A plane, another plane, a 4-hour drive, a small boat, a larger boat, another smaller boat, and at last my toes touch the squeaky-white beaches of Malapascua Island. It’s one of the premier diving spots in the Philippines, and with 7000 islands, this is a country that’s full of them. The water is a balmy 84 degrees, visibility can reach up to 35m, and the Visayan Sea is teeming with life. For recreational divers in love with big animals, there’s a much bigger hook: Year round, this is the only place in the world where you can dive with thresher sharks.
At the friendly Exotic Island Dive Resort, I meet my sun-blonde instructors, Jules and Mimi, who make me feel right at home. Popular with Asian and European divers, Malapascua Island has exploded in the last 10 years thanks to budget flights from Manila. A Dutch couple founded Exotic Island, the first resort on the island, and are credited with discovering the shoal where the threshers gather. Everything – people, supplies, water – has to come in daily on boats, so I’m amazed with the resort’s exhaustive dining menu, as the girls fill me in on what I can expect.
“Thresher sharks are different from other sharks. They’re shiny, with big eyes and that giant tail. And they’re so sweet, I just want to pet them, ” explains Mimi. Adds Jules: “You have to respect them, but you can’t feel afraid.” We suit up for a night dive to Lighthouse, just to warm up and enjoy the seahorses, mandarin fish, huge hermit crabs and flamboyant flatworms hanging around a nearby reef. It’s only my second night dive, and to my delight, the inky ocean feels comfortable and safe. Bio-luminescence surrounds me on my ascent, as I surface by the traditional wooden outrigger, under a bright crescent moon. I see why they called this Exotic Island.
It’s a 5:30am start to Monad Shoal for my thresher shark encounter. I’m nervous: it’s not every day you swim with big animals, and worse yet, what if they don’t show up? The best time to see the sharks is at sunrise, when they are drawn to a natural cleaning station on the shoal located about 20 minutes from the resort. Manta, devil and eagle rays, along with hammerheads, are seasonal visitors too. We submerge and head to the edge of the shoal. Within minutes, Mimi’s flat hand is on her head. A 6ft thresher comes into view, appearing out of the depth below us. It’s distinctive tail looks like an Ottoman sword. There’s barely time to register before another appears, and another. Judging Jules’ reaction, I’ve stumbled upon a bumper day on the shoal. During our hour-long dive, we count about a dozen threshers. One circles back and eyes me out curiously. That moment instantly converts me into a lifelong macro diver.
Back on the banka, the traditional outrigger, there’s huge smiles on the faces of a dozen divers. “It was an effort not to see a shark today,” laughs Mimi. At this remarkable spot in a remarkable country, nobody is going home disappointed
Exotic Island Dive Resort offers daily dives with thresher sharks and other sites around Malapascua Island, with a full PADI training program and fully equipped dive shop. The resort offers comfy and clean accommodation, free pick-up and drop-off from the mainland, and an excellent restaurant. Learn more at: http://malapascua.net/.
We travel for different reasons, but there’s a bucket list waiting around the world no matter what you’re into. Here’s a round-up of new experiences that fit the bill.
For the Underwater Enthusiast: An Ocean Expedition Off Cape Town’s Coast
For those who just completed their diving certification, or always watching BBC Earth, discover the extraordinary aquatic world just off Cape Town’s coast, with renowned shark scientist Justin Blake as your guide. The ocean expedition will take you through the Cape Kelp Forests, where you’ll explore the same octopus gardens made famous in the 2020 Oscar-winning documentary My Octopus Teacher—plus, snorkel with friendly sharks, explore fascinating sea caves, and discover spectacular views of Cape Town both above and below the water’s surface. Feast on a sustainably sourced seafood picnic created by chef Rudi Riebenberg of the iconic Belmond Mount Nelson hotel. Expect delicacies sourced by ABALOBI, a South African-based social enterprise that supports small-scale fishing communities.
