Category Archives: train travel

Goodbye Canada

Sad to be leaving Canada, it has been my home for nearly three months. During this time I have become proficient in ordering ‘steeped tea double milk’ from Tim Hortons, navigated the street cars of Toronto, roasted wieners on a stick over a fire at Goldstream Park in the rain. I’ve had conversations with people who genuinely end every sentence with ‘eh!’, mastered the ability to open bear proof garbage bins, watched a moose swim in Nova Scotia, met a real life mountie and seen bears in the wild. I’ve climbed mountains and walked in the the prairies. Travelled from coast to coast and even learned a few Canadian pop songs (one of which I later discover has made it across the Atlantic and it makes me smile).

Bexhill to Bexhill - Canada - Louise Kenward

Fostering cultural stereotypes, Regina RCMP (Louise Kenward, 2014)

I have met long lost relatives who I didn’t even know existed before I started to plan my journey round the world. I have been shown round by locals, met farmers and given detailed tours of a grain elevator. I’ve been shown tractors and met descendants of original pioneers. I have met up again with Annie (Lady) Brassey who accompanied me from Toronto (in spirit at least) and showed me around at Niagara Falls. I have learned that biscuits are scones and drunk maple tea. I’ve slept in a shed, marketed as ‘wilderness hostel’ and slept in a hostel with the most stunning views, of humming birds at the windows and a UNESCO listed ‘biosphere’ lake in the distance. I’ve made many friends and met new family. I have plans to meet many again in the future (and several I have already seen).

selfie attempt #12 and we finally get us and the lighthouse in…meet my ‘new’ cousin Jo, Vancouver Island (Louise Kenward, 2014)

I have utilised the full spectrum of my limited wardrobe in spanning all seasons during this time. Canada is a land of contrasts, of scenery, of climate, of scale. It is a country with at least two very good osteopaths.

I will miss Canada, as I have each and every country I have visited. Each one being my home, however briefly, and I have embraced them as such in the time limit I had. I hope to come back, there is much more to see.

Tofino sunset, Louise Kenward 2014

The end of the line (reaching Nova Scotia)

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Arriving in Halifax I have completed the 6 days and 3781 mile journey across Canada arriving at the Atlantic Ocean. And while it seems entirely out of sync with the rest of the trip it seems essential to hire a car. Shuttles and bus services are limited and expensive so I will bite the bullet and learn to drive on the wrong side of the road. There is too much to see and too much time to spend here not to.

Egypt Falls, Cape Breton (Louise Kenward, 2014)

Priority is the Cabot trail, the 185 mile round trip of Cape Breton for the most beautiful coastline that does not seem to ever end. The tourist season is not yet in full swing and it feels as though I (almost) have the place to myself. The biggest and warmest welcome I have received anywhere greets me at Whycocomagh and a place where I have felt at home, making firm friends with people I have since met up with again on the remainder of my journey (and with future plans for Vienna).

Ingonish Beach, Cape Breton (Louise Kenward, 2014)

Watching humming birds feed while overlooking the incredible Bras d’Or Lake (UNESCO Biosphere Reserve) over breakfast was just for starters. The Cabot Trail takes in Pleasant Bay, one of the best places in the world to see whales from land, the cute town of Baddeck and the wonderful Ingonish beach, with opportunities for walking and eating as well as endlessly stopping for photographs. On the last stretch the highlight was seeing a moose, tentatively at first dipping her toes in the water and then wading in for a swim in the lake to cool off after a gorgeous summers day.

Leaving Cape Breton with heavy boots, I headed to the ferry for Prince Edward Island stopping at soothing Cape Prim where the gentle waters were hypnotic and the beaches and rocks are red, even more stunning against the blue of the ocean. Charlottetown is a popular next stop and another pretty town with markets and harbour front. My journey then continued back across the immense Confederation Bridge (8 miles long!) into New Brunswick and across to Nova Scotia for more endless coastline beauty.

