Uluru and the Whitsundays

We are of course home from our 2 months in Australia safe and sound and slightly more tanned, but before I do any broad recap of the adventure I figure I’ll carry on from where I left off and mention the last couple weeks of the trip.

Immediately after our Great Barrier Reef, as in 6am the next morning, we were on a plane from Cairns to Uluru. Or is it Ayers Rock? The airport is called Ayers Rock, but the National Park is Uluru, and the inconsistencies go on as such. It’s a funny thing that in this enormous country of stolen/conquered aboriginal land a rock in the absolute middle of the desert is where they’re making their effort, I don’t think there’s a big push to change Sydney’s name. This half assed initiative is prevalent at Uluru, I mean they ‘ask’ you not to climb it, but there’s a handrail and a sign pointing you to the top.

Uluru is such an Australian icon that I really wanted to include it on our trip, but when we boarded the plane with entirely bucket listing retirees it became clear that few others in their 20’s justified the costs. After flying over thousands of kilometers of barren outback two things dawned on me. First, that I couldn't be happier that we weren’t driving, and second, that we were landing in a storm centralized precisely over the rock. We landed under the clouds and felt cold for the very first time on the trip, not what I was expecting from the desert. We drove out to Kata Tjuta, which is another group of large rock formations nearby, and did a couple short hikes until the rain started.

They say less than 1% of visitors to Uluru see it in the rain and if you do you should feel quite lucky. I can tell you that as we sat in the car at the sunset viewpoint for Uluru and watched a grey rock get greyer that’s not what I was feeling. We went back to the resort, which is the only accommodation available, and consists of varied levels of luxury from camping (us) to five star. All owned and operated by the same company. It’s a strange and forced desert oasis, and pretty boring. I woke up around 4am the next morning to a sky full of stars and proceeded to drag Gen back to Uluru to take some photos of the stars and then sunrise. We rented a car so we wouldn’t be tied to the tour buses and that was easily the best decision we made about Uluru, a necessary luxury. I got a few photos I liked, but I have a lot to learn about night photography, though not as much as most. The tour buses arrived shortly before sunrise and with them dozens of people using their flashes to try to illuminate a rock that’s a kilometer away, ensuring that their photos were utter shite as well as mine.

While I don’t think we were lucky to have rain the first day, I consider myself lucky we got sun on the second. Watching sunrise over Uluru was pretty spectacular, and the rest of the day was spent wandering around the base of the rock. There were several caves and watering holes and I managed to overhear a few aboriginal tidbits from other people’s tours about hidden meanings and cave drawings and hunting techniques. The texture of the rock as well as the sheer size were really interesting to see up close. Despite missing out on the colours of sunset, I think Uluru was worth it. It was far from a highlight of the trip, but it was something I found interesting the see up close, as well as the outback landscape in general. I think I’d have regret not going, but I would never try to convince someone who was on the fence. It’s a long way to go for a rock.

When we were driving up the coast our plan was to spend several days in Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands but we were caught in the middle of the exceedingly busy Easter to Anzac Day holiday week and nearly every excursion was booked solid. We were lucky enough that we needed to pass back through the area on our way down from Cairns to Brisbane in another couple weeks, but it did put a bit of a time crunch into the last leg of the trip and made for a couple long stretches of driving to get where we needed to be. After landing in Cairns we drove a couple hours and spent the night near Mission Beach, which was to be one last chance to see the elusive cassowary. Cassowaries are a very rare and bizarre bird, about 5 feet tall, flightless, with a blue horn on their head and a red scrotum dangling from their necks. They have a couple very sharp talons and a tendency to be aggressive and possibly torso slashy, they are actually the world’s most dangerous bird. While I knew next to nothing about them previously, I can imagine given their looks and elusiveness they’re at the top of a lot of birders lists. There were signs all throughout the Daintree Rainforest near Cape Tribulation warning of recent crossings and to drive slowly. Getting hit by cars is understandably a problem for big dumb birds. We weren’t lucky enough to see one up there so I thought we’d have another go at Mission Beach before we were out of their range for good.

