Banff, Canada. Family Style!

I suspect most of you who read my blog know me and have probably done so for a while. Therefore you will know that BC (Before Children) the hubs and I used head to Banff around March time for 10 days of hitting the slopes on skis and a little fun apres ski in the town, more often that not in a large group but occasionally just us. When the kids came along (4 years apart) skiing kind of got put on the back burner as one or the other was too young for ski school or day care.

Throw back to our BC ski holidays

So imagine my surprise last November when the hubby out of the blue said lets look at a holiday in Banff, next February! Nothing like leaving it to the last minute hubs.

So me, as chief organiser and researcher of holidays, trips and excursions hit the internet looking for a deal. Things seem to have changes a bit in the 10 years since we last booked a trip to Banff. It would seem that it is now no longer possible to fly to Calgary from Manchester airport, we would have to head down to London and leaving it so late to book meant that any UK package deals were already pretty full and we decided we needed a family room now with a kitchen type area in case the kids were sometimes too tired to head out on an evening.

Undeterred I decided to try the Canadian booking service I'd come across online skibig3 and despite the time difference managed to have a lovely instant chat with the very helpful Melissa who took note of what we needed and offered us tons of options. They were great as the organised not only our accommodation but also the hotel transfers, ski hire, lift tickets and ski school and day care for some of the resorts too. At present skibig3 can't organise lessons or day care at Mount Norquay or day care at Lake Louise but I found this easy to sort myself either with a quick phone call or email to the relevant slope beforehand and all went smoothly.

In the end we opted for a family kitchenette suite at the Charlton's Cedar Court on Banff Avenue and then never cooked one meal in it because going out was much more fun and delicious - but we will know for next time hahaha. 

Flight wise it was easy, Air Canada had flights direct into Calgary at great times and it was all easy to book online, their customer service was also very helpful when I forgot to add the kids meals. All we needed to do was sort some accommodation near the airport for the night before. We have my son from another mum to thank for that one, when he heard about the holiday we had planned he wanted in so he booked on our flight too but opted for the local backpackers for fun times rather than staying with us, and at 23 who can blame him?

My Boys ready for the flight to Calgary and magic windows flying over ice floes (one of my favourite airplane views) 

Air Canada have magic in their windows that you can make dark or light without the need for a window blind, hours of entertainment for young uns!

Charltons Cedar Court

Our transfer from the airport was faultless, although its not often we have done this trip with so little snow on the ground, luckily the slopes were not lacking. I do have to say the staff at Cedar Court were amazing, they went above and beyond to help us when first of all my lovely yet daft husband picked up the wrong bag at the airport - who doesn't put a tag on their luggage? Then one of the boys cuddly toys went for a trip with the laundry and they tracked him down for us to save the tears.

Bit fluffier but happy to be home

Day 1 was spent familiarising ourselves with the town of Banff after 10 years and its great to see some old familiars on our stroll down Banff Avenue along with one or 2 newer faces. We headed for The Elk and Oarsman after hearing that it was child friendly and were not disappointed. In fact we were spoiled with the best poutine with added elk pieces we have ever tasted. We also introduced the boys to the joys of The Fudgery had our ski's fitted at the Hub and messed around on the river making snow angels.

There are still bears on Banff Ave,      Sampling elk poutine           and me and my Bear

Messing about on the Bow River, snow angels and riding a bike.

Day 2 and our first day on the mountain. We always head to Norquay for the first day skiing and

Jake and his Instructor at Norquay

Jake can ski!

today would be no exception. Jake was booked into ski school for the day, Bear was in day care and I was booked into a 4 hour lesson because I hadn't been on skis in a decade! The men folk were left to their own devices as they had skied in between. Bear declared that Norquay day care was the best out of all of them and by the end of the day Jake could come get on and off the chairlift and come down a green run in one piece. Part of Bodhi's day care packages was 2 hours skiing a day but he seemed to enjoy playing in the snow rather than skiing on it. As for my lesson I was lucky enough to have an instructor to myself and I soon had my confidence back.


Skiing is tiring work!