For the Adrenaline Junkie: A Heli-Skiing Adventure in Greenland
While heli-skiing is a favorite pastime of the world’s most fearless adventurers, the sport is becoming more popular among a wider set of adventurers than ever before, opening up access to some of the world’s most pristine skiable terrain. In Greenland, the world’s largest island, 80% of the glaciated landscape has never been skied before—which means wide, treeless powdery expanses, snowfields flanking glacier-carved peaks, and conditions ranging from powder to corn. On April 23-30, 2023, US Olympic alpine ski racer Bode Miller—the most decorated male alpine skier in U.S. history— will join an EYOS on a “slope-to-sea” heli-skiing adventure in Greenland aboard the Nansen Explorer. Solo travelers can book single cabins on the yacht, making the exclusive voyage more accessible than ever before. Miller will be joined by ski guide and two-time World Extreme Skiing Champion Chris Davenport and polar pioneer Doug Stoup. The expedition will take adventure lovers to the island of Maniitsoq on the western coast of Greenland, widely considered one of the most remote places in the world to heli-ski, where it’s possible to ski from slope to sea. Originally designed as an Arctic research vessel, the 12-guest Nansen Explorer is specifically equipped for polar waters, with an ice-strengthened hull and a commercially certified heli deck that makes for the ideal launch pad for heli-skiing adventures. Because of the vessel’s ice-crushing power, it’s possible to reach Greenland in time for early spring.
For the Family Historian: A Genealogical Deep Dive in Ireland
We all have that one family member who is devoted to tracing the family lineage. If your family has Irish roots, consider a trip to Ireland complete with a stay at a centuries-old castle and a session with a genealogist. Dromoland Castle’s in-house genealogist, Lorna Moloney, will uncover birth records, land deeds, baptisms, marriages, ship logs and other information that will shed light on your family’s history and expose little-known details. One client discovered they were related to the famous female pirate Grace O’Malley, and another discovered her great-great-grandfather had a tattoo of Queen Victoria on his bicep.
For Hard-to-Impress-Teenagers: An Eco-Challenge in Chile
They don’t need another skateboard or the latest piece of tech. Consider an immersive and educational eco-adventure in Chile. andBeyond’s new WILDchild Eco-guide Challenge in Chile invites one adult and one teen for a four-night, conservation-focused itinerary, with thrilling excursions—horseback riding, catch-and-release fishing, rock-climbing, and much more—and the possibility to win certificates and prizes at a festive ceremony dinner. Teens will also work on a sustainability audit of the lodge and visit the local Mapuche people and a traditional ruka (Mapuche house).
For the Wellness Seeker: A Foraging Excursion in the Brazilian Rainforest
At UXUA Casa Hotel & Spa in Trancoso, Brazil, in-house doctor Jullian Hamamoto leads custom foraging expeditions through the area’s four different biomes (including the nearby Itapororoca beach, and the 50-acre UXUA ROÇA farm) in search of rare and exotic fruits, roots, and herbs, ingredients, many of which are sacred to Brazil’s Indigeous Pataxó people. Post-excursion, Hamamoto will take guests to VIDA Lab, the on-site nutritional laboratory and medical kitchen, to demonstrate how to transform these ingredients into nutritious juices, essential oils, and even ice cream.At UXUA Casa Hotel & Spa in Trancoso, Brazil, in-house doctor Jullian Hamamoto leads custom foraging expeditions through the area’s four different biomes (including the nearby Itapororoca beach, and the 50-acre UXUA ROÇA farm) in search of rare and exotic fruits, roots, and herbs, ingredients, many of which are sacred to Brazil’s Indigeous Pataxó people. Post-excursion, Hamamoto will take guests to VIDA Lab, the on-site nutritional laboratory and medical kitchen, to demonstrate how to transform these ingredients into nutritious juices, essential oils, and even ice cream.
For the Time Traveler: A Journey Aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
A 1920s Art Deco icon, Venice Simplon-Orient-Express evokes the golden age of travel with its restored vintage carriages, each of which formed part of of the famous, historic trains of the 1920s and 1930s, including Le Train Bleu and the Rome Express. Crisscrossing through Europe, the journeys whisk travelers to some of Europe’s most beautiful and historic cities including London, Paris, Venice, Prague, Vienna and Budapest. The classic journey is the overnight route to and from London and Venice via Paris, through the Alps and across the Venetian lagoon. A particularly memorable itinerary is the five-night journey between Paris and Istanbul, which is offered just once a year and includes overnight stops in Budapest and Bucharest and daytime halts in Sinaia and Varna for excursions. The next trip will take place September 1, 2023 (from 17,500 EUR per person). Also coming up for 2023 is the unveiling of eight new suites. Two original 1920s and 30s carriages, accommodating just four suites on each car, will be carefully restored, their design inspired by pastoral European landscapes and featuring plush fabrics and furnishings from renowned brands and makers like Majorelle, Dufrene, Leleu, Rousseau, and Lalique. The suites are portals to the golden day of train travel, with luxuries like private marble ensuite bathrooms and lounging areas that transform into either double or twin beds by night. Additional amenities might include personal 24-hour cabin stewards, complimentary kimonos and slippers, and free-flowing champagne.