 We stopped at a rainforest park that had several bush walks to try our luck. About 100m in we came across a slightly terrifying spider about the size of my hand and sitting at exactly face height across the path. That was enough for Gen and she headed back to the safety of the van, I ducked under this Australian freak and pushed a little further. After the third one I decided my luck was gonna run out and I’d have one on my face, presumably they were full of venom too. So despite all the signs and stories we were unable to spot a Cassowary. I think people spend entire trips camped out waiting, and I highly question just how ‘recent’ those crossing signs really were. At least we saw one at a nature reserve, I actually got to feed it some grapes. They really are the strangest things.

We spent two nights in Airlie Beach on the way up, and did the only day trip we could get on in such short notice. It was a diving/snorkeling trip that went to a spectacular reef but not Whitehaven Beach so it was a less popular trip. We also booked a sailing trip for on our way down to include the main stops so this was a perfect way to get on (and in) the water in the meantime time. The diving was incredible and a taste of what we were to enjoy quite a bit of around the Whitsundays and our Port Douglas trip to the reef.

Our sailing trip was relatively easy to choose despite the many options, once you decide you don’t want a cheap and raucous party boat or a super exclusive luxury yacht there’s actually not a ton to choose from. We got a 2 night trip on a boat that sleeps 12, but actually only had 2 other couples and 2 crew, which was really lucky. Of 8 people on the boat 4 were from France, I guess to serve as some reminder that we were soon leaving the comforts of Australia for our very foreign home. The funniest part is they were relieved we were not French Canadians, poor Quebecois really are on their own in the world.

The skipper was a funny guy, middle aged stereotypical Aussie, sort of care free beach bum type but also quite opinionated. They’re an interesting bunch. We got along with everyone which was nice, the price point helped bring together like minded people. It was great to chat over drinks under the stars on the deck of the boat and then be up early to sail to the next spot in the beautiful Whitsundays.

We snorkeled at a bunch of different spots over the 3 days, though my camera crapped out once it got especially memorable. We spent about an hour just following a couple turtles around one spot, which is such an amazing experience. Afterwards our skipper told us about how a 4 metre tiger shark had bitten a turtle in half there while a group was snorkeling nearby about a month ago. But those sharks never mistake people for turtles, only the ones that eat seals down south do that, so no worries. The next spot was full of huge tuna like fish about 4 feet long darting all around, as well as 2 foot round bat fish and the really colourful and giant maori wrasse, which are also about 4 feet long and have fat tattooed faces. Our skipper brought them all to a frenzy at the boat with bread and chicken scraps and then told us to jump in. I was the first one in and it was intense, these fish had no issues bumping into me and he just kept throwing food nearby. It was actually really cool. After a couple minutes everyone else joined in. Here's a google image of a wrasse.

We also spent a morning at the very famous Whitehaven Beach. There’s a reason it’s so well known, it’s ridiculously beautiful with the purest white sand and clear water. Adequately describing a beach that nice is beyond my abilities so you’ll just have to trust me. We also saw a dugong in the bay next to the beach, which was something I didn't expect we’d be so lucky to see. Another one of the skipper’s tricks to entertain us was hand feeding the eagles from the nearby trees. He’d call to the birds who would come dive bomb us and then catch a chicken scrap out of the air. They were huge and it was awesome to see them so close.

Other than that it was a lot of cruising between the islands in the perfectly calm and blue water enjoying gorgeous sunsets and sunrises. We were so lucky to have a half full boat and beautiful weather. The food was also some of the best we had on the whole trip. The sail back was actually quite windy, adding some excitement. Apparently we were only 1 knot shy of gale force winds, so that’s something. Surprisingly we each got to have a go at the helm in those conditions which was good fun.

After the Whitsundays we headed straight back to Brisbane for the last few days to stay with Maddie and Josh again and see the city properly. We went for dinner and drinks on the river one night, the area was really nice with lots of bustling restaurants, and there’s really no bad waterfront in Australia. We also got to briefly meet up with a college friend of ours, Corby, who moved down here for a guy and to have herself a little Australian baby. It’s quite amazing to see where people’s lives have taken them over the years. We’re getting so old.

