What a breathtaking weekend! The INTERNeX group set off on one of the best trips of the year on Friday. We went to the Rocky Mountains. Together with Moose bus adventures we created a Rockies trip individually planned for INTERNeX and it was just incredibly cool!
On Friday we hit the road. There was a long bus trip ahead, but everybody was super motivated and was ready for the trip. Mike was our driver and guide and brought a bit of atmosphere into the group. After everything was stowed away in our bus, we were ready to go and set off!
We spent our first night in Kelowna, but already on the way there we stopped at many exciting and beautiful places like the Bridal Veil Falls in Rosedale. Then we made our way to Kawkawa Lake, when we arrived there, we all jumped into the water and then we had a brilliant idea…why not make a challenge out of it. The challenge was to swim in every lake we visited! I took this challenge very seriously during the trip (I was the only one who really swam in every lake) because Mike (guide) and I came up with the idea, but the others also enjoyed the idea even if they didn’t swim in every lake.
Hope, a small city east of Vancouver, is known for his wooden figures and we happened to witness the famous competition where the candidates carved wooden figures with a chainsaw.
On the way to Kelowna we also visited the Othello tunnels, which also belong to one of the most famous sights and fo
r reason. Unbelievable that these tunnels were created only with dynamite and manual work.
Arrived in Kelowna it was time to check into the hostel and everyone could hardly wait for dinner. Even though it was very windy at the beach in Kelowna we decided to eat pizza and enjoy the view of the water. For me it meant swimming in the water again! The challenge must go on!
Some of us, despite the fact that it was a long and exhausting trip, went for a drink in the evening, which led to the fact that the next morning it was nice and quiet in the bus 😛
Now it was time for us to head to Banff and on 
the way there Mike showed us many breathtaking places. We stopped at Kalamalka lake and then we went to a lake that really took my breath away. Emerald Lake, a glacial lake that looks like it’s photo-shopped. Small glacial minerals make the water look turquoise. Due to the fact that the lake consists of glacial water it has a water temperature of only a few degrees Celsius. This didn’t stop Mike and me from jumping from the bridge into the ice-cold water. We were a little attraction, and no one could believe that there are actually two crazy people jumping into such cold water, some of the tourists even walked around in winter jackets. Nevertheless, we jumped, and I think my heart stopped beating for a moment, but I’ve never felt so good about anything. A unique experience that I will be talking about for a long time to come.
After we arrived in Banff, we spent a relaxed evening together.
On Sunday we had a pretty early start into the day, because we had a lot ahead of us. We started with a small hike to the waterfalls in Johnston Canyon. Arriving at the upper waterfalls Mike did a little meditation with us which made us appreciate what we have. After that we went to Lake Louise, where almost everybody took part in the lake challenge and to top it off, we all went to Lake Moraine and jumped into the water. We asked the staff of the canoe rental what the water temperature of the lake was, and it was 6°C, yes you read correctly, 6°C. It was very cold, but I am proud that all of us have made it. Both Emerald lake, Lake Louise and Lake moraine look as if someone had coloured the lake blue, I’ve never seen anything like it in my life, unbelievable! In the evening we went to the Banff Hot pools, which were a good change after the cold lakes.
The trip was nearing its end and yesterday we made our way back to Vancouver. A short stop at the Natural Bridge made the trip complete and we made it back to Vancouver safely.
The trip was simply breathtaking and unique!
Hope you have a great week and to see you at tomorrow’s PUB NiGHT at the Yale Saloon!
-Lilly
INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com
y bus to spent some time on Lake Louise. Yes, you read it right, ON Lake Louise. The lake that is especially famous in Summer for its turquoise coloured water was completely frozen. This made it possible to not only walk over, but also skate on it. All the snow that covered the ice, the mountains and the trees additionally made it look even more like a winter wonderland.
Then, It was finally time to get to our accommodation for the night, wooden cabins in Golden. Shortly after our arrival, we could pretend to be kids again by doing an Easter Egg Hunt. We all gathered around the campfire, warmed ourselves up, shared talks and played the game ‘Werewolf’. When it got dark, our tour guide had the amazing idea of doing a night hike through the forest. Fun, some of us even got lost. The evening ended with a big party in the barn, including limbo and a Lip Sync Battle. The highlight: everyone dancing to Gangnam Style.