Cape Prim, Prince Edward Island (Louise Kenward, 2014)

Lupins, Nova Scotia (Louise Kenward, 2014)

Driving was not a chore, so much to see, forever a pretty cove or harbour, nestle of boats and glorious sunset. Heading south to Mahone Bay and Lunenburg (where the whole town is UNESCO listed) I was very pleased to still have a few days for exploring. Another tiny ferry across the couple of hundred yards of water from one side to the other, reaching my destination of La Have. On arrival there is a wonderful bakery with an even more wonderful artists co-op on the waters edge. Talking to one of the artists who makes glass teardrops of ocean (a favourite and most treasured souvenir) she told me of the incredible museum with a necklace and a story that lies just beyond La Have. A museum dedicated to just about everything and anything remotely related to the area sits along from Crescent Beach. Treasures including a necklace found in a fish caught near by many years ago and donated by a small girl was the object I had visited to see. The necklace having won first prize for the most bizarre thing found in a fish, an annual competition I think.

Chester Harbour, Nova Scotia (Louise Kenward, 2014)

Lunenburg, Louise Kenward (2014)

A place of quaint nostalgia, of another earlier quieter time, yet also of hard working fishing communities who have suffered greatly in the elements and ravages of hurricanes and storms, not to mention the brutal never ending winters. I left just before Hurricane Arthur arrived, the first of the season.

A place of many layers, on the surface it could easily be mistaken for a beautiful and wild retreat or escape, but beyond the surface much more lies beneath, all the more captivating. The most incredible end to my journey across Canada. Another little piece of me was left in Nova Scotia.

Cape Breton, Louise Kenward (2014)

Reaching the other side

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It feels as though I am palpably slowing my pace even before disembarking the train as I travel from Montreal to Halifax. Another overnight journey with the promise of Nova Scotia at the other end, and, most importantly, the sea.

There are a number of bodies of water I’ve encountered and searched out since leaving Vancouver but it is particularly exciting to be reaching the opposite coastline and the Atlantic Ocean after over two months of travelling across the country.

Views from the train, Montreal to Halifax, Louise Kenward (2014)

The promise of exploration of islands, coves and rocky coastlines brings with it a slower heart rate. A little post lunch nap has also helped. The Ocean, the train from Montreal to Halifax has many similarities to The Canadian, which travels from Vancouver to Toronto, but one of the differences is slightly smaller beds. I spent most of the night thinking I was going to fall out with an ever so subtle slope towards the floor. Undoubtedly, as I usually do, I must have slept more than I thought, but I do recall several single digit hours of the morning which I generally prefer not to see.

View from The Ocean, Louise Kenward (2014)

I have eight days before the train takes me back to Montreal and on to New York. A veritable luxury. The skies are blue with fluffy white clouds, the landscape is a variety of greens with patches of flowers along the line, daisies, lupins, irises. Pools of water and rivers flow alongside us intermittently and I am kept in regular exercise through the walk some 7 or 8 carriages between my cabin and the dining car. The corridors are thankfully narrow that you are buffeted from one side to the other in a generally forward direction. The track is not a smooth one in Canada. Serving soup is some kind of cruel trick. It would be easier if there was a rhythm to it, but I haven’t discovered one. Entirely randomly you will be swung from a relatively stable position to being thrown at another innocent passenger, against the wall or out of your seat. Well maybe not quite out of your seat but for what I imagined would be a pretty straight line running through Canada there are a number of bumps along the way. There is probably a technical reason for this which someone can explain to me but I haven’t sought to find out, or yet been told. Needless to say doing the most basic activities becomes rather more time consuming and perilous.

Onboard the train, Louise Kenward (2014)

I have foregone the wine tasting in the hope I may stay conscious for the remainder of my trip and be able to negotiate me and my luggage to the hostel I’ve booked for tonight. It seems either a cruel ploy to make people even less steady on their feet, or a stroke of genius for them not to notice.

on board The Ocean, Montreal to Halifax, Louise Kenward (2014)

Journey by train (again)

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It has taken until Canada, but for now I’m travelling in style. Vancouver to Jasper was mostly a wonderful trip because of the landscape and the journey into the mountains. Almost as exciting was the (slightly nerdy) fact I was boarding a train again, the first since Townsville, Queensland almost a month earlier. But this was also the first overnight trip I had made since The Ghan more than a month before that. I suppose at this stage one of the joys is the familiarity of being on a train, as well as noticing the differences from country to country. I can also enjoy a degree of inactivity, feeling satisfied that I am travelling while not even doing anything, even in my sleep. I do not have to pay attention but can enjoy just watching the view. Travelling from Vancouver to Jasper also bought with it the mountains. The Rocky Mountains were such a fabulous contrast to the desert of Australia and the Queensland coastline that it was a breath of fresh air in every way.

