Many happy returns to wonderful Canada
AS CANADA turns 150 and plans a year of huge celebrations, there couldn’t be a better time to explore the second-largest country on Earth.
Famous for its stunning landscapes, Canada is next year’s go-to place for big adventures and inspiring moments, where you’ll encounter a cast of largerthan-life characters.
So why not make a date for a chance to catch sight of a mighty orca from a ferry deck, spot Baloo-style grizzly bears and soaring eagles from a luxury train, or watch polar bears sprint across glinting glaciers?
And who could forget the opportunity to fly low over the sky-clawing Rockies, paddle a canoe or pan for gold and enjoy a smorgasbord of fabulous Canadian seafood.
THE ICE KINGDOM
RECENTLY voted by Lonely Planet as the best country in the world to visit in 2017, Canada offers an even more stupendous experience when twinned with an Alaska cruise, available in the warmer season between April and October.
These five-star sailings depart from Vancouver for the rugged Inside Passage, passing forests and Indian fishing villages on the way to a vast and unspoiled ice kingdom of snow-capped mountains, glaciers and open waterways through which cruise ships can pass.
From the decks, you’ll see your first glacier at scenic Juneau, which has a great mining museum – then call in at Skagway, an old gold-rush town with well-preserved boardwalks lined with Wild West-style saloons.
Cruise on through enormous, cliff-flanked fjords into Glacier Bay National Park, with its towering spires and huge pillars of ice.
There’s nothing quite as memorable as the sight of an enormous humpback whale coming to the surface for air alongside the ship, watching something stir in the woods before a huge moose emerges and mooches away, or, indeed, the sound of a glacier calving, sending a hush through the whole ship.
The Sawyer Glacier, at the end of the narrow Tracy Arm fjord, provides another awe-inspiring glimpse of nature’s majesty at work, with icebergs in glassy shades of deep blue and, in June, newborn seal pups on the larger ice floes.
And the final port of call is Ketchikan, the salmon capital of the world and home to mystic totem poles and fascinating history.
BEAR WATCH ON THE AWESOME ROCKY MOUNTAINEER
TO ADD another dimension to this adventure of a lifetime, you might combine your Alaska cruise with a Rocky Mountaineer train journey – either from Calgary to Vancouver before your cruise, or afterwards from Vancouver to Alberta.
The historic route, forged in 1885, slices through hidden canyons, over bubbling rivers where salmon spawn, and past plunging gorges, glacier-fed lakes and snowy mountains. Your amiable hosts will ensure you don’t miss a thing, as the train will slow for sightings of cougars, coyotes, wolves, caribou and huge grizzly bears, or to view ospreys and eagles perched on telegraph poles. Feast on the glorious unfolding panorama and do some serious snapping of the wildlife from the glass-domed Gold Leaf or panoramic Silver Leaf Service carriages. These allow you to see one of the world’s great wildernesses in considerable luxury, with five-star service, bottomless drinks and interpretive storytelling. There is sumptuous dining on the timelessly elegant lower deck, while at the back of each carriage you can breathe in the intoxicating smell of the forest from a viewing platform. Jaw-dropping gems to see during overnight stays en route include the serene, implausibly turquoise Lake Louise, surrounded by an amphitheatre of soaring peaks – the most photographed spot in Canada. And super-scenic Banff is home to teahouses, bears, hiking trails, a ski resort and Victoria Glacier. Head up Sulphur Mountain on a gondola to glimpse the rugged grandeur of six mountain ranges. With Canada named as the world’s best destination for next year and celebrating a big, big birthday on July 1, isn’t it time you discovered the matchless Rockies and the neighbouring Alaskan glaciers for yourself? The epic chunks of wilderness will bring fresh wonder to your life, during two of the planet’s most spectacular journeys.