After that we continued our journey to Kamloops. In Kamloops we went to the BC Wildlife Park where I learned about the difference between a spirit bear and a polar bear. I also had time to do some shopping in the souvenir shop with my $5 gift card. A bit later we got into the bus again and drove up to Chase. We spent the night at a First Nation’s hotel. It was a beautiful hotel with hot tub and a swimming pool. We quickly settled in and went up to the lake to make beautiful pictures. After exploring the surroundings a bit, we went up to the campfire, made smores and listened to stories of the First Nations. As I am not really handy at all, I already expected that my s’mores would not turn out to be that great. The first one was not melted enough and on the second one I just had too much marshmallow. However, it was great to try it out. It was pretty cold at the campfire, as we were sitting next to a lake. So we ended up going to the hot tub and the swimming pool to warm up. Here we got to talk with a few people from our bus and learned about the different cultures. In the end we all went to Janel and Danielle’s room for a few drinks.
Most of them were mainly built because of the train passing through it. It was great getting to know more about Canada and its cute little villages. Along the way to the Rockies we had to change our time on the watches as we got into mountain time. This meant that the clock would go one hour forward. It was really strange to hear about mountain time. I first did not believe our tour guide and thought he was fooling everybody in the bus. However, my phone proved it to me that mountain time actually exists. We drove all the way up to Lake Louise where we could either walk to the other side of the lake or go to the Fairmont hotel. The choice was not that hard to make anymore when our tour guide told us that we could see a frozen waterfall. It was a bit strange that the lake was frozen enough again, as our tour guide told us that they did it a few weeks ago too and then they heard the ice crack underneath their feet. Many people walked on the lake, so we were not that scared that the ice would break. Luckily it was solid ice again and we did not have any troubles on our way to the frozen waterfall. After we reached the frozen waterfall we walked back around the lake and back to the bus. I think this walk was a good practice for my ice walk the day after, as it could be slippery at and around the lake too. Then we drove to Banff and checked in at our second hotel. A lot of us were hungry again so we went back into the city to find a good restaurant. We all had a great laugh at the bus stop, as we were with so many people and it took forever to get onto the bus. When we were in the city, it was quite hard to find a spot for so many people. However, we managed to fit us all in Earls. After we filled our stomachs again, we went to Janel’s room and waited for cabs. We did not want to make the bus drivers in Banff too annoyed, right? We ended our night with a great night out at one of Banff’s clubs.
of sleep. However, it was good that I was forced to get out of bed, because the fresh air and me being active really helped. Another guide picked us up at the hotel in a small bus. On the way to Johnston Canyon he talked about the nature of Canada. He also did a small quiz with us. If you answered the questions right, you would get a cookie. Everybody was actively participating in it and tried their hardest to come up with the answer. To me that was quite logical, because who does not like to get a cookie? When we reached our final destination we had to put on spikes on our shoes for the really icy parts. Of course I was the person who got two different sizes. As I already asked to change the size, I did not want to bother him anymore and therefore just let it be. He already mentioned that it did not matter if the spikes would not totally fit and therefore I thought it would not matter for me too. On our way we walked passed frozen waterfalls, fossils and even some animals. I was acting like a tourist again and kept asking questions. The whole walk was sometimes a bit rough, as we had to walk up and down on hills and had some icy parts. According to our tour guide you can even be short of breath if you are fit, as the altitude in the mountains is way different than the altitude in Vancouver or even the Netherlands. This gave me a much better feeling, as I already thought I was not in shape at all. Our guide also showed us how to hike down an icy hill. He said that you have to bend your knees and stamp your feet into the ground. In the end we all looked like tiny elephants walking around at Johnston Canyon. On the way back we could enjoy the scenery again and look if there were any animals. In the
afternoon we decided to do a hike on the Sulphur mountain. We were supposed to be at the top in one hour, but were only able to get half way because of all the ice and snow. However, the views were still really great. Every time we kept looking down to see how much we already completed to keep us motivated to get to the top. At the end of our hike we walked 16.7 km in total, so we were definitely able to make up for all the unhealthy food we have been eating. After being so active, we were happy to sit in the bus again for our journey to Golden. Here we spent our last night around the campfire. It was really cosy and warm around the fire. Sometimes it was so hot that I had to switch with others to let my legs cool off a little bit.
INTERNeX Canada 