CANADACANADADESTINATION

JULY 21-22 , 2012

ALL ABOARD QUEBEC’S NEW LE MASSIF TRAIN {P7} BEST HOLIDAY DEALS {P7} THE HISTORIC HEART OF WINNIPEG {P8}

ALL THE CREATURE COMFORTSHow to bed downin style in national parks {P6}

Some likeit freshAdventures aplenty, from forestwalks to icy encounters

CATHERINE MARSHALL

A sturdy and reliable four-wheel-drive vehicle is essential for tackling Alberta’s Icefields Parkway in winter

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NIGEL FINNEY

Bison roam the range again at Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan

ANNE KOSTALAS

Icebergs and marine wildlife abound in Conception Bay

CHRISTINE McCABE

British Columbia’s Tolkienesque Great Bear Rainforest

JOHN LEE

Volcanic craters in the Yukon brim with icy mist

There’s a (white) bear out there:The Great Bear Rainforest covers8.5 million hectares of mist-shrouded wilderness fringing theremote northwest coast andislands of British Columbia; it’shome to wolves, wolverines andthe enigmatic and endangeredspirit (or kermode) bear.

And we are going in.Barb is our guide from King

Pacific Lodge (KPL), a five-starfloating resort towed into positionoff Princess Royal Island everysummer and tethered in theshadow of the forest, with bull kelpswirling about its moorings andbald eagles soaring overhead.

Every excursion begins in thewet room, suiting up like firemen,foreven if it’snot rainingwhenyouset out, the world’s largest temper-ate rainforest will be busy makingits own weather.

We motor by boat around thepoint and into Cameron Cove, aprimeval place of mists, ferns andlichens, dimly lit and as strangelymenacing as a noir film.

After disembarking we followthe river into the darkening forestas mists roll down to blanketancient cedars and hemlocks, andthe only sound to be heard is water— raining, trickling, dripping,squelching. This is no walk but anobstacle course of fallen logs andshattered stumps; the mossyground is as spongy as a trampol-ine. We are heading towards athundering waterfall only dis-covered by KPL guides a year ago.

They have dubbed it Tomb-stone for the eerie, moss-corrodedtree stumps, like rotten teeth, thatsurround it. And along the way wepickour ownsnacks.The forest is arich larder for the First NationsGitga’at people (and peckishbears), affording salmonberriesand huckleberries, cow parsnipand rice root.

All the while there is a sense weare being watched, by wolf or bearor wood sprite. This is a forest sodrenched in mystery, so Tolkien-esque, it’s like a fairytale, beautifuland dreadful in equal measure.(September is the best month tospy the rare white spirit bear.)More: kingpacificlodge.com.

CHRISTINEMcCABE

Northern exposures: When100,000 men stampeded north forthe 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, theYukon’s uncompromising wilder-ness was their biggest challenge.Anyone surviving the killer rapidsand jagged-toothed mountains toget there could call themselves alocal — that’s if they also made itthrough the minus 30C winters.

Fast-forward and I am about toexplore this raw-toothed naturehead-on, albeit from a cosy heli-

copter. A bird’s-eye view is the wayto go and one operator usuallyshuttling workers for the Yukon’sbusy resources sector runs an eye-popping scenic service.

Clambering aboard at tinyDawson City airport in theKlondike River Valley with threeother camera-wielding visitors, wequickly shimmy into the air. Theairport soon looks like a toy-townmodel as we zip over forest-stripedfoothills.

Looming ahead is the region’smost dramatic mountain land-scape. At almost 2200sq km,Tombstone Territorial Park isrenowned for its claw-like graniteterrain. Swathed with multi-huedtundra flora in summer, on myvisit it’s still in winter’s glassy grip.

Moose and caribou call the areahome, razor-sharp pinnacles pokeupwards like fangs, streaked withlaser-white snow. Prying open oneof the chopper’s small windows, Itake photos of vast volcaniccraters brimming like cauldronswith icy mist.

Back below the snowline, wefollow the glittering KlondikeRiver over historic Dawson City,where the nugget-eyed prospec-tors stayed. When the easy goldwas gone, they quickly left andmachines moved in. Ship-sizeddredges chewed up local riverbedshere for decades; and just beforethe airport, we spot the evidence.

Deposited in vast, undulatingtrails that, from above, resemblethe shed skins of huge snakes, thedredge piles, or tailings, are dis-carded rocks that were sifted forgold. Their man-made patternshave an oddly attractive, organiclook. It’s timeto land andrecharge.More: trinityhelicopters.com.

JOHN LEE

I’m going to Grasslands: Alongthe horizon we spot a small herd ofbison grazing on lush spring grass.

On the immense prairie ofGrasslands National Park insouthern Saskatchewan, with notrees to block our view, they looklike big brown dots. But as we drivecloser, their distinctive shapecomes into focus. The closest bullstands majestically alone, hisshaggy, horned head pointing intothe breeze.

Grasslands is Canada’s onlynational park that preserves themixed-grass prairie ecosystem.Bison once reigned on the prairies,from Canada to Mexico.