Unfortunately since we were at the end of our trip I don’t think we were the best company, our energy levels were winding down. Maddie was really sweet and planned a lovely day for us wandering the shops downtown and riding the free ferry along the river through downtown, which was really great, but by around 2pm we had barged our way back to her couch to watch movies for the duration of our final day in Australia. I think if we had another month or 2 we’d have been fine, but since we knew it was the end I think we just needed to wind down before the epic travel ahead.

Reef and Rainforest

As soon as we drove off the small cable ferry that crosses the Daintree River it was like we were in another world. The Daintree Rainforest covers a large section of the Tropical North Queensland coastline and at over 100 million years old it pretty accurately feels like being in a prehistoric jungle. The ferns and leaves are enormous, there are vines everywhere, some of them as thick as my leg and strangling the trees. 

The drive to Cape Tribulation felt like some kind of Amazon trek rather than part of a caravan tour of a commonwealth country. While I've enjoyed every part of our trip, from the big cities to the little beach towns, this was the first time it felt like an adventure. We camped right beside the beach in the thick jungle, surrounded by giant bats and brush turkeys. The palm trees and mangroves sprawl out of the rainforest and onto the beach in a perfect tropical setting. I'd really wanted to try cracking a wild coconut and there just happened to be a husking post at our site, only took two tries! Since neither of us have been to Southeast Asia this was an incredible new experience that we didn't really expect from Australia. 

I sought a lot of advice for this trip, from friends and my own online research, but nowhere explicitly said crossing the Daintree River to Cape Tribulation was a must see. There are rainforest attractions closer to Cairns, but I think we'd have really robbed ourselves if that's all we'd seen. Being in a rental campervan we are pretty limited to how deep we can explore (dirt roads are uninsured), so the best camping has alluded us. Cape Tribulation marked the end of the asphalt headed north so it just made sense to explore that far, and I'm so glad we did. 

A downside of North Queensland is that all the beautiful beaches basically become off limits past the Whitsunday Islands due to jellyfish and crocodiles. It's a big tease. There are croc signs at most beach accesses and estuarine rivers and creeks, as well as stinger signs, communal vinegar and netted swimming enclosures at most beaches. While we didn't see any on our own walks, we did take a couple cruises on different parts of the Daintree River in search of crocodiles.  Despite high water levels from the cyclone last week we were lucky enough to spot quite a few, from a massive 15 foot male to some 3 foot babies and everything in between. It's a surreal experience to get so close to them in the wild, few things in Australia feel so far from home. 

Cairns had a reputation for being a tourist trap city that parties too hard, couple that with on the spot fines of $220 for overnight camper parking and we didn't have a reason to spend much time there. We decided to stay in Port Douglas for a few days, which is a smaller town full of resorts and boat trips to the Great Barrier Reef. The guy who rented the van to us in Adelaide told us about a good seafood restaurant on the water and we had planned to treat ourselves when we got there. After the daily show of feeding 500 pound groper fish off the deck we settled in for some locally caught seafood. The barramundi was delicious, no wonder everyone is always fishing for it here. 

We happened to be in Port Douglas on Anzac Day which was interesting to see. There was a small parade and service at the war memorial followed by an all day piss up at the local bars. Hard to imagine partying hard on Remembrance Day, but I guess that's how it's done here. That's probably what the boys were fighting for in the first place. Tradition for Anzac Day is to play an old war time gambling game called Two Up, which is basically glorified heads or tails. Everybody gathered at the biggest pub in town and started throwing big dollars around and flipping coins. We left for about 5 hours and came back to the same people gambling away, drunker and rowdier. It was actually a really good time. We left up $5.

My goal for the Great Barrier Reef was to do a 3 day multi dive trip on a boat that takes you to the further and less visited areas of the reef but time and money were against us on that dream. Next time. Luckily the consolation prize turned out the be one of the best days I've ever had. We took a day trip from Port Douglas that spent about 5 hours on 3 different sites on the outer reef, each one was absolutely incredible. It's hard to describe just how amazing it was to be surrounded by so much colour, the fish and the corals. My camera has been water damaged a few times and so close to broken I almost left it at home. I'm glad I didn't because while most of the photos didn't work the ones I got of the clown fish in the anemones do a good job of summing up the experience.

