aussielozzie18

How wonderful that you & your family share your memories of your beautiful mom on this special day.

Thanks. The whale watching photos yesterday are from a canon camera that has what I call a long lense but it’s not long compared to the actual long lenses all the other passengers had on the zodiac! I brought it over from Australia for DS to use. Dad bought it a couple of years ago but never used it so offered it to me for this trip for Alaska. All other photos are from my usual “old” iPhone that I post my Sydney pictures from. Thanks for the compliment Planning this trip did my head in at times. It was hard. So much research but it is absolutely paying off.

Me too. Loved the book Scarlett too.

Today, the excitement ramped up even further. We dressed in four layers then headed to our Whale watch tour out of Nanaimo, where we were provided with a head to toe expedition suit and goggles. Boarded our zodiac with 7 others + naturalist + crew/photographer and Captain. Then spent the most wonderful 4 hours on the water. After seeing stellar sea lions, harbour seals, humpback whale, we continued on all the way up near to Squamish in the water. In this absolutely beautiful water, surrounded by snow capped mountains and we saw ORCAS!!! We spent about an hour just drifting as this family of four orcas (mum & 3 sons - one only 1 year old) swam nearby. Our Zodiac was the only one there. We had this magic to ourselves. I was almost in tears. Took a solid 1hr high speed ride back to Nanaimo but it was so worth it and in all the gear, ours & theirs, we were toasty warm despite the cold temps on the open zodiac.

Good evening, our wonderful Vancouver roadtrip continues. Yesterday, we visited The Raptors in Duncan and saw a Bald Eagle up close and in flight up close then a Barn Owl up close and in flight up close. Very exciting for us Aussies.

@h20skibum 🙋‍♀️HP fan here. Love the floating letters. Your grand daughter’s face in the video. Thanks for sharing her fab party. @bobmacliberty Micheline’s Halloween decoration - wow. @Lionesss Congratulations to your son in his new position.

Here are the other two I took photos of.

Good evening. After 4 lovely days in Victoria BC, we hit the road. First stop, The Malahat Skywalk. Horrendously overpriced but we are glad we did it. DS was the only one of us to do the quick return via the slide. I also liked the driftwood sculptures that were displayed as you walked along the elevated timber walkway to reach the skywalk structure.

I don’t knit but I admire your creative skills and that sounds like a perfect weekend

Mid-April in Butchart Gardens - lovely to visit on a quiet Friday morning. We self drove.

Had a lovely time in Victoria BC. Last morning spent at Butchart Gardens. Photos courtesy of DS.

We did a whale watch cruise yesterday. Base price + wildlife surcharge @$5 each (can’t begrudge this donation) fuel fee @$10 each pp + online t-shirt special @ $7.50 each (obviously t-shirt purchase entirely optional & they nicely designed quality t-shirts) then signs everywhere on board re tips appreciated and actively sought before we disembarked. So final price spent was quite different to original price. Then we have your various hotel taxes add-ons and tips needed to be paid everywhere (fully aware of low wages) so yes we pay appropriate tips. Not that I am on a budget but the price you expect to pay in Canada & the US is entirely different to what you end up paying. So different from Australia. Do like the flat fee for taxi fare from Vancouver Airport to your hotel, depending on your location. This is very clear and certainly prevents scams. $44 CDN for my taxi fare from airport to our suite hotel right next to Stanley Park.

Cycling into the Rockies would be fab. Gary has certainly done some great cycling rides.

Good evening. Another beautiful day in Victoria. Nice views for the guests on Explora We did an early morning walk to and across the Johnson Bridge then around the Harbour edge. Us Aussies were delighted to watch the otters swimming in the water. Absolutely blessed with this weather. Had a nice lunch on the patio overlooking the harbour at Spinnakers Brewpub. Then hopped on one of the cute little harbour ferries back to The Empress Hotel. Flowers outside the hotel look pretty in the sunshine. We have Neil the (Elephant) Seal getting up to lots of mischief in a Tasmanian town. Victoria BC has Emerson the (Elephant) Seal deciding that being moved by the authorities 150km from Victoria to near Ucluelet was not appealing so he swam 30km per day for 4 days, back to his favourite beach in Victoria and we unexpectedly met him snoozing peacefully in the sun on the beach today, letting out a few snorts much to the amusement of the kids watching from above. We also visited the Bug Zoo which is around the corner from our Condo. We all found it fascinating due to the passionate staff. I’ll spare you the photos of the Tarantulas which were my favourite. Dinner was at the Sticky Wicket Pub. Post dinner we strolled down to see the Parliament Buildings lit up - which is probably the only thing cruisers see on their very short time in Victoria on many itineraries.

+ 1 & prom photos & Harry Potter Party photos - if either of you wish to share afterwards.