Day 3 finds us all heading to Sunshine Village. I couldn't give you a specific reason but this personally is my favourite resort out of the 3 we could ski at. I just love all the hidden spots you seem to find that even on the busiest day - like today, family weekend on Alberta you can find runs that don't seem crowded. Jake again had a day in ski school and Bodhi Bear was in the day care centre which has its own ski area for the little ones complete with mini magic carpet!

Ski School, Gondola Ride and day care.

Bear was a fan of riding the gondola no matter what resort we were at so we made sure that he got to ride it everytime we were at sunshine or Lake Louise.

Day 4 was a rest day for us so we decided to hike to Cave and Basin Historical site as none of us had ever visited it before we could also combine this with our other family hobby of geocaching as Banff National Park have several in the park and if you find 3 or more you can collect a special coin at the visitor centre. Challenge accepted!

The paths were a little slippy but we all made it there in one piece and we got to explore and find the answers for an Earthcache in the area. The boys loved checking out the ice slide that was there at the time and having a go at curling. They were less impressed by the smell of the water and had great fun running in and out of the cave while warning other visitors about the smell.

Cave and Basin and the Sprayway loop

Day 5 saw us hit the slopes at Lake Louise, again Bear headed for day care and Jake was in lessons with an instructor who was from Skipton of all places nothing like a blast from home! We were gutted to find that the Larch lift was closed for repairs as some of our favourite runs were accessible only from this lift and we were looking forward to sharing these with Jake. Alas it was not meant to be in more ways than one as the lift didn't open for the rest of our time in Canada and Jake suffered a fall in ski school which put him out of action for the rest of the holiday. While watching Bears ski lesson Jakes lesson finished and as he hobbled over to me it would seem that he took a tumble through the trees on the last run of the day. He did ski down after but he was in pain and little did we know at the time exactly how much damage had been done. That was the last of the skiing for the day so as promised there was time for a spin up the gondola for Bear but we also had grimacing Jake.

Lake Louise fun

Day 6 Our plans for a ski day at Sunshine Village were quickly cancelled when we woke to find Jake with a swollen knee and limping on the way to breakfast, it was a taxi to the local hospital in Banff instead. The lovely staff at Mineral Springs soon had Jake in a gown and X-rayed but the prognosis wasn't good, a twisted knee and torn meniscus meant no more skiing for the rest of the holiday and a ton of follow up appointments on our return to the UK. He didn't loose his sense of humour though and thoughtfully posed for this picture for Grandma Africa who had left us with dire warnings to not injure ourselves or pay any visits to hospital. Sorry Grandma!

Sorry Grandma Africa

As the plan was no longer for skiing we decided to try the famous Eddie's for Burgers located just off Banff Avenue - yum yum and had a hobble around the shops stopping for a Beaver Tail for desert. The kids loved them but I think ended up wearing most of it on their face.

Beaver Tails, Yummy!

Day 7 and we are heading back to Sunshine because of Jakes injury though obviously he can't ski so while Bear went to day care as usual, the hubby and I took it in turns to sit with Jake for an hour at a time in the day lodge. He even got to do some school work with this beautiful view to inspire him.

Homework with a view.

Days 8, 9 and 10 involved heading back to Lake Louise, a day of rest and our final ski day at Sunshine. On our day of rest we managed to pick up a few more geocaches that involved a short walk on the Fenland Trail and a walk around town to the start of the Tunnel Mountain trail (very slippy). We were able at the end of our holiday collect the geocoins from the Banff visitor centre located on Banff Avenue. YAY!

So what can I say about our holiday? Banff is still an amazing place to visit and coming back with children has only made us love it more. We really wanted to have a go at ice skating which is now available on Banff Avenue next to the high school but after Jakes injury we didn't get the opportunity, hopefully we will get another chance in future. The town is a great place to bring kids and the skiing is superb. The walking routes which we found via geocaching but which are accessible to all with info available from the visitor centre are well worth the effort and took us to new parts of Banff which we missed on previous visits and offered the opportunity if you were lucky to spot the local wildlife. On our walk we saw herds of Elk but if you are patient you may see Coyotes, Wolves or even Moose!

Lucky residents of Banff who get to see this every morning.