Want to see gorillas in your midst? Lonely Planet Magazine gave Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, located in southwest corner Uganda, its 2010 Best Wildlife Encounter Award. Surrounded by stunning volcanoes, you trek through dense jungle, tracking a family of huge gorillas. Watching these powerful beasts interact in the wild, in the company of experts, is no monkey business.
Lions
There are several lion parks scattered around South Africa that gives you the opportunity to play with cubs. Seeing a pride in the wild is a different experience, especially if you’re lucky enough to see a kill. My best lion encounter took place in the Masai Mara National Park in Kenya, during the annual migration of the wildebeest. I’ve also seen lions in action at Nambiti Hills, a wonderful private reserve in South Africa. This photo of a rare white lion cub was taken at Casela, a lion park in Mauritius. At the Daniell Cheetah Breeding Project, I meet a beautiful adult cheetah, purring loudly.
Cheetah
Still in South Africa, head to the Eastern Cape to the fantastic Daniell Cheetah Breeding Project. Cheetah, lion, and other wild cats are bred to be re-introduced into the wild. Here, it’s possible to get real close and personal with the fastest animal on earth, as I did with Ola, an adult female. Cheetahs purr like cats but don’t have slit eyes. Genetically, cheetahs are a cross between a dog and a cat, but because of their semi-retractable claws, it is classified as a cat. Either way, meeting a beautiful creature like Ola is something you’ll long remember.
A herd of elephant cross inches from our car in Addo Elephant National Park. This is not a zoo. If they wanted to, or felt threatened, they could have flattened by grandmother’s old Toyota . We kept quiet, and savoured the moment.
Elephants
Elephants have the uncanny ability to look right through you. If you get close enough to see their eyes, you’ll be staring into their unmistakable animal wisdom, even a sense of humour. My best elephant experience was at the Elephant Nature Park, located outside Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. Rescued Asian elephants are rehabilitated, and it’s possible for visitors to feed and wash them. In South Africa, Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape is famous for its 500 plus elephant. This photo was taken at Addo as a herd crossed the road right in front of our car.
We saw four Great Whites in our cage, including a 3.5m monster. Powerful, ugly, and yet you can’t help by come away from the experience with a new appreciation for the species.
Shark
Diving with hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos Islands is magic for scuba enthusiasts. Of course, the grand daddy of all sharks is the Great White Shark, but you’d have to be crazy to be anywhere near them outside the safety of a cage. I went cage diving with White Shark Africa in Mossel Bay, South Africa. Watching a huge 3.5m Great White rattle my cage was thrilling, and illuminating too. This is no monster, just a misunderstood yet frightening predator, vital for the survival of the oceans.
Turtle
On Turtle Island, off the coast of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo, I waited until midnight for hatchlings to be released into the warm, South China Sea. Only 1% will eventually survive to adulthood, with females returning to this same island to lay her eggs many decades later. A conservation project ensures that the Hawksbill turtles are given the best possible shot at survival. You can also hit the beach with the Barbados Sea Turtle Project, who do similar important work. Watching a giant turtle lay her eggs at moonlight is pretty special.
Tiger
Although it’s rare to see a tiger stalking its prey in the jungle, there are dozens of operators who will take you on a tiger safari in India. Unfortunately, too few Bengal Tigers exist in the wild, but proceeds from photographic expeditions help with the cause. Tigers can be found in Indian national parks in Ranthambhore, Bandhavgarh, Panna and Kanha. Good luck spotting a Siberian tiger, the largest Big Cat. There are only a few hundred left in the wilderness of Russia, China, and reportedly North Korea.Piranha
Blame James Bond for our fascination with these savage man-eating fish. The reality is piranhas are quite common, and seldom attack a human swimming in the water. At least that’s what I told myself when I swam in Venezuela’s Orinoco Delta. Piranha are easy enough to catch, and are actually pretty tasty on the grill. Just throw in a hook, make a small splash, and wait for the nibble. I caught this guy in Brazil’s Pantanal, the world’s largest wetlands, home to caimans and capybara.I rode an ostrich, and I can assure you, they’re not horses. These birds are all instinct, but do have natural saddles and a place to hold on to. Highgate demonstrates ostrich racing, and why horses and greyhounds have nothing to worry about.
