Vancouver to Clearwater – 3 October 2023

 

The Fraser River just before it enters the Canyon

The rain had stopped which made our walk to collect our car a pleasant stroll.  A good way to start the road trip.  The check-in was easy and hassle free and before we knew it, we were in our Mitsubishi Eclipse heading back to our hotel to collect our bags.  I am always a little nervous when transitioning from driving on the left-hand side of the road especially on roads I don’t know.  The Canadian drivers were very tolerant of my initial slowness in figuring out where I was going.  Finding a place to park near our hotel was a bit of a challenge but eventually I found somewhere and we got our bags in the car, hooked up the phone to Apple Carplay  and told the Maps app where we were going.  No built in GPS in the car which surprised me. 

 

Our route took us on the Trans Canada Highway to a little place called Hope where we stopped for a bite to eat.  It seemed to be a rather poor place but I guess the locals had hope for a better time.  Our route took us on the Trans Canada Highway through the Fraser Canyon.  Most traffic takes an alternative route which is a four lane motorway.  It was quite spectacular.  Especially seeing the railway lines that cling to the sides of the canyon on both sides of the river.  We don’t quite have a comparison in New Zealand although perhaps the Kawarau Gorge is closest but nowhere near the length of this canyon. 

 

We reached the confluence of the Fraser and Thompson rivers and the road followed the
Thompson river to Kamloops where we filled up the car with petrol.  Petrol in Canada is much cheaper than in New Zealand with a litre costing around $NZ2 however the octane rating is only 87 for the cheapest fuel and 91 for the more expensive fuel. 

 

We continued to follow the Thompson river to Clearwater.  It was getting quite late and the light began fading as the rain came down.  A combination of an incredibly smeary windscreen and the lights made it really difficult to see the markings on the road particularly with the glare from the lights of the on coming traffic.  It wasn’t just me as Bev was also having the same difficulty.  The window washers were useless as they just had water in them.  Some Bars Bugs or equivalent would have been so good.  Nonetheless we made it safely to our accommodation in Clearwater.   

 

We got a suggestion for a place to eat and headed up the road to find it.  But with the darkness and rain we had difficulty discerning where it was until finally with the help of the GPS we figured it out.  The meal turned out to be good value. 

 


Looking up Fraser Canyon - it is quite green

Railway line clinging to the sides of the canyon

It is quite arid at the eastern end of the canyon

Enjoying a rest from my driving


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