Big thanks have to go out to the lovely Melissa at skibig3 who patiently sorted our booking out for us despite the time difference, the amazing staff on the front desk who went above and beyond to help locate missing baggage and runaway husky dog soft toys with a friendly smile and finally the staff at Banff Mineral Springs Hospital who took great care of Jake on his visit there. (We just need to sort out the insurance claim now eek)

Our Top Picks from the trip:

Awesome Runs off the Jackrabbit chair at Sunshine Village (Jakes favourite run is Rollercoaster)
The Elk and Oarsman for great food and service and welcome for kids. (The boys also loved Chilis for chicken and its convenience next door to our hotel).
Fenland Trail for a magical forest walk.
Lake Louise for amazing views at the top and bottom.
Mount Norquay for fab day care - as voted by Bodhi Bear, chief tester.

Thanks for reading, till next time x

Links below if you need any further info.
http://www.charltonsbanff.com/
http://www.skibanff.com/
http://www.skibig3.com/
http://www.aircanada.com/uk/en/home.html
http://www.elkandoarsman.com/
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/ab/caveandbasin/natcul/heritage-legacy.aspx
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/banff/activ/geocachette-geocaching.aspx

Yorkshire Peak 2 Whernside.

So after our 1st peak (Pen-y-Ghent) back in May we got the message through that the "team" were planning to take on the next peak on the list which is Whernside and the only one of the Yorkshire 3 Peaks I hadn't climbed.

Our plan for Pen-y-Ghent had worked well and this one was supposed to be easier to climb so we decided to adopt the same approach. Arrive early and get a head start as we have the youngest child and the rest would catch us up on the climb.

Oh dear oh dear how naïve we were to think that this one would go like the last. Little legs was not a happy camper for the ENTIRE walk and proceeded to moan for pretty much every 100 metres or so while son no 1 decided that walking with his cousin would be sooooo much more fun and raced off ahead and refused the walkie talkie. Did I mention he had been explicitly told not to race off ahead? needless to say there was no cell phone signal for a while to get a message to him to stop where he was and WAIT!

One of the few pictures of the day where he didn't look offended Force Gill Waterfall in background

The slog up the path which runs along the railway line and then up the spine of Whernside isn't massively challenging but it is long and with not many geocaches along the route to make it more interesting for junior it made for hard going!

Jake and cousin miles ahead of us

The main group caught up with us as we were approaching the summit and we all made our way to the trig point to hunker down for lunch. Son no one had a sulk on at this point as I was pretty furious with him for walking ahead of us with no means of communication and his cousins and aunt had to make their way off the hill ahead of us as they had plans for later in the day.

Grumpy Children at Whernside Summit

Finally we started making our way off the summit for the descent and the path down is a killer! steep and rocky, and with some people ascending this way too it was busy. We were fortunate that it was not wet as I can imagine when raining this route is treacherous. Needless to say we had to help Bear with several of the "steps" as they were just too big for his little legs.

Much steeper descent

The way down was arduous with many rest stops for Mr Grumpy face Bear who sat down a lot and cried! Needless to say mummy needed a glass of wine when she got home.

He's smiling here but if you look carefully you can see its through tears!

 From being some of the first on the hill in the morning, we were also one of the last off it our descent had taken so long and there were few cars left at the parking spot when we got back to the car. One of the few positives was that the sun came out.

Glorious Whernside

Don't the Dales look glorious in the sunshine? Both boys finally started to cheer up when we got to Ribblehead Viaduct and they could see the car. They also started being nice to each other which gave them the motivation to get back to the car and a treat of chocolate! So all in all not as successful an escapade as our Pen-y-Ghent adventure but they did it. 2016 has to be the year for them both to conquer the final hill - Ingleborough, however that will have to wait for Jakes leg to heal. But that's another story! Till next time

The boys and Ribblehead Viaduct

Oh dear the blog has been neglected for longer than I realised! A mix of university work and Christmas means I am sadly behind on posts and for this I am sorry :(

But here is a catch up post.

At the end of November we visited the YHA at Boggle Hole after its summer refurbishment. We are so glad we did, it was the most fun we had as a family in ages despite the weather conspiring against us with wind and rain that lasted most of our stay!

