Review: Kelowna Trip

Yesterday we all arrived home after a very good and exhausting weekend. It was really great to explore Kelowna together with all of you! Thank you all for joining the trip!

It all started at 6 pm. All of you gathered at the Greyhound Station for the bus to Kelowna. Unfortunately, it was not possible to sit together on the bus, as the bus was quite full and you were not able to ensure enough spots. After almost 6 hours of travelling you finally arrived in Kelowna and got picked up by me, Daniëlle, Tess and Kristina. We already checked in for you and you were already able to get into the motel when you arrived. This was really great, as most of us were really sleepy after the long bus ride.

The next day, the INTERNeX group divided itself in two groups. One group went skiing on Big White and the others went to the Farmers’ and Crafters’ market and for a hike. The snow conditions on Big White were amazing and therefore, the perfect place to go skiing. Some of the group practiced their skiing on the beginners mountain, as it was their first time skiing. And the other part of the group went to the bigger and more difficult slopes, which had amazing views. The group who did not go skiing went to the Farmers’ and Crafters’ market. This is a place where you can get a lot of fresh food and hand made products. After that we decided to go for a hike on Knox Mountain Park. We took the first hiking trail that we could find, which was apparently the most difficult one of the mountain. After we reached a viewing point, some of us went back to the motel and some of us decided to hike a bit further. This hiking trail passed the Okanagan lake and was on a medium level. Therefore, it was much easier to walk at this trail. After that we all met each other at the motel. At the motel there was some time for a swim or some relaxing time in our rooms. After that it was finally time to eat some of our day’s special: spaghetti á la Nils. We ended the night with some drinks in Nils’ and Andreas’ room.

The day after there was a choice to go on a wine tour or to go to Downtown Kelowna with Tess. During the wine tour we went to 4 different Wineries; Cedar Creek, St. Hubertus, Summerhill winery and Tantalus with a great tour guide, who knew a lot about Kelowna, the wineries and the Okanogan Valley. All wineries had beautiful views on the Okanagan Lake. We drank about 4 different wines, red and white, at all the wineries. However, at St. Hubertus we got to taste even more and it was all included in the price. After these 4 wineries, we even had time left to go to a spirits tasting. At the spirits tasting we got the chance to taste 2 different vodkas, 2 different gins, a whiskey and a blackberry or raspberry liquor. It was great to taste something different after all these wines. The other group went to Downtown Kelowna for a brunch with a great view over the Okanagan lake and had a nice walk. After that we all got together again at the Mc Donald’s at Walmart and relaxed till we had to go back to Greyhound station again. This time we made sure that we had spots together, so that we could get the most out of our bus trip.

I hope you guys all had a great time during the trip. We certainly did! Hopefully, I will see you all at The Distillery!

– Iris

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

 

Practical information on Kelowna

Only two more nights and then it’s time to go to Kelowna! The biggest part of the trip is already clear for most of you, but we wanted to give you some extra practical information.

Friday
On Friday the bus will leave at 6:00 pm from the Greyhound station at Station Street. However, you will need to be there an hour before, so at 5:00 pm. We will meet up in front of the station. If, for any reason, you won’t be on time, please send Janel a message. If you don’t have her contact details please let us know and we will send it to you.

If you have your own skies or snowboard you can take them on the bus, but you do need a bag for them. Besides that you are not allowed to bring alcohol, glass or metal cutlery in your hand luggage. For a full list of what you can or can’t take, please click here.

The bus will arrive in Kelowna at 11:45 pm and then we will have a twenty minute walk to the motel (so please keep that in mind when packing your luggage). Most of you probably just want to go to bed by then, so we don’t have any plans after that.

Saturday
On Saturday we have two groups: the skiers/snowboarders and hikers. Janel, Tess and I will go with the skiing group to Big White. The shuttle bus that we need to take to Big White will leave at 8:00 am and the bus stop is 15 minutes from the motel. So we will have to leave around 7:15 am. This is the only bus that goes up, so if you are late we cannot wait for you. The bus back leaves at Big White at 4:00 pm sharp from the Happy Valley Parking lot, in case we lose track of each other during the day. Again, please don’t be late since these will be the only busses going down. If you bring your own skies this will cost you around $120 including the shuttle bus and lift ticket. If you need to rent skies this will cost you around $160.

For those who want to join Iris to visit the market and hiking, she would like to leave at 10:00 am. For more information on what she is planning on doing, send her a message. If you would rather do something else on Saturday you can always go and do that too!

We have a room with a kitchen, so if you would like we can use that for cooking dinner together or we could always go out to find a spot to eat. After dinner we would like to have a few drinks and enjoy the night together as a group. 🙂

Sunday
On Sunday we have a wine tour planned and we already know who is coming and who is not. For those who are coming along, we are being picked up at the motel at 10:30 am and we will be back around 2:30 pm. The tour takes 3 hours and we go to 4 wineries. Since it’s pretty early, please make sure you have a big breakfast! Janel, Iris and I are joining the wine tour and Tess will go do something else. So talk to her about the other options on Sunday. The wine tour costs around $75 dollar and needs to be paid Friday on the bus.

The bus back to Vancouver will leave at 6:00 pm and arrive at 11:00 pm, we have to be there one hour before like we did on Friday.

Packing list
To make the packing a bit easier for you guys we made a little list of things you definitely don’t want to forget on this trip:
□ Bathing suit (we have a indoor pool at the motel)
□ Skies and ski clothes (if you’re planning on going skiing)
□ Walking shoes (if you plan on hiking)
□ Clean underwear 😉
□ Toothbrush
□ Passport
□ Credit card
□ Cash
□ Phone + charger
□ Student card (Big White has student discounts)

– Danielle

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

INTERNeX is going to Kelowna!

INTERNeX is planning its first trip of 2017 on the 17th of February. This time we will spend 2 nights in the beautiful city Kelowna. Kelowna is a city on the east from Vancouver. Next to it lays an amazing lake called Okanagan.

Kelowna is known as the warmest place of Canada in summer, which is why this is the perfect place for the making of wine. The Sparkling wine of Kelowna even have won a lot of prices on the world market. Therefore, it would be a great option to do wine tasting during the Kelowna trip. If you are a wine fan, interested in Kelowna’s culture or just an alcohol fan, you definitely should not miss the opportunity to try Kelowna’s amazing wine.

Not such a fan of wine, but still want to get to know Kelowna’s culture? Then you should try out a food tour or check out the Farmers’ and Crafters’ market in Kelowna. Food is a very important part of the Canadian culture and therefore if you really want to feel Canadian, you should get to know its food culture.

It is also a perfect area if you like to get active. Big White is a great mountain where we can go skiing, snowboarding, snow shoeing or snow tubing! Skiing is something you really should have done during your stay in Canada, so this trip gives you the great opportunity to try out skiing for the first time. If you do not like snow that much, you can also try out one of the amazing hiking trails in this area. There are a lot of hiking trails around the lake, various parks and even on Big White.

Subscription has to be done at the INTERNeX office or during PuB NiGHT. However, we have preference to arrange everything in the office. The trip costs $240 and you have to pay it in cash, so do not forget to go to the ATM beforehand. Accommodation and transportation is included in this price. All activities mentioned above are optional and are additional expenses. To keep being updated, check out the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1752728721720859/

We only have limited spots available, so subscribe and pay to ensure your spot soon!

– Iris

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