Ostrich
Early breeders ensured the survival of this large, awkward bird, otherwise it might have gone the way of other flightless birds like the dodo and moa. In Outshoorn, South Africa, I learned all about ostrich at Highgate Ostrich Farm. Their eggs are delicious, with one egg being equivalent to 24 chicken eggs. They’re fun to ride, but could never replace a horse since they function almost entirely on instinct. Their feathers grow back naturally after being plucked, their meat is super healthy, and they look really, really funny.
Bears
Half of Canada’s Grizzly Bears, a quarter of our Black Bears, and the rare Spirit Bear all roam the forests of British Columbia. Most bear watching safaris use elevated platforms to watch the bears do their thing, whether it’s roaming in the forest, or hunting salmon by a river. Of course, you could just as easily encounter a bear on the side of a highway (as many B.C residents often do) but its safer and way more interesting to be with a guide, learning about the bears in their natural habitat.
It is known as Australia’s Titanic, and one of the world’s great maritime mysteries.
On March 14, 1911, a luxury passenger steam ship en-route from Melbourne to Cairns hit a Category 5 cyclone and vanished with 122 people on board. The SS Yongala had almost one hundred successful voyages under its belt, and as it departed Mackay, it failed to see last-minute flag warnings that it was headed into a monster storm (the ship’s new wireless transmitter had yet to arrive from England). After the storm, wreckage began washing up along the coast, the ship was declared lost, and an unsuccessful rescue effort launched. No ship or survivors were found. While a navy minesweeper detected a mysterious shoal in the area during World II, it was not until 1958 that the Yongala was officially discovered by salvage divers, along with the skeletons of passengers washed into the bow. More than half a century later, the SS Yongala is the largest, most-intact wreck in Australia. Located within the protected waters of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the ship’s main structure remains largely intact, lilting starboard just 14-metres deep at the top and 28-metres deep on the sand. The result is an artificial reef disco-dancing with marine life, and a sure-fire bucket list adventure for novices and experienced divers. Although I’ve had the opportunity to dive in Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Cook Islands and off the cold dark waters of Vancouver Island, I count myself firmly in the former, but the promise of the Yongala had me at bucket list.
Based on Alva Beach about fifteen minutes from the town of Ayr, Yongala Dive is the best and closest operator to the wreck, with a full dive centre offering certification, equipment rentals, and daily two-dive excursions. Boarding from the beach, their powerful skiff heads out into today’s lightly choppy seas, and I try to imagine the twenty-metre swells and cyclone winds that would have sunk the 110-metre Yongala. It’s a forty-minute cruise to the buoys that mark its burial site, and we’re briefed about the dive. We must remain alongside the wreck and no entry is permitted. The wreck is heritage-protected, subject to deterioration, and nobody wants to add more bones to the many that have been relocated to the inaccessible bow. Strong currents are common, and all descents and ascents must on the safety line. Since I am here in April, we can expect visibility to be around 10-15 metres. Yongala Dive is an advanced Eco-Tourism operator; no touching the wreck, coral or wildlife. We will use a backwards roll entry, turn around at 120 bar in our tanks, and must exit, by Queensland law, with 50 bar remaining in the tank. The average dive time will be forty minutes, with an hour-long interval before the second dive. Our group of divers from Australia, Germany and the US display the nervous fizzy energy of people on the cusp of a bucket list experience. The sky is blue, the currents are calm, the waters clear. Large batfish and a Hawksbill turtle breach the surface around us. The SS Yongala patiently awaits.