Lake Louise, Louise Kenward 2014

Following different seasons, my body clock and seasonal clock is entirely out of sync, having experienced the longest summer ever with just a few days of Winter and the very start of Autumn (in reverse order) it is somehow settling to see the start of Spring and to follow it along my route. Waiting for the train at Jasper, the sun is out in all its glory as I wave goodbye to the mountains. The last of the snow twinkling and the new buds of Spring emerging brightly.

Woods, Maligne Canyon, signs of Spring (Louise Kenward, 2014)

At dinner I’m seated with an already existing group of 7, they have travelled from Vancouver together and seem a merry bunch in good spirits. They took the Rocky Mountaineer this far, the train I have seen and looked at taking myself before the discovery of Via-Rail and its identical route to Jasper. From our over dinner conversation it seems the only discenible difference with the Rocky Mountaineer is that it slows down for bears (so passengers can watch them) and staff bring you your food to your seat. This was the brief snapshot I gleaned from them anyway. It also only travels during the day so you have to get out at the end of each day and get up each morning to get back on the train. I think it is a good deal more luxurious but a significant part of the joy of train travel for me is that you get to sleep on the train. I am looking forward to the stretch of my trip from Saskatoon to Toronto for that very reason, I have two straight days and nights on board the train, two whole days of uninterrupted train journey where I eat and sleep and entertain myself wholly on board the train.

Travelling by train through Canada, Louise Kenward (2014)

The pace of life alters, it revolves around eating and sleeping (did I say that already?), it is time to write, to read, there are no phone calls, emails or such technological interruptions. There is no pressure to be ‘doing’ anything outside of the simple timetable of meal times and you can feel productive as you are still travelling in the intended direction. It is a wonderfully passive rest for a short while. An intermission if you like.

There are viewing carriages, one at the rear so you can view all you have just passed through, and several throughout the train, with windows for a roof and slightly elevated seating to give you more of a panoramic experience. This is not a train for people travelling with any purpose.

Train travel through Canada, Louise Kenward (2014)

The line is also owned by Canadian Pacific Rail, I am still grappling with the complex relationship of the railways. The CPR runs only freight along the tracks now, there is no passenger train, so Via Rail and the Rocky Mountaineer are interlopers on the tracks, and as such, have to wait for the freight to pass by and take priority. This happens it seems, quite regularly. Despite this, it was only about 20 minutes late leaving Jasper, a good deal longer arriving the week or so before. I have also heard that a CPR personnel person travels on the Via-Rail trains to make sure that freight does take priority…I’m not quite sure how that works, it seems a very expensive way of making sure they do as they’re told, and they seem a nice enough bunch, I’m sure if they were just asked nicely.

Bexhill, Canada (Louise Kenward, 2014)

….more trains

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Realised only after posting that my last post spoke very little about the actual train journey. So much to talk about I am easily distracted at this stage. Aside from saying that travelling by train really is the greatest way to travel, even more so when it is comfortable, which mostly my journey has been. Even throughout South East Asia and Indonesia (aside from one delayed ten hour train journey in a ‘hard seat’ and a very packed carriage to Nanning, and a particularly cold night in Thailand – what is it with hot countries and their air conditioning?) it has not been arduous. Travelling through Canada I am, however, being looked after very well. I have certainly travelled in the right direction. At a time when I am getting a little weary of 8 bed dorm rooms and shared spaces where you have to label absolutely everything you put in the fridge, remembering your room key to go for a pee in the night and being woken up by the ubiquitous plastic bag rustling at various ungodly hours because someone has just arrived or is preparing to leave, or has just decided to look for something in the middle of the night. Hostels have been a great and affordable way of staying in some great places, and places where I have met some great people. There are times when it is nice to have your own space though. So having my own cabin and being well fed on the train is really very nice.

There is, however, something just as wonderful travelling in sleeper carriages where you share with several other strangers. For one, you meet local people who are mostly travelling through necessity rather than pleasure, to visit family or for work. While it hasn’t always been possible to find out very much about many of the people I shared these six foot square spaces with, because I didn’t speak their language and they didn’t speak mine (although usually more than me). But even when that was the case I still have some great memories of meeting people, where we would share food, help out with shuffling cases around so we all fitted in to the allocated spaces, and generally being pleasant company for the duration of the journey.

