Another story that I will probably tell around a campfire or with a good glass of wine in my hands... One of those that starts with a: "Oh yes, like this time too where you went on a road trip, in a 4WD, with a complete stranger". Yes. I know... If I had said it like that to my mother four years ago, she would probably have hit the roof. And in her mind as in yours, there are certainly a thousand valid reasons to say no to the possibility of embarking on a road trip in a stranger's car. But with all the experiences I've had in recent years, there is only one question that stands out for me today: "this road trip: do I feel it? or not?".
And in view of the title of this article, you can imagine what was my answer...
In fact, after my arrival in Nelson I spent a few days in a hostel while waiting for my room to be available. A period which seemed a little long to me, because without a car it's quite difficult to go on an adventure in this region. Moreover, with the coronavirus and the social distancing, the life in hostel is not really what it was. The meetings are in slow motion and the activities are at a standstill. Luckily, there is still ONE space that is conducive to meet people: the kitchen.
That's how I met Donald, a 39-year-old traveler who came straight from New Brunswick, the other French-speaking region of Canada (and yes, it's not only in Quebec that we speak French here!).
He had plans in 2020 to spend a year in Latin America, but with the Covid, he found himself traveling with his 4WD and its roof tent in his own country. It's after a discussion about my recent arrival in Canada, my plans to spend the winter in Nelson and my problems to find a car that he offered to take me on a road trip. I must admit that at first I hesitated. It was Thursday morning, he wanted to leave as soon as possible while I had to pick up my house keys and meet my roommate on Friday evening... So I didn't really want to rush things and then, it may seem silly to you, but all I've been dreaming about for the last few months is not traveling but having a new home of my own. So between road-tripping or moving into my new home, the question was pretty real. And then, I must also admit that, even though I've already joined many adventures with strangers, leaving alone and spending 24 hours a day with someone I didn't know, it was a great first.
So, just to feel things a little better and to make up my mind, I suggested that we first go to explore the trail he had in mind, near Nelson, just to get to know each other better. This was the opportunity for me to start checking boxes on my new "Canadian Bucket List"! (I don't know if you remember, but when I arrived in New Zealand, I had made a list of things I wanted to do before I left. Well, it's done again for Canada, this time with at least 2 years to do it...) First box : first 4WD trip on a road alternating gravel, earth, mud, snow and ice... Definitely another way to start the adventure!
It was my first time out of Nelson since my arrival so I must admit I was looking forward to seeing what was beyond the famous BOB Bridge. We went to the Kokanee Glacier Park and within twenty minutes we went from roads with fall colors to completely winter landscapes. It was magical. I had no idea what to expect when we left the hostel so the surprise was real. On the way back, we made a small detour along Kootenay Lake, which, let's admit it, looks more like a fjord. To tell you the truth, it is 104 km long, 3 to 5 km wide and it is surrounded by summits going up to 2700 m of altitude... There are many large lakes in the Kootenay region, usually from the ice age, and that makes me smile a lot, because they remind me a lot of the Voss region, where we lived last year in Norway. I really had no idea what this part of British Columbia would look like until I set foot there, and the good thing about not knowing is that you have no expectations and you can't be disappointed!
After this little 3-hour getaway, I was much more confident and rather motivated to explore the surroundings. I also quickly realized that it was probably the only opportunity that I would have before winter to visit a little bit the national parks and moreover, in company of a "local". So it was quite naturally that on Saturday morning, I started the adventure with Donald, in the direction of the Kootenays National Park!
In total, we travelled more than 1000 km in 5 days (!!!!), which gave me a really nice glimpse of the best of the Canadian Rockies and the surrounding parks.
DAY 1 : Nelson - Canal Flats
After a ferry crossing, we went along another arm of Kootenay Lake towards Creston, further south. There I discovered many postcard-like beaches, dream houses on the waterfront and some American-style towns and villages. I spent a lot of time imagining the region in summer. The very wild summits, the idyllic beaches, the nature, the blue color of the water... I understand a little bit better now why everyone is talking about the Kootenays. And I had the feeling that I am not going to stay there only for the winter... :D
We then drove to Canal Flats, to set our camp where Donald was last summer, in a wilderness campground by the water, on the river bed to be more precise. Luckily, the beach was covered with driftwood: perfect to make a campfire and to warm up and also perfect for cooking since negative temperatures are seldom friendly with camping gas bottles... When I went to bed, I have to admit that I was a bit scared. Between the fact that we were 20 minutes away from the nearest road, the weather forecast that announced a small -10°C and the wild animals of the region (Hi Bears!) I was a bit apprehensive about this first night outside. All this, not to mention the monstrous wind storm that lasted all night long and that threatened every second to tear the tent canvas...