As with all wildlife excursions, you never know what you’re going to get, but let me assure you, you will see a lot of fish. More fish in one place than any of us – hardcore divers included – have ever seen. Coral cod and orange-pink coral trout, bluespine unicorns and banded angelfish, luminous blue and yellow fusiliers and huge schools of stripey snapper. Giant trevally and red bass, moray eels, bullet-quick tuna, barracuda, anemone, and we’re just getting started! Green and hawksbill turtles, guitar, ray and bull sharks, venomous banded and curious olive sea snakes, flowery cod, round face bat fish, colourful Maori wrasse, eagle and manta rays, and too many more. For over a century, the Yongala has become an island of life amidst a stretch of sandy ocean desert. It is an important feeding and cleaning station, a reef with soft and hard coral that has penetrated just about every nook and cranny. No sooner do I leave the line than a large and bizarrely shaped guitar shark cruises by. An olive sea snake dances below, and out of the corner of my eye, I spot a submarine approaching me. Only, this submarine has big eyes and rubber lips and dozens of fish hanging off it like thugs surrounding a Mafioso boss. It’s an enormous Queensland grouper, and barring sharks, easily the biggest fish I have ever seen. All this within the first five minutes, mind you. Open water certified divers are assigned a divemaster, and Trent guides over the collapsed aft mast. I peer into the engine room, the coral encrusted galley, at the decks slowly losing all semblance of manmade metal. The Yongala nameplate is no longer visible, but I do peer into a glass port window, and spot a blackened toilet. Large schools of small cardinals are everywhere, with giant silver trevally and black turrum snatching them out of their safety in numbers. Several times I find myself disorientated, encircled by shimmering schools. There are red emperors, damsels, darktail snappers, java rabbitfish, blackspot tuskfish, estuary cod, mangrove jacks, small and large mouth nannygai. After two safety stops, we surface for an hour, snack on cakes and fruit, and prepare for our second dive. This time I’m more relaxed, more familiar with the lay of the wreck. In the shadows of the bow and stern hide the massive, 500-pound groupers, not the least bit perturbed by our presence.
Photo Courtesy Yongala Dive
Several dive reports call the Yongala an open-water aquarium, and easily one of the world’s greatest dives. Back at the dive shop, our group shares the experience, and concurs . Of course, this is a dive story, and divers tend to exaggerate. That grouper, was it two, no three, no four metres? Did you see the manta ray, the black tip reef shark, or was it a bull shark? Bringing this diversity of marine life together is the wreck that divers the world over dream about. The going theory is that the Yongala hit a reef, quickly took on water, and in the fierce storm, sank so abruptly no life saving vessels were deployed. In the ensuing tragedy, this ship and so many lives simply vanished. Many generations later, all is not lost. Australia’s bucket list wreck remains off the coast of Queensland, waiting to be discovered.
Bigger than the next three largest US states – Texas, California and Montana – combined, Alaska challenges the American consciousness like an unscratchable itch. It’s so massive, so underpopulated, and so untamed, there’s no wonder it attracts everyone from free spirits and survivalists to hardened criminals, hoping to disappear into the snow and under the radar. It also attracts cruise ships, sailing the Inside Passage alongside crystal-blue glaciers, snowcapped mountains, deep fjords, icebergs, whales, and soaring bald eagles. Before we board the Coral Princess, a floating palace of luxe, lets head inland to see the wild for ourselves. It is early September, and the hard sun of summer has lost its shine, but the fall foliage is exploding, as if angels tie-dyed the tundra in honour of a Rastafarian princess.
We trace the Kenai Peninsular, looking for beluga whales at Beluga Point, before making our way along the fjord to the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge. Guy, my well-named guide, downloads information about the area, the wildlife, the culture, the abundant natural wonders. He speaks earnestly and could say anything, because, well, he looks a lot like John Cusack. The scenery is balm for the dry, cracked heel of the soul. We stop at a couple roadside attractions – a visitor centre where we learn about the US Congressmen who vanished without a trace while flying to Juneau; a Conservation Centre where we stare at huge stuffed grizzly bears, elk, caribou, black bears and a couple lynx. With 50,000 grizzlies and even more black bears, bears are a subject of fascination. Just about every local I meet tells me what to do should I encounter one. Be big! Be small! Run! Don’t Run! One would think a bear is sits in wait behind every tree waiting to pounce with a bear hug.
We’re not on the cruise yet, but the service that has made Princess such a successful luxury travel brand is on full display at their lodge. Outstanding food, friendly and efficient service, great company. This evening’s accommodation is the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, one of five inland lodges Princess owns and operates in Alaska. You can leave a wake-up call if North America’s tallest mountain emerges from the cloud, or should the northern lights explode in the night sky. Mount McKinley, known in the native tongue as Denali – The High One – is the only 6000m+ peak in North America, and one of the Seven Summits that challenges all serious mountain climbers. Alaskans proudly point out that McKinley is taller than Everest, if you account for its elevation from sea level.
