
Zyka Elevated Indian Restaurant
Melissa's Missteak, and
Sky Bistro.

Our next stop is really just an overnighter at Revelstoke, apparently a mountain biker’s paradise during the summer months. Our home for the night was the Regent Hotel, with quite a comfy room but a very so-so buffet breakfast the following morning. (The breaky at Drumheller was much, much more appetising as an example).

Anyhoo, we did arrive at around lunchtime after traveling along a highway showing signs of wear and tear and so couldn’t check-in, so we lunched at the Main Street Café. Being a Sunday it was very quiet in town, so after a bit of a walk we ended up spending a dollar or three at the River City Pub, right next door to the hotel. For dinner that night we ended up in a real Mum and Dad Chinese restaurant called WK Garden, which was right next door to a real fancy Chinese restaurant (Hong Kong Restaurant… original naming there) which was totally packed out. So WK Garden got the nod, and we were the only patrons at that time, which did have us wondering. In the end, good service, good food, good price.

The next short two night stay was a drive to the Royal Anne Hotel on Bernard Avenue in Kelowna, and to get there we needed to leave Highway One and veer off onto Highway 97A to take us into downtown Kelowna. Certainly a very different landscape to what we had already driven, with more open space, farmland and lakes. Not many snow capped mountains in these parts either.

Kelowna is a fair sized city with a population of around 150k and I’m sure each and every one of them was driving on the road at the time we arrived. Again before check-in, but we jagged a carpark about a block from the hotel and had a bit of a wander and found a local bakery (Bread Co) for a tasty lunch.

A few interesting things about the Royal Anne:

1. Underground carparking is squeezy, with the ceiling quite low. So if you have an SUV with one of those auto raising tailgates, make sure you know how to stop it opening when it is opening. Oh, and if you are driving a Dodge RAM for example, don’t bother, just park outside.
2. This is the only hotel where you are provided with ear plugs. On-line reviews have mentioned loud noises but we didn’t notice anything out of ‘normal’.
3. The ala carte breakfast buffet was certainly much better than Revelstoke’s Regent Hotel.

While we didn’t go out to visit the any wineries around this part of the Okanagan Valley as we mainly visited places within walking distance of the hotel, we did have good look at the art gallery (disappointing) and the Okanagan Military Museum (very interesting) and of course dining in some interesting establishments:

Curious Café (very good)
Skinny Duke's Glorious Emporium (excellent)
Kelly O'Bryan's Neighborhood Restaurant (service was pretty poor and while the beer was good, the food wasn't)
(a special shout out to Mosaic Books, no food, but jeez if you like books this is THE place)

From Kelowna we had a long day ahead as we made our way to Vancouver and the ferry over to Vancouver Island and our next stopover for four nights at the Embassy Inn at (or in) Victoria. As it turns out, this was our third visit to this fair city, however on this occasion we’ll be staying a whole lot longer than last time.

The road trip from Kelowna and to the Tsawwassen (and no, that is not a spelling mistake) Ferry Terminal was without incident on an excellent highway with a more realistic speed limit and even though the traffic certainly increased, our trustworthy satnav kept us on the correct path, although it did have a few moments when we turned off just before Vancouver for a lunch break (and our introduction to Tim Hortons. If you like maple syrup, here’s a suggestion for you - Bulk 100% Pure Maple Syrup Canada Grade A. – O Canada**.

Over the next few days we reacquainted ourselves with this wonderful part of the world with plenty of walking and the occasional drive. It was also where we discovered the difference between North American and Australian liquorice and we finally had a boat ride on one of what must be the smallest ferries on the planet.

A visit to Vancouver Island is a perfect excuse to visit the Butchart Gardens 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08:

 

which of course we did, then followed up with visiting the BC Aviation Museum, 01 02 03 and a couple of local mansions that were open to the public for viewing, Hatley Park 01 (which wasn’t actually ‘open’) and Craigdarroch Castle, 01 02 03.

If you are into government history/buildings, the Legislative Assembly of BC 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09, would be great to visit. Also, if you are in Victoria BC 01 02 03 04 05, at some time in the future these establishments are recommended:

The Coriander Indian Restaurant (a smallish family establishment. Bring an appetite.)
Irish Times Pub (first visit and third visit)
Little Barbershop of Horrors (the place to go if your bonce needs a service)
Pagliacci's Restaurant (an olde world Italian establishment)
Steamship Grill and Bar (not bad, not great)

Our second to last location is Tofino, a surprisingly time consuming drive from Victoria, with a fuel stop at Nanaimo and a bite to eat for lunch at Ucluelet before arriving at our accommodation for the next four nights at the Best Western Plus Tin Wis Resort, (which by the way has the strangest climate control system for a guest room we have ever encountered) right beside Mackenzie Beach 01, and a short five minute drive into Tofino itself.

Tofino was one of Karen’s bucket list locations, so we certainly made the most of our short stay here, with a bear watching (finding) fast boat ride with Tofino Resort and Marina Bear Watching - Tofino Resort + Marina (tofinoresortandmarina.com)** and a seaplane flight around and between even more snow capped mountain peaks with Tofino Air Sand to Summit – Float Plane – Tofino Air**. Both were great adventures with the flight the pick of the two.

As we were out and about on most days, unless walking along the nearby beaches, visiting local galleries or museums, we tended to have meals close to the resort or in the resort’s Browns Socialhouse and a lunch at Adrianas Sandwich Shop (that makes pizzas). A definite recommendation would be the ROAR Tofino Restaurant (01 02), which is part of Hotel Ned Tofino. To be honest, if this place was next to a beach, it would be the absolute ideal place to stay.

The weather while on Vancouver Island was nearly ideal. Certainly cooler than the tropics but warmer than the Rockies and that continued for our final four days in Vancouver.

To get there of course, we needed to catch another ferry. This time we departed from Nanaimo to arrive at Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver for our drive into the City (in late afternoon traffic) at arrive at our final hotel the Residence Inn.

Again, much shoe leather was used with plenty of walking 01 02 03 04 05 and window shopping and a drive out to Stanley Park on what turned out to be a damp day. As our departure wasn’t until late in the evening and of course we needed to vacate the hotel room, we spent much of our final day wandering around Queen Elizabeth Park, which was almost halfway between the hotel and the airport, so we had heaps of time for people watching before returning the car by 6pm.

These are recommendations if you happen to visit Vancouver for a couple of days:

Sushi Mugen (highly recommended and a short walk from the hotel)
Twins Chinese Kitchen (next door to the above, a small family run business)
White Spot Restaurant
Earls Test Kitchen (very good food and service, somewhat expensive)
Vancouver Art Gallery 01 02
Marine Building (closed for renos this time unfortunately) our 2008 visit
Gastown
Vancouver Aquarium (have kids? Go see. Don’t have kids? Go see)
Stanley Park 01
Prospect Point Lookout
Queen Elizabeth Park (not as vibrant as our previous visit in 2008) 01 02

(^Above content subject to change at any time)

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