For a first wilderness camping in Canada, it was a beautiful first haha...
In the early morning, despite my 3 or 4 hours of sleep, I woke up with a smile on my face ready to take the road again towards Lussier!
DAY 2 : Lussier Hot-Spring - Parc National de Banff
After the rather hectic night that I had just spent, I must admit that I was happy that we went to have a good breakfast before going to warm up in the natural hot springs of Lussier, in the heart of the Whiteswan National Park. Taking a dip in the middle of this Canadian nature, I swear it's priceless! It was also an opportunity for me to discover the different landscapes of the region before heading back on the road a few hours later towards Banff, a village in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, famous for its outdoor activities all year long.
I couldn't wait to hit the road of the Rockies because I had heard so much about it. Imagine a road as wide as a highway, and yet all around you have nothing but mountains and wilderness. It was unbelievable. Although we arrived a little late and it was already dark, I was able to immortalize some of the scenery through the lens of my camera. One thing is for sure, there are dozens of hikes in the area that will make me come back !
DAY 3 : Banff - Lake Louise - Golden
On the morning of the 3rd day we went for a walk in the village of Banff, which has been one of my favorites in British Columbia so far. Maybe because it reminded me nicely of our beautiful ski resorts in France or simply because it seems more lively or more touristic than other places we have been to. Once again, it made me smile... Even if I "flee" from Europe, my tastes in terms of urban life always come back to my good old French habits...
We then took the road again towards Lake Louise. Until then I had not planned anything about the road trip, I had not done any research or even "googled" the different places we would go. The only thing I had taken care of the day before was to find out about the small detours between Banff and Golden to organize a few stops on the way. When I finally found two detours, one to observe huge waterfalls and the other one for a walk in the heart of a narrow gorge with turquoise water, I was very impatient... A state which will not have lasted long since, unfortunately, we were 10 days too late on the calendar, the park had closed the access to most of the roads, because of avalanche risks... It is thus with a rather frustrated and disappointed Coralie (you know her yet nah? haha) that we continued our road towards Lake Louise.
I already knew about this place, as it often appears on photos in travel blogs or magazines. It is this lake of a pure and deep blue, surrounded by mountains and peaks, often still snow-covered, on which many travelers take their souvenir picture on a canoe in summer. It's a very touristic place so I can't tell that I was very enthusiastic at the idea of discovering it.
Except that... MAGIC. With the rather cold temperatures of the last days we discovered a completely frozen lake! By chance, the first flakes had not fallen yet, which allowed us to enjoy the whole extent of the lake under our feet.
I can't accurately describe the surprise and the feeling when I started walking on this thick ice, but yet so fragile. I even felt dizzy when after a few dozen meters, I realized that I could see the bottom, there, 3 or 4 meters below my feet. Everything seemed as if frozen or imprisoned. I was like a kid who was given presents on Christmas morning. I've often seen actors in movies go ice skating on frozen lakes. But never oh no, I never thought I would ever witness such a magical place.
All this without telling you about the sounds that danced in the wind, waltzing from one mountain to another. The noise and echoes of the cracking ice, the waves on the still living parts of the lake, the sound of the field hockey puck sliding from one stick to another and the music created by the ricochets of the ice thrown by the children in the distance... It was unbelievable, I was speechless, there was a silly smile frozen on my lips. "Pinch me, I'm dreaming". We were there, outside, in the open air. And yet, these noises reminded me of the deep echo of the ocean. You know, that deafening silence, punctuated by the strident, almost electronic cries of whales and dolphins in the distance. I was standing there, but the sounds had taken me much further away...
It was by far my most beautiful surprise and the strongest moment of this road trip. Dream and reality became one. I felt alive. I felt good.
After an hour playing like big kids on the ice, we drove back to Golden, where we planned to spend the night. On the way, we improvised a detour by the Natural Bridge of the Yoho National Park. We had no idea what we were going to find, but we had some time ahead of us so why not venture. Conclusion? Second best memory of this road trip... It was, as its name suggests, a natural stone bridge, blocking the river in its height and creating a narrow gorge to allow the water to flow a few meters lower. Except that, once again, considering the rather cold temperatures we were facing, part of the river and the falls had frozen! It was sublime... I've seen frozen waterfalls in my life but this one was really singular. The ice here had the power to transpose the noise, the rush and the speed of a moving water while offering a completely frozen, motionless and silent picture... Mother Nature really has an incomparable power when we learn to observe her...