Denali National Park is the grand attraction for inland Bucket listers, and the adjacent town, Denali, opens only during the summer season. During winter, the one traffic light turns off, the Subway and shops close down, and the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge (Alaska’s largest hotel), shutters up for the freeze. Denali is a launch pad for a national park that covers a staggering 24,585 square km, accessed by only one road. To get a sense of the size, we hop aboard a helicopter for a view from above. Fireweed and foliage erupts with the reds, oranges and yellows of autumn. The taiga, a Russian word to describe the boreal forest that forms the largest biome on Earth, is a palette of colour. The firs, pines and spruce of the taiga only grow several weeks a year, appearing stunted compared to their more temperate cousins. The helicopter glides over purple glaciers, grazing Dall sheep, stark gray mountains, and untamed valleys too remote for human encounters. The fall colours only pop for a couple weeks at the end of summer, an advantage of visiting at the tail end of the season, even as the days and nights become significantly cooler. With little fanfare, the Denali Express that shepherds passengers from the Princess Lodge to their awaiting cruise ship in Whittier has to be among world’s most beautiful short train journeys. Customized cars with panoramic windows, full bar, dining service and affable interpretors roll amongst taiga, rivers, mountains and fjords. It’s a practical means to get passengers from point A to point B, but a worthy journey to make just in itself. Especially when the sun’s rays crack the clouds, beaming a yellow yolk over the luminescence of fall.
Readers might be surprised that I enjoy modern cruiseships. I like that I can travel without moving, that I can actually relax without a million things to do, just like (The shock! The horror!) a real life vacation. Admittedly I view the manicured onshore experiences with a sense of bemusement, but I appreciate the romance of holing up in a stateroom with my wife. It’s fun dressing up for formal nights, and wine can flow far the presence of car keys. Sure, the excess can be overwhelming. The split-level world of passengers indulging in over-abundance served by hard working crew from developing countries is a stark contrast. It is an industry that synchs up the needs of its guests (I want to be treated like kings) with the wants of its crew (I want to make enough money in six months that I can go home and buy a house). The late, great David Foster Wallace wrote about it better than I ever could in a brilliant essay called A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again. Like all travel, the success of cruising is as much about the people you’re experiencing it with as the ship itself. I’ve been on several cruises, met wonderful people, and had a wonderful time. Worth noting that David Foster Wallace went cruising by himself, spent much of his time alone in his room, and made little effort to connect with anyone around him.
Over the course of the week, my wife and I make fast friends with other couples, and together we dine with the gusto of huns. Andre, the ship’s knowledgeable South African sommelier, pairs each dish with wine that tastes better after his able descriptions. Another South African, Vaughn, takes such delight and enthusiasm in his service it permeates the food. These, and other crew veterans, leave no doubt that they love what they do, year after year, or else they simply wouldn’t be doing it.
On the bridge, we meet the captain, a portly Italian who swings the biggest anchor on board. Below, everything is maximized for space efficiency, but the bridge is spacious, almost minimalist. There is a control panel in the centre, and two identical mini-panels on either side for port docking. Buttons and monitors and gauges and knobs and computers – it looks like something out of Star Trek. It must have inspired the USS Enterprise, as it did the Love Boat, based on a Princess Cruise ship in the Caribbean. The Coral creeps up to the Hubbard Glacier onto Glacier Bay, where massive glaciers tower over the sea, ice calving, creaking and cracking into the waters below. Compressed snow squeezes out the oxygen in the water, giving glacier ice its mint blue tint. We grab our robes, cheese and wine, sit on the balcony, and enjoy the chill in style.
As with all cruise itineraries, there’s a variety of on-shore experiences on our journey south to Vancouver. In Skagway, we take a short ferry to the town of Haines, where a South Carolina implant named Ronnie leads us on Kawasaki Mule convoy up a mountainside. In Juneau, we’re greeted with a magnificent blue-sky day. The locals in the Alaskan capital, accessible only by boat and air, tell us they haven’t seen the sun in weeks. Poor weather kills our on-shore zodiac ride in Ketchikan, or was it a huge night out, culminating in a room party, a late night dip in the private Sanctuary pool area, and a real “holy crap, ain’t life great” moment starboard at Guy’s favourite Deck 8 hangout.
Over thirteen days we’ve seen outrageous natural beauty, undertaken some unforgettable adventures, all the while being wined and dined like only a cruise ship passenger can. Travellers became colleagues and colleagues became friends. As every cruise veteran will tell you: there are big ships, and there are small ships, but the one that truly counts, are friendships.
