July 2009
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Wed 08:
Australia to Seattle - Arriving into San Francisco we connected with our Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle.
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Thu 09:
Seattle City Tour - This morning we toured Seattle including Pike Place Market, Space Needle, The Waterfront, University of Washington and the Boeing Factory.
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Fri 10:
Seattle to Victoria – Today we sailed aboard the Victoria Clipper through the beautiful San Juan Islands to the Garden City of Victoria on Vancouver Island.
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Sat 11:
Victoria & The Butchart Gardens - This morning we visited the renowned Butchart Gardens. After exploring the gardens we return to Victoria and explored the city at our leisure.
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Sun 12:
Victoria to Port Hardy – Today we toured the Island Highway to Port Hardy. Along the way we stopped at several local highlights including; Brentwood Bay, Chemainus “the city of murals” and Coombs Country Market. Making use of one of the nice roadside rest areas we had a delightful picnic.
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Mon 13:
Port Hardy to Prince Rupert – Early this morning we transferred to the BC Ferries Terminal, and found that the Ferry had already sailed. With a short delay, a replacement service was arranged using Northern Thunderbird Airways. As it turns out, the views above the clouds were better and drier.
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Tue 14:
Prince Rupert to Inside Passage – We took most of today to explore the growing port city of Prince Rupert before boarding our Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) ferry for the journey to Wrangell. We had a relaxing night aboard our ferry, and enjoyed a comfortable sleep in our private cabins.
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Wed 15:
Inside Passage to Wrangell - This morning we arrived in Wrangell, and settled into this genuine Alaskan town. With some exploring on our own we visited; Petroglyph Beach, Chief Shakes House and the local museum.
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Thu 16:
AnAn Bear Sanctuary Excursion - Today we boarded a jetboat, and toured to AnAn. After a short walk to the observation area, we saw dozens of bears and took photographs until our cameras quit working. The black and brown bears all come to this place as the salmon return to spawn. Safe on the observation platforms, we watched the bears pull fish after fish out of the river.
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Fri 17:
Stikine River Cruise – Today we boarded our jetboat and toured through the lower reaches of the Stikine River. This pristine wilderness region features numerous glaciers and wildlife including; bears, moose and bald eagles. The highlight was the glacial ice bergs floating past the boat with seals lounging on the ice.
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Sat 18:
Wrangell to Inside Passage – After a day of relaxation in Wrangell we boarded another AMHS ferry and continued sailing up the Inside Passage.
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Sun 19:
Inside Passage to Skagway - This morning we arrived in Juneau and took a brief tour of Alaska’s capital. In the afternoon we board another AMHS ferry and sailed up the beautiful Lynn Canal to Skagway.
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Mon 20:
Skagway to Whitehorse - We had some time this morning to explore the Frontier town of Skagway before boarding the famous White Pass & Yukon Railroad for the trip to Whitehorse. This is one of the most spectacular railway lines in the world. We saw glaciers, gorges, waterfalls, tunnels, historic sites and bears!
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Tue 21:
Whitehorse to Dawson City – Today we took our motorcoach tour along the Klondike Highway. We travelled through ranchlands, past vast lakes and the expanses of the beautiful Yukon River Valley.
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Wed 22:
Dawson City – This morning we visited Gold Dredge #4 and the Discovery Claim, home to the richest placer gold strike in history. The remainder of the day we explored this historic town, made famous during the Klondike Gold Rush. The entire Dawson City has been declared a national historic site, and there are many preserved properties such as the homes of Jack London, Robert Service and Pierre Berton.
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Tue 23:
Dawson City to Fairbanks – Today we travelled along the scenic ‘Top of the World’ and Alaska Highways to Fairbanks. The scenery was spectacular as we passed through towns such as Chicken, Tok and Delta Junction.
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Fri 24:
Fairbanks to Denali – After a morning tour we drove to Denali National Park.
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Sat 25:
Denali – Very early this morning we joined the Denali Tundra Wilderness Tour into Denali National Park and Preserve. The tour gave us an opportunity to view the scenery which makes this protected wilderness region so famous.
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Sun 26:
Denali to Anchorage – This morning we drove down the Parks Highway and into Anchorage.
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Mon 27:
Seward Excursion - Today we took a full day motorcoach tour to Seward. Starting with a scenic drive along the shores of Cook Inlet and Turnagain Arm. We stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center before continuing onto the port community of Seward. In Seward we took a cruise through Resurrection Bay and learned about the rich history of the area while viewing the jagged cliffs, seabirds and marine wildlife.
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Tue 28:
Anchorage to Vancouver - Alaska Airlines flew us from Anchorage to Vancouver.
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Wed 29:
Vancouver - We enjoyed a day discovering the city of Vancouver.
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Thu 30:
Vancouver to Kamloops - This morning we started our two day Rocky Mountaineer Railtour. On the first day we travelled through fertile plains of the Fraser River Valley, and the Fraser Canyon before arriving in the city of Kamloops.
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Fri 31:
Kamloops to Jasper - This morning we resumed our rail journey into the mighty Rocky Mountains. Mount Robson was the highlight of the day, the tallest mountain in the Canadian Rockies marked our entrance into Jasper National Park.
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August 2009
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Sat 01:
Jasper - Situated deep in the Alberta Rockies, mountain peaks can be seen on the horizon in every direction from Jasper. We relaxed and explored this mountain town all day. The wildlife sighting was particularly successful.
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Sun 02:
Jasper to Banff - Travelling the Icefields Parkway, we quickly found why this is one of the most scenic highways in North America. Our day was highlighted by ride aboard an Ice Explorer onto the surface of Athabasca Glacier.
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Mon 03:
Banff - This town is the perfect base for exploring the snow capped mountains, waterfalls, glaciers, hot springs and alpine meadows of Banff National Park, and we took full advantage.
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Tue 04:
Depart Banff - This morning we transferred to the Calgary Airport where we boarded our Alaska Airlines flight to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles we connected with our flights back to Australia.
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