Fraser Island

After Byron Bay we headed straight to Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast to spend a night with a relocated Canadian friend, James, who worked with Gen at CityTV Vancouver. Surfers is a highly developed and commercialized area with huge skyscrapers and restaurants and night clubs on the beach. I'd heard the term 'Beach Vegas' and it's fitting. On the surface it looks like the opposite of Byron and I'm sure all the hippies and pseudo hippies probably sit around in drum circles talking about how horrible Surfers is but the reality is they are both selling the exact same thing. I can appreciate that Byron has a more laid back charm, but at this stage that charm is entirely manufactured and I actually appreciate that Surfers is a no bullshit vacation town on the beach with restaurants, condos and clubs. 

James has been here three years and still said he feels like he's on vacation, and I can see why. Waking up to a view overlooking that beach every day is definitely appealing.

After Surfers Paradise we headed to Brisbane to meet up with Maddie and Josh for a long anticipated trip to Fraser Island. Maddie is my friend Catherine's older sister, who I didn't really know in Qualicum but we all properly met when we went to Greece a couple summers ago. They also lived in London at the same time and we met up there as well. Their travels have led them to Brisbane now and they were keen to join us on an adventure. 

Fraser Island was one of the first trips I read about and the more I researched the more appealing it got. Essentially it is an island made entirely of sand (the world's largest) that has very little development, no main roads and is only accessible by 4x4. The entire eastern beach is an 80km highway governed by the tides. 

We rented a Land Cruiser for the trip which was of course a phenomenal vehicle for driving up and down the beach and on rough narrow roads through the middle of the island. Right from the start you drive through deep soft sand onto an unmoored barge beached on the sand and moving with the waves. Then Gen spotted a couple dolphins cruising alongside just feet from the boat. It was a fitting start. 

We spent both nights camping just off the beach along the many kilometres of open camping areas. Despite being a popular tourist destination both spots were quiet and private. The stars were incredible. 

Apart from the experience of driving and camping the island there are also a few must see attractions we checked out. The first was the crystal clear waters and white sand of Lake Mackenzie, easily the nicest beach I've ever seen on a lake. We also checked out Eli Creek, which is a perfect creek through the jungle with a soft sand bottom and clear water that you float along. It's so perfect it looks like a theme park ride. We also hiked down to the massive sand dunes of Lake Wabby, and spotted a minke whale off the lookout of Indian Head. Due to sharks and rips the only safe ocean swimming is the protected Champagne Pools, a decent but crowded little tidal area. There's also the Maheno shipwreck which was cool to see up close. 

The dingos of Fraser Island are quite famous, and the multiple warning signs and camp closures really hammer home that they are to be taken seriously. We spotted a few on the beach each day and both nights we had them patrolling our camps and checking us out. They aren't particularly scary but they have attacked children and you wouldn't want to face a pack of them. 

There is certainly a lot of places in Canada to explore with a 4x4, particularly in BC, but I don't think there is anywhere that comes close to the big boy playground of Fraser. We've been living out of a van for a while now but this was the first real camping I've done in too long and it was just amazing. I absolutely love off roading and this place was some of the most fun I've ever seen. It was really nice to have the freedom and time to see the island at our leisure because some of the tour groups looked like a pain in the ass. It was also great to have good company to share the trip with, Fraser Island was the highlight of the trip so far for me. 

In a van down by the river

We've been in the campervan for a little over 2 weeks now. We started in Adelaide and have driven along the coast up to Byron Bay. It's really been quite pleasant, the van is new, clean, comfortable and reliable. I really like having a home base on wheels, and we've enjoyed some free urban camping in a number of places. The real bonus for me has been the ipod jack, as radio stations here are pretty brutal, the DJ's all have names like Clairsy and Kymba and they sound like douches.

Adelaide was basically just a place to start the drive, nothing much on the list to do, but we did manage to see 2 friends of Genevieve's from high school who had separately ended up living there. It's funny when you reach out to people on the other side of the world that you'd likely never see living in the same town. Everyone likes a little familiarity on the other side of the world, and local insight (as well as rides from the airport and home cooked meals) are always great when travelling. It was great to meet them and hear a bit about moving down here.