Canadians don’t let snow, ice and freezing rain get in the way of a good adventure. Travelling to every province and territory to research our sister book, The Great Canadian Bucket List, I discovered exceptional winter experiences to add to the list of things to do in Canada – or anywhere else – before you die. Here’s my round-up of the best winter experiences in Canada:
Winter guests cross-country ski a challenging 11km to reach Western Canada’s oldest backcountry lodge. No roads, no 4×4’s – just a path through pristine wilderness inside the Lake Louise Ski Resort, located within Banff National Park. Awaiting you is the rustic wooden Skoki Lodge, built in 1931 and selected by early mountaineers for its remoteness, scenic beauty, and access to exceptional ski trails. No running water, no electricity, no bathrooms either – just a homely throwback to yesteryear, where friends and strangers explore the outdoor beauty of winter, indulge in fabulous meals, then gather round the fire with great stories and a cup of hot chocolate.
Each fall, the outpost town of Churchill receives unusual guests. Among them are scientists, researchers, and wildlife enthusiasts armed with cameras. Nearly one thousand visitors are polar bears, waiting for the Hudson Bay to freeze in order to head north and feast after their long, summer fast. The world’s most southerly population of polar bears migrate around Churchill, which is why the town has closed-circuit cameras, bear traps, and a bear jail for bears that get a little too close. It also has tour operators like Frontiers North and Churchill Wild, with customized elevated tundra buggies that take you safely into the tundra to get up close and personal with the world’s largest carnivore. Having a polar bear fog up your camera lens with its hot breath is definitely one for the Bucket List.
When a helicopter becomes your own personal ski chair, dropping you on top of mountains with deep, virgin powder stretching in every direction, it’s hard to go back to your local hill. CMH Heli Skiing’s 11 lodges, operating in BC’s Columbia Mountains, attract eager clients from around the world. Joining a group of Americans, Brits and Australians, I quickly understood why. Averaging about 12 runs a day through terrain that freezes a grin to your face, powder skiing or riding is the closest activity I’ve experienced to flying – and I’ve paraglided on 4 continents. It takes a while to get the hang of deep powder, and strong winds and avalanches can ground both helicopters and skiers, so you’ll want to book at least three to five days to tick this one off your Bucket List. Admittedly your whirlybird ski-chair does not come cheap, but with a guaranteed amount of untracked vertical feet, the exhilaration is worth it.
Shake your booty at Rio’s Carnaval, collect your beads in New Orleans, but whatever you do, don’t miss out on the world’s largest winter festival. For over half a century, Quebec City’s annual Winter Carnival has attracted millions of revellers to its celebration of snow, ice, and sub-zero temperatures. Festive parades, snow carving, slides, rides and competitions greet visitors to the city’s Battlefields Park, where locals and guests wear the traditional ceinture fléchée, a colourful French-Canadian sash. Stroll down Grande Allée and pull up to an ice-bar for some caribou – a hot mulled wine with whiskey. When the thermometer plummets below -15°C and crowds are still on the streets cheering acrobats on decorated floats, you can feel the chill of winter shrivel.
In a UK poll that asked 22 million people what destinations or activities top their Bucket List, 27% (the second highest percentage) said they want to see the northern lights. One of the best places in the world to do this is in Yellowknife. The city lies beneath a halo-like ring known as the aurora oval, where lights flare in the sky with an increased intensity. With few geographical obstructions, and a high percentage of clear winter nights, the northern lights are particularly active from mid-November to mid-April. Experience aurora watching in comfort thanks to tour operators like Aurora Village and Yellowknife Outdoor Adventures, who provide heated viewing decks, hot drinks, and comfortable chairs in cabins removed from local light sources. Watching green, red and blue lights dance across a clear northern sky is a natural spectacle that belongs on Canada’s Bucket List too.
The huskies, labradors and tough-as-nails Yukon mutts found in Whitehorse’s Muktuk Kennels are the happiest dogs I’ve ever seen. Lovingly named, cared for and exercised, the kennel’s 125 dogs can’t wait to you pull you on a sled into the surrounding valley. You’ll quickly learn that dogsledding is all about teamwork. If the dogs are not happy, you’re not going anywhere. Fortunately, Muktuk’s friendly mushers are there to guide you. As for your team, they’ll reward you with licks, howls and even cuddles. Muktuk’s dogs make loyal, well-trained pets, and runs an adoption program for their retired dogs. It was -30°C the afternoon I spent sledding with eight delighted northern dogs, but some experiences will forever warm the soul.