Once we arrived in Golden, we spent the night in a motel that brought me a lot of smiles. As a very French person, I don't really know or do motels. So when I saw the front of ours, I laughed a lot. I had the impression that I had just come out of an American movie or TV show. Except that most of the time, in this kind of scenario, these places are used to hide, for delinquents or criminals on the run or worse, they are the scene of murders of all kinds... Enough to feed my imagination just before going to bed (as if campfires weren't the only place to tell scary stories anymore). One thing is sure, when I woke up, I was very happy to be alive hahahahahahahaha.
DAY 4 : Golden - Revelstoke
On the morning of the fourth day, I wanted to spend some time alone and especially to be able to stroll a little in the city center. Donald had a breakfast appointment, so it was perfect. After a long hour of walking and trying on all kinds of outdoor clothes, I went to a café to sit down and wait for my extreme driver to be ready again. I must say that I was looking forward to visiting Revelstoke, our next stop. It was THE destination in competition with Nelson, when I landed in Vancouver.
Around 2 pm, we finally take the one and only road that connects Golden to Revelstoke, but at 3 pm, we were at a stop. Following an accident a little farther, all the traffic was stopped. Except that, from one hour of waiting, we passed to 2, then 3, then 5, then 7, then 8... It was the least productive day of the whole road-trip... At 7:30 pm, since the road was still announced as closed, I convince my driver to turn around and go to the city for dinner. We were 40 min away from Golden, 1h10 from Revelstoke, but the cold wait was getting heavy and I could feel Donald's despair growing as the night got darker and darker. It was because we had already paid for our hotel in Revelstoke that we couldn't decide to simply go back to sleep in Golden or I think we would have changed our plans quicker.
At 10:30 pm, in the middle of hundreds of cars and trucks which were also blocked there all day long, we finally took the road again for Revelstoke.
DAY 5 : Revelstoke - Halfway Hot Springs - Nakusp - Nelson.
Day 5, last day of this road-trip. It was now November 11th and unfortunately for me, since we had arrived the day before at midnight, I did not have the opportunity to discover the city in its normal daily life. On this public holiday, everything or almost everything was closed. Not many people on the horizon, it's hard to make me an opinion on this place yet so revered by outdoor fans. Nevertheless, I walked through the streets in order to discover, from the windows, a rather cute village, with very diversified stores. Luckily, the cafés were still open. Good opportunity for me to go to "Baguette", the local French café, while waiting to get back on the road with my teammate heading south.
Revelstoke looked pretty young and dynamic, but it was the mountains around it that looked incredible. I think that's what makes the people of this place vibrate. And the deeper we went into the valley, the more I understood why... There are so many activities to do around here... All year long...
We then went to take back a Ferry, at Shelter Bay and while waiting for the boat, we went to explore the edges of the lake which was, the third beautiful surprise of this trip!
On the way to Nelson, last stop planned at the Halfway Hot Springs, some other natural hot pools. With the white landscapes of the previous days, I couldn't wait. To be able to swim in naturally warm waters, with snow and Canadian trees in the background... sounds a bit like a dream.
It is a very busy place and by chance, the road to get there is only possible with a good 4WD (or a good car and a good driver ;))). You can imagine that I would never have gone there alone... What to be, once again, very grateful to my road trip driver for this last discovery rich in emotions and sensations !
After 2 hours of soaking, it was time to get back on the road towards Nelson. A last trip that, I must admit, seemed endless. The idea that the end of this road trip was so close gave way to an extreme impatience on my part, to finally settle in my new home....
CONCLUSION OF THIS ROAD TRIP ?
I'm still dazzled by what I've just experienced: Lake Louise where I tried to slide, like an ungraceful whale in front of the camera; that frozen river and waterfall in Yoho Park; the incredible power of a 4WD car on roads I didn't even think a vehicle could drive, the smell of the meal cooked on the campfire on the first night; the heat of the hot springs versus my feet in the snow; not to mention the countless "WHAAAAAAT ? ?" that I was able to repeat in front of Donald's French Canadian or the countless photos I've taken...
In the end, in spite of this impatience to move to Nelson, I really don't regret having gone on a road trip unexpectedly. It really gave me a taste of Canada before the winter prevented me from moving and I can only be grateful to my pilot for all these visits and for all the roads he took, even if they were icy or snowy, just to show me some scenery. What luck too, to have the opportunity to compare Nelson to other destinations I had in mind just before I moved there for the winter. I couldn't have had a better opportunity than this one to feel completely in agreement with my choices; better, I couldn't have been more convinced that I landed in exactly the right place.