The journey to Boggle Hole was an adventure in itself. We had to wait for the boys to finish school for the day and dad to come home from work so by the time we set off it was already dark and the wind and rain were in action big time.

Boggle Hole YHA in the daylight.

So after braving puddles and minor floods we finally drive down the single track road and parked up in the carpark at the top of the hill. Erm... Yeah... You do have to have a little walk down the hill with your gear when you arrive as there is no parking on site but to be honest after we unloaded the car on our arrival we didn't see it again for the rest of the weekend! We were slightly concerned that the youngest would take off like a kite so we weighed him down with some bags and headed out of the car into the lashing rain to commence the walk downhill to the hostel. Luckily mum (me) had packed torches and head torches for everyone so our way was illuminated sufficiently to see our way.

Slightly damp (read soaked through) we walked through the doors to be greeted by friendly faces behind the bar/reception (YAY Bar). Check in was simple and fast and we soon had our gear dumped in our bedroom and coats in the drying room. They we headed downstairs to try the food (even though we had also brought our own).

This hostel is great for adults - did I mention it has a bar? its clean and tidy, has a roaring wood burning fire, a great kitchen and if you can't be bothered cooking they serve breakfast and dinner. They also offer a wicked slice of cake and tea if the afternoons. However for kids this place is on another level, a perfect kiddie paradise.

Where do I start? the whole place is nautical themed with fishing nets, lobster pots and buoys decorating the establishment. The rooms are all named after boats and vessels and there are old stories from newspapers about each one adorning the walls outside each room to tell you about them. There are secret cupboards and peepholes, Davy Jones' locker (laundry chute) books, pirate dress up and best of all you can collect a sheet from reception for a charitable donation of 50p and there are several treasure hunts set up both inside the building (perfect for rainy afternoons) and one outside that takes you on a fairytale adventure. This kept the boys entertained ALL weekend along with the new friends they met while we were there. In this technological age where it can sometimes be hard to drag the kids away from the electronic devices without tantrums etc this place is a life saver. Yes we took the obligatory iPad with us for the kids to play on if boredom kicked in after too much rain but I can say honestly this place kept them so entertained they didn't ask for it our entire stay.

The next morning dawned cold, windy and with a forecast for rain in the afternoon - not a surprise this is the end of November. Preparation was key here, I have a couple of Norwegian friends and a favourite saying of theirs which is very true.

                                  "There is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing"

So wrapped up warm we decided to hit the beach in the morning while it was fairly dry as we all wanted to see the famous "Boggle Hole" after which the hostel is named and Jake wanted to hunt for fossils. For those not in the know a Boggle is a little bit like Dobby from the Harry Potter series.

Bear outside the Boggle Hole.

We took bubbles for the boys and buckets to put in any "treasures" we found while scouring the beach. If you are planning a visit please be aware and keep away from the bottom of the cliffs, we saw and heard several quite large rock falls while walking up the beach and had one or 2 near misses where we were glad we were keeping away, even walking 10 metres+ away from the cliffs we were sprayed with odd bits of debris which could have been quite nasty if we were any closer.

Lucky Fossil Finds

Despite the dangers we were lucky enough to find quite a few fossils. Jake found several bits in rather large rocks and was the only family member to come home with a bag heavier than when we arrived on the Friday. Lets just say his walk back up the steep hill we descended on our arrival became something like an army fitness challenge with his rucksack filled with rocks and he was huffing and puffing when he arrived at the top.

Bubbles on the Beach and Rock Hopping

We headed back to the hostel for a late lunch and the boys had a chance to chat to some new friends they made and hunt together for the treasure map clues. This is one of my favourite things with the YHA hostels, that the boys get to meet new friends and be kids with each other in a safe environment trey really did have the best time playing games and running about.

Biscuit Decorating

We finished up our last day doing the outside treasure trail together and some of the other children we had met during our stay joined us with their parents. Another hidden gem! We don't want to spoil it but lets just say there is a part of a fairy story in the woods well worth attempting as its a pleasant surprise, fab for the kids and doesn't really take very long. Bear topped it off though falling off the path into a patch of brambles naturally and we returned to the hostel with a child looking like hes come from a horror story rather than a fairytale. I love that boy its so typical of him!

Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it and maybe even inspired you to try something new with the kids. I would totally recommend this place and we will definitely be back for another visit to YHA Boggle Hole in 2016.
We booked direct through the website and stayed in a family room that sleeps 4. http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/boggle-hole

Times have changed and not for the better...

Many of you will know that my parents live in South Africa and that we are very lucky in that we have spent many happy times visiting Grandma and Grandad Africa, since the boys were born.

On our visit there this summer one thing had become abundantly clear. Times are changing... For wildlife especially.

Our arrival on African soil coincided with the slaying of Cecil the Lion in neighbouring Zimbabwe. The TV stations and local papers were all covering the story and discussing the plight of Africa's animals in response to this. Unfortunately poaching is so endemic to Africa in general that the loss of Cecil garnered more of a reaction from the international community than it did from Africa itself.

One of the big differences now though in the fight for wildlife survival  in recent times is social media. Did you know it can in fact aid the poachers?

I will be honest, I hadn't actually given it much thought. I am in no way a fan of trophy hunting. I think that the slaying of endangered animals for sport is just plain wrong. As is the needless killing of an animal for its horns, tusks or hide. Now if you're an indigenous tribe that had hunted elephant or rhino or lion for 100's of years and that that animal will feed your village for a month then I can understand sustainable hunting for survival. But chopping off heads or horns and leaving a carcass behind for the scavengers... No!

So what's my point? Well this is. These 2 White Rhinos pictured below are 2 of 3, that lived for several years at Tala game reserve just outside Durban.

2 of the 3 Rhinos at Tala in 2012

Tala is small, tiny in fact in comparison to others in South Africa which can be the size of UK counties or even countries. Its probably the size of a small town. Well my family and I have seen these same 3 rhino on our visits to Tala since Jake was 1 year old.

 So imagine my shock when I visited this year to take the picture below. Can you see what is wrong with it?

Talas 2 current Rhinos.

Did you spot the problem? Well the rhino on the left of the picture is missing something rather obvious, her horn. Now what if I tell you that of the rhinos in the first picture at least one of, possibly both, are now dead. You see last year poachers went into Tala and darted all 3 rhinos, removing the horns from all 3 while they were still alive. 2 of them sadly didn't make it and the third lived to tell the tale albeit without her most recognisable feature.

What you can't see just out of shot in the second picture is the pick up truck with  armed security guards, whose sole purpose it is to follow these 2 rhinos around, wherever they wander in the park and ensure their safety.

So what about the bigger game reserves? We saw changes there too. Every visit we have made to South Africa wouldn't be complete without a visit to Hluhluwe/Imfolozi -the oldest proclaimed nature reserve in Africa - and 3 hours North of Durban. Hluhluwe/Imfolozi is the birthplace of rhino conservation and the home of Operation Rhino the project that started rhino conservation in the 1950's and 1960's.

The 2 camps have sighting boards with animal numbers and you can update it daily with what you have spotted and where you saw it.

This is the board from one of our first visits several years ago.

Approximate number of animals in the park.

I've actually decided to blank out the numbers of Rhinos in the park anyway just in case anyone can use the data nefariously, despite it being several years out of date.

And here are the tokens to tag your sightings and the board to show where in the park you spotted the animal.

Tags

Sightings board

The boys have enjoyed on previous visits spotting the animals on the board, seeing where others have seen them and adding our own sightings to the board.

2015 had some glaring omissions. Gone are the numbers for rhino in the park as are all the markers for both black and white rhinos. This is to ensure their safety so that poachers cannot easily locate them. I can completely see why the park has done this. Why leave what almost amounts to a neon sign flashing over an animals head saying "Here I am?" But at the same time it makes me sad and angry that they have had to do this in the first place.

This also ties in to my earlier comment regarding social media and how it can affect the rhino population. There are signs up in various locations around the park and at all entrances not to post pictures of rhino on the many social networks available as most phones enable GPS co-ordinates to become embedded in the picture data. That cute rhino mother and baby you've just uploaded to instagram or twitter has now perhaps given poachers the means to track her at her last known position so her horn can be stolen. It certainly made me think and my social media postings of photos were limited to my friends list on facebook. I feel they are a trust worthy bunch and I don't have any poachers or trophy hunters hiding among them as far as I am aware.