BeforeEuropeansarrived in the1800s and hunted them almost toextinction, they numbered about30 million. The 71 bison re-introduced in 2006 have multi-plied to more than 300, a far cryfrom the thundering herds of thepast, but a thrilling start.

Exploring here is a hiker’sdream. Afew trailshave beenbuilt,but you are encouraged to wander.

‘‘If you want to hike 10km inthat direction, you can,’’ says ParksCanada heritage guide CaitlinMroz, pointing towards nowherein particular.

Look for tipi rings — circles ofstones that once secured the tipis(tents) of First Nations people.More than 12,000 have been dis-covered, along with stone cairnsand bison drive lanes, wherenative people onceherded bison tobe killed for food and clothing.

The entire park is anarcheological treasure trove andthere’s even traditional tipiaccommodation available at theCrossing Resort.

The past is powerful, but so isthe present.

Listen for the high-pitched barkof prairie dogs — there’s a hugecolony with underground burrows— and watch for owls, black-footed ferrets, antelopes, foxes,coyotesand,of course, thosebison.

If you want to taste bison, you

can. Just outside Grasslands, in thetiny village of Val Marie, HarvestMoon Cafe, which is run by Mrozin her spare time, serves up bisonburgers, made from domestic ani-mals raised for their meat. More:pc.gc.ca; crossingresort.com.

SUZANNEMORPHET

Ice and easy does it: Alberta’s Ice-fields Parkwayexpresses itself bestin the depths of winter, whenwind-chill pushes the temperaturetominus40Candtheroad ispavedwith an unyielding sheet of ice.

The behemoth of a four-wheel-drive my daughter and I havehired makes perfect sense nowthat we are out on this 232km-longveritable ice floe.

Although the car is impossiblyunwieldy in parking lots, it glidesalong the open road with confi-dence and precision, maintainingthe very firmest of grips. Our cold-shocked bodies thaw out, thanksto its heated seats and tight insu-lation and on-demand outpouringof warm, soothing air.

These are not small comforts,

for we have entered an ice agewhere no leaf or pebble or atom ofoxygen has been left unfrozen.Our lungs burn when we stop toview the ice-blue Athabasca Gla-cier and use the log-cabin toiletsset out in the woods, their pitchedroofs heavy with white frosting.Even the ravens land gingerly onthe roadside, hopping from foot tofoot and begging for food underduress as their stalky legs threatento snap with the exertion of it all.

The roadside restaurants andcoffee shops have closed for thewinter, so we motor on throughvalleys lined with snow-fleckedspruces and aspens and the Can-adian Rockies, their foothills curv-ing up towards peaks that aresharply outlined against a brightblue sky.

But for the occasional snowplough and intrepid traveller, weare alone in this white expanse,journeying upwards from Banff toLake Louise and on to the elevatedPeyto Lake, then sinking backdown along the SaskatchewanCrossing and the Columbia Ice-

field into the town of Jasper, wherepeople skate on the frozen lakes.

Our eyes have recorded thisjourney as though it were someglorious, cinematic montage; ifonly we could show you theresults. More: icefieldsparkway.ca.

CATHERINEMARSHALL

Bay watch: From July to mid-August, Rick Stanley from Ocean-quest Adventures will hurtle youacross Newfoundland’s Concep-tion Bay.

This is the Avalon Peninsula,the farthest place east you can goon the North American continent,and your mission will be to swimwith humpback whales (whichapparently like to show off)plus the occasional opportunityto view narwhals, belugawhales, white-beaked dolphinsand minke whales.

Stanley knows this rugged partof Canada like the back of hishand, including the seabed wherehe often dives for wartime ship-wrecks; he takes up to 12 passen-gers on his boat for half-day excur-sions at $C199 ($192) to snorkeland $C149 to watch.

Yourbestchance tohaveacloseencounter with a 10,000-year-oldlump of ice is between early Mayand mid-July.

From the boat you can hear itcrackling and if the skipper says itis safe enough, you can take back asouvenir piece of iceberg, perhapsto pop in a drink.

There are also trips for experi-enced divers that may give you thechance to climb on to an iceberg, ifthe skipper gives the nod.

For those who like their adven-tures less daring, there is seakayaking with a guide who willoffer you sea urchins picked fromthe shoreline.

The bay has a wild beauty, hasoften beenused for filmshoots andthe people are about as friendly asCanadians can get. More:oceanquestadventures.com.

ANNEKOSTALAS

Terms and conditions: Prices are per person, twin share and correct as of 13/06/2011. 10% discount requires full payment within 14 days and is based on the land-only portion of core tour and twin share price, not including extra night accommodations, extensions, taxes/fees, tips and supplements/reductions. $4284 includes 10% discount and departs 07/09/13; $2475 includes 10% discount and departs 07/09/13; $2529 includes 10% discount and departs 16/09/13. Offers are valid for new bookings only, and may be withdrawn or amended at any time without notice. Further conditions apply, see website or brochure for details. License No. 2TA000637

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Niagara Falls, Canada