MY NEWFOUND LOVE FOR NELSON
There is an atmosphere in this small town that I did not find elsewhere during the road trip. Something that makes it halfway between everything I like: a city full of bars, restaurants, stores and second-hand shops. A very dynamic town, very hippie and very artistic too. And a mix of people connecting the Outdoors (summer and winter), the art, the local businesses, The Yogi lifestyle, the hippie lifestyle and the food lovers all together ... The lakes that surround the region, the peaks that are just waiting to be climbed or to be skied down in winter, The climbing gym, always fully packed, which attracts me more and more, And the numerous mountain bike trails that I'm looking forward to next summer... All of this is what I am usually looking for. Not to mention the 2 bakeries, the "charcuterie" and the 2 cheese shops that dot the town... Even in New Zealand, I hadn't found this perfect compromise so, I have to tell you that, progressively, the awareness I developped about Nelson during the road trip quickly gave me more than ever the desire to go back to this new "home" to finally start this new chapter of my life.
It's now been a week since I moved in with Kristy, my new roommate. Like me, she is 29 years old and is passionate about outdoor activities (including climbing 0=)). She lives in the apartment above her brother's house with her huge dog that I love, Oatis. She was born and raised in Nelson, she has lived in other cities for a while and has been back in the area for over a year and a half now.
I spent my first few days transforming my room to make it look like me and I must say that I enjoyed it so much. Even if I am far from having been able to buy everything I wanted, I think I have been waiting for this moment for a VERY long time. In the end, since Paris, I never had a space of my own for real: in New Zealand, we lived in the Wwoofers' room at Terri's; then I moved into Ben's room; in Norway, it was furnished in the image of our landlord, Kristin; and each time I returned to France, all I did was find my childhood room. So this feeling of finally having a space of my own is something I sincerely needed...
And since then, I have to say that I have been shining a little inside for a week now. I feel good in this city and in my new house, I get along really well with my roommate, I meet more and more people, so I feel a little bit like I'm growing wings even though I'm trying, somehow, to keep my feet on the ground. In the 2 or 3 years that you've been reading me, you've seen me go through all the states, all the Coralies and all the emotions. And the one of the moment is a bit like the great dreamer. I am so happy with everything that is happening in my life that I sometimes find it difficult to come down from my little cloud... Worse, I'm a little afraid of falling halfway.
Of course, I always have those moments when I suddenly feel lonely, when I wish I had a boyfriend (this is the return of Coralie who doesn't like being single and struggles with the other version of herself who on the contrary loves it) or those moments when I miss my friends and family, especially in this somewhat stressful context of coronavirus. But I'm dealing with it! I've experienced much harder waves and these are completely normal when I'm starting a new expatriation life.
I'm so happy that French is a second official language here too. Even though I am in the English speaking part of the country, all the administrative procedures can be translated on request and shopping would almost be a pleasure since all the packaging are bilingual! (don't get me wrong, I still hate food shopping so much ;))
I have to admit that I am still running away from French Canadian. When I have the option of English with someone, I force things a bit. I still face my fear of not understanding them and I end up getting used to their accent, but I still have to admit that I find myself in the same mental fatigue as during my first months in New Zealand. Indeed, a conversation with a French-speaking person from Quebec or the Maritimes can require a lot of concentration to follow the discussion and I often feel like taking the easy option. Their expressions and vocabulary are so funny, of course, but my heart remains so attached to the English language... Another way of looking at it: that's good news in itself, because it means that I've come a long way since the day when it was everyday English that used to tire me out!
2019 will have been a very complicated year and 2020 could have been. But, the more I advance towards the end of this year and the more I tell myself that the Universe will have spared me a little these last twelve months... The more people ask me how I got to this point in the midst of the pandemic, the more I become aware of the wonderful people who have nurtured, supported and helped me since January. Whether it is the tribe in Patagonia, or my Kiwi Family, and especially Terri, Aunty Fat, Ben's parents, Jessi or Ben himself who have had pivotal roles in this special year. Whether it was my mother, always first to be here, my friends and family on my return to France as on each of my returns. Or whether it is all these new people who have been supporting me since my arrival in the Caribous: Lucie and David to whom I am a thousand times grateful, Kristy, who even though it's only been a week, already plays a huge role in making me feel great here, and Gordo, obviously who's been so supportive with his dad.
So I'm certainly having some crazy experiences and taking some "crazy" pictures. Certainly I live the dream life in some magical countries. But once again, the thing I am most thankful for today is to have you, family, friends and loved ones all over the world. You make my life the dream that I am living awake, because you are my strength and you are my common thread. You give me reasons to get up in the morning, even when it means getting up thousands of miles away from you... You would put me on this magnificent planet, alone, I can tell you that I would have absolutely no idea how to appreciate it without this shared pleasure.
So, THANK YOU. Sending you lots of love from the Cariboo country and I let you with pictures of a hike I did at the beginning of the month, on the hill in front of Nelson.
Love. Co.
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