I have also met many people on this part of my journey. A dining carriage and communal sitting areas with drinks and viewing carriages make for an altogether different experience, and in many ways a more sociable one too. I’ve met many from Canada and the US, some Australian’s and Europeans, including a few from England who, when feeling slightly homesick last week, I nearly rugby tackled to have chance to speak to them and find out where they were from (and just to hear the accent and share common ground).

But mostly the journey is about what is going on outside. I end my journey in almost the same way as I started it, with an epic train ride of several days across the one country. The length of time and immensity of Canada reminds me of the Trans Mongolian train and the vastness of Siberia, in many ways it is just as beautifully bleak and inhospitable (certainly during the winter). The excitement of seeing a break in the landscape for a house with a wisp of smoke as it was in Russia. A break to the endless view of birch trees. While in Canada it is a grain elevator or pool of water, farm or the like. The mountains of Alberta a distant echo of the snow capped mountains through Mongolia, the prairies, of the expanse of Siberia. The same but different. The duration of the landscape remains immense and my captivation with it, constant.

And just as I again set out with particular intentions, my keyboard has run away with me. At this point in my trip I am being reminded of so many other earlier times, an inevitable part of the last stretch I feel. Bear with me, I shall talk trains more…

Coast to coast by train.

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Canada is another epic train journey for me. I will travel from Vancouver to Halifax before I leave Canada for the US next month. Half way across and I have left the Pacific Ocean and passed through the magnificence of the Rockies, journeying into the vastness of the prairies. For this stretch of my trip I am also fortunate to be supported by Via Rail who have organised my train travel.

A sad farewell to the mountains, Louise Kenward (2014)

Dawn on the train, waking up to a new landscape, Louise Kenward (2014)

This is one of the trips that, in making and discussing my plans, many people told me, was a trip they too would like to take. On the train there are many people travelling from Vancouver to Toronto, often combining it with the Rocky Mountaineer and an Alaskan cruise. Certainly the cruise is something I would like to come back for, with chance to see the incredible Alaskan coastline, wildlife and Northern Lights. It seems a shame that so many people make so few stops beyond Vancouver though, there is so much of Canada and all so varied, yet it does not seem to be travelled as much as you’d think. Saskatchewan has just one hostel for instance, in Regina. The first night there I was the only person in the 8 bed dorm. It is not served well by public transport either which makes it trickier to negotiate too. Nonetheless I have been able to navigate my way to Bexhill, and am looking forward to the rest of my journey across Canada.

Train travel through Canada, Louise Kenward (2014)

It's a new day, it's a new dawn... (Louise Kenward, 2014)

It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day… (Louise Kenward, 2014)

Nothing beats waking up to the early light to peak out the window and discover the new landscape awaiting. This journey will also take my total time travelled by train to almost a month from the start of my trip last September. I have already travelled through three time zones and such contrasting scenery as might be possible. During my time in Regina (capital of Saskatchewan, one of two) I have learned that there were previously mountains in Saskatchewan…and that they were blown away. The Royal Saskatchewan Museum is another wonderful museum, Canada certainly is good at museums. Focussed on the natural world, it gives a lovely overview of the history of the area and how it has evolved through time. From being under water and host to various sea life, to home to the dinosaurs, the impact of the ice age and the role of the glaciers in forming the prairies we see today. There are also galleries devoted to the First Nations. In Assiniboia it was the Assiniboin tribe who were native to the region of Bexhill and surrounds. So called after their unique cooking method, using hot stones to heat water and bake food. As in Australia this is not an entirely resolved relationship. Although a little more time has passed and a number of apologies have been made.

Travelling by train through Canada, Louise Kenward (2014)

Travelling through Canada by train, Louise Kenward (2014)

Travelling through Canada by train from the comfort of a cabin, Louise Kenward (2014)

Prairie country, Louise Kenward (2014)

This is the land of Sitting Bull, the Cyprus Hills and many other stories that seem of folklore before I arrived. I have more to find out and learn…

Bexhill, Canada (Louise Kenward, 2014)