From Adelaide we headed for the Great Ocean Road, which is not just a clever name. This 250km stretch of highway runs along beaches, jagged coast, sandstone cliffs and rainforest. It was built by WWI vets after the war and claims to be the world's largest memorial, which is a bit of a stretch. Nevertheless it's a stunning drive and worth the hype. The iconic views were amazing, but the highlight for me was all the wildlife. We camped under koala filled trees, saw so many kangaroos and wallabies, picnicked with emus and saw countless colorful bird species, all in the wild.

Next stop was Geelong to see another couple Aussies we met in London, Isabella and Gianni. They had recently had their first child and it was so nice to see them and their new son. Amazing how much their lives have changed since their going away party with some drunken karaoke and bowling on Euston Rd. Life moves so quickly. It was really great to see how well they're doing and have a few nights catching up, and sleeping in a bed.

Melbourne was somewhere we both would have loved to spend more time, but the nature of this trip gave us only a few days. An English girl we met in London, Katy, happens to now be living in Melbourne and offered us a sweet parking space in the city and bathroom access, a real perk. It was cool to have her show us around to some markets. We also met up with Emma, who is my good friend Cole's little sister and also happens to be living in Melbourne. I didn't know Emma that well when we were younger but I'm really glad I reached out to her because she was so nice to hang out with and really went out of her way to show us around the city. It was the very large Melbourne Comedy Fest while we were there, and she and her boyfriend joined us for a show. We were lucky not to have to arbitrarily pick from the list of hundreds as there was a comedian performing that happened to be a regular at Gen's coffee shop in London. She was quite surprised to see Gen and it was really cool to see her show, which luckily was quite funny so we didn't have to lie to her face.

I'd really wanted to catch and Aussie rules football game, and since half the AFL teams are around Melbourne we were told that was the place to do it. There was a good match at the huge cricket stadium while we were there and it was really cool to see. I can get into any sport that so many other people are that passionate about, especially when it doesn't have the nancy diving and whining of European football. I'd definitely be an AFL fan if I lived here. We met for a beer with a guy I worked with in London and he explained a bit about the sport to us, it's amazing to me a city like Melbourne can support so many teams, and there were over 60,000 at the game we went to.

We both really liked Melbourne, I could definitely spend more time there. There were so many vibrant areas and outdoor cafes and restaurants, alleys packed with people eating and drinking, huge parks and a really nice waterfront. I can see why people either like Sydney or Melbourne because they're very different cities.

We kind of rushed from Melbourne to Byron Bay in about 6 days, but we did take the scenic route and stopped at a few great places for beaches and snorkeling like Jervis Bay, Nelson Bay and Coff's Harbour. We spent a couple days in Sydney so Gen could see the city, and have dinner with a girl she worked with in London. We also did the very beautiful Coogee to Bondi walk which is 5km of paths along the beaches and cliffs of the city's coastline. I could really get used to that lifestyle, so many sandy beaches and surf spots and swimming holes.

Now we're in Byron Bay, which is an incredibly strange place. It's a very small town with a huge international reputation for being a good time. It does have some very stunning beaches and tons of great bars and restaurants so I can definitely see why it's gained so much popularity. It's a bit of a victim of its own success though since the massive crowds and traffic kinda of go against the laid back vibe. The first thing we came across was a benefit concert for the areas homeless, which is ridiculous because everybody in Byron Bay is homeless, those guys are just staying longer. Once we passed the requisite hula hoopers and bead sellers I knew I was out of place. I'd love to tell somebody I made the money to be here mining uranium to be sold to China. Namaste Byron Bay.

Parallel Universe

When we lived in London we both worked with a lot of Aussies, one of our favourites was Hannah, from Perth, who Genevieve worked with in Putney. Perth is pretty far out of the way and given the length of our trip we probably would've skipped it had Hannah not moved back as well. Luckily we didn't because I had an amazing time.

I landed about 5 hours before Gen so after writing the last blog I saw that the Swan River that runs through Perth was only a couple km's away so I figured I'd carry all my belongings down there in 35 degrees. While I was sitting at the edge with my feet in the water I noticed a dorsal fin about 30 feet away. Being that I've never seen a dolphin or a shark, and I was about 40km up