So far this year in Kwa Zulu Natal where Hluhluwe/Imfolozi is located, 75 rhino have been poached for their horns with very, very few of them surviving the ordeal wither from the overdose of drugs used to dart them to bring them down quickly or the trauma of having their horn sawed off while still alive. This figure doesn't take into account the rest of the provinces or indeed the rest of Africa but statistics do say the problem is getting worse not better.

This picture is the statue at the Rhino Centenary Centre. I really do worry that the legacy for my children's children, will be visiting here and it will be the only rhino left to spot in the park.

I really hope that after the whole "Cecil" furore that African nations can get their act together and stop the both the trade of illegal ivory and horns and that sport hunting in the main can be eradicated.
I have to be honest and say I struggle to get upset when I read news stories of poachers that get their just desserts.

Sorry for the rant readers but I really feel strongly about this and needed to vent. If anyone wants to add anything please comment.

On a happier note we did see several rhino on our visit but I won't be telling you where. But here is a happy picture of a sighting we made over the summer :)

Till next time x

Malham Cove In the Sunshine

Sorry the blog has been quiet for a while, we have been visiting Grandma and Grandad in South Africa and the internet is not quite what it is in the UK. Also I have a new PC with windows 10 and cannot for the life of get photos to upload with their internet browser so have had to switch again!

I will do some posts about some of the stuff we got up to while we were there over the next week or so but for now I wanted to write about the visit we took to Malham Cove as a last hurrah for the boys before they go back to school and because it was actually a change to go somewhere in the sunshine.

I have to say we are so lucky to live near such a beautiful area. I have many fond memories of the Yorkshire Dales and living in Leeds means we are less than an hour away from the traditional "Gateway to the Dales" Skipton.

So Sunday morning the sun shone and as we had a leisurely - if chaotic breakfast, we all packed our rucksacks with drinks and snacks and in Bears case an optimistic Frisbee. The GPS was loaded with maps of the area and geocaches and off we went.

An hour later we were pulling into the overspill parking field which was a more than reasonable £4 for the day and off we set towards the Cove.

No trip was complete for us without a moan by at least one of the boys and on this occasion it was the youngest who wanted to stop every 10 steps for a drink, a rest or a snack. Nearing the final gate for the cove Bear through his rucksack on the floor in disgust and sat down while Dad and Jake wandered further on pretending they didn't know him. As I hung around trying to cajole him the last 100 or so yards, a family with two young ones of their own took pity on me and their lovely daughter handed him a packet of sweets which made him recover immediately. In an uncommon fit of good manners Bear politely said thank you very much ( I do try to instill my children with good manners but my youngest seems to have a will of his own which can make him unpredictably contrary).

Little Monster loves the troll Bridge

Glorious Day at Malham Cove

After the impromptu sweet stop we continued the walk to the head of the cove and sat down for our snack. At this point my husband began to regret his lack or preparation and tried to cadge a drink and snack from the boys who were reluctant to share with him on the principle that he was disorganised.

The walking boots purchased at the beginning of the year from Mountain Warehouse are still going strong and having just had both sets of feet measured for school shoes I'm pretty sure they will both get use out of their current boots till the end of the year.

Rest stop

With the pit stop finished and they boys recharged it was time to tackle the steps up the side of the cove and head up to the top towards the first geocache of the day. The boys thought it was great fun jumping off the rock formations and enjoyed the informal lesson on geological rock formations and ice ages.

Son no 2 

Son no 1

After some jumping about, throwing a frisbee that Bear had brought with him, among other things and hunting down the geocache without been spotted we plotted the route back round to the car and opted for the much quieter walk through Dry Valley up towards the tarn and then back down towards the cove and approaching the village via the road.

The gorgeous Dry Valley

This curious herd of cows/bulls approached us 

So after a perfect day in the sunshine and a few miles on the pedometer, we made it back to the village for a well deserved ice cream and an hours drive back home. The kids had a perfect day and managed to burn off some energy before they head back to school on Tuesday.

Thanks for reading.