Words & Images: Airlie Walsh

Travellers like to romanticise British Columbia for its wildness, its sky-scraping mountains and pristine, pretty little cities.

I like to romanticise it because it’s home. Home to elk and moose herds in the thousands, home to lumbering grizzly’s and the elusive wolf, and home to an over-caffeinated journo, who travels to Canada every so often to visit family and go off the grid.

I feel like every now and then it’s important to just get out of town. To escape the grind. To celebrate the freedom to roam.

And so that’s how I came to be in my own picturesque void this year. Sitting idly by the Joe Rich Creek, seemingly a million miles away but really only four hours from Vancouver.

Each day I could paddle in melting glacier water and bathe in the racing current with its glistening ribbons brimming with trout-packed streams.

I could stare up at the pine covered mountain slopes creased with fingers of snow, with bald eagles soaring above our mini-Serengeti, eating potatoes with forkfuls of butter wrapped in foil and tossed on an open fire.

And in the weeks that followed, I sort of settle into a pleasant rhythm. Lazy mornings were spent lolling on riverbanks and exploring the ridges and valleys around the cabin.

In the evenings the sun dipping behind the hills shortly before midnight but its light lingering until you once again return.

TIP: When I escape I head to the family cabin in Joe Rich, near Kelowna. But there are hundreds of cabins available for rent all across BC, so you too can have your own adventure. For more information head here.

Vancouver Tips

Between the jaw dropping beauty of mountains and sea, Vancouver rivals some of the prettiest cities in the world. An abundance of outdoor options — whether it is hiking or biking in Stanley Park, kayaking in False Creek or skiing on nearby Grouse Mountain — only adds to the appeal.

Vancouver is a melting pot and so too is its cuisine.

Chambar has ridiculously good Belgian food and a great vibe.Viji’s  has a modern take, on high-end Indian food. Miku for melt-in-your mouth sushi. East is East for unreal Middle Eastern food. If you’re after the French Canadian experience, head to L’abbottoir. Or visit the Acorn, for Canada’s best vegetarian.

Guu in Gastown has great drinks. Pourhouse does good cocktails and old British pub food done with a modern twist.

Stanley Park, one of the largest urban green spaces in all of North America. Take a picnic hamper, but mostly just soak up the fresh sea air and marvel at all the natural wonders of Vancouver.

Jog it out on the Sea Wall. The 9km route will pass waterfront bars and restaurants, before leading you into Stanley Park.

Gastown may be one of Vancouver’s most visited neighbourhoods, but Yaletown, a former industrial area in downtown that is now dotted with restaurants and high-price lofts, should not be overlooked as a shopping destination.

Airlie Walsh is an Australian tv journalist, writer and photographer. You can find her on Instagram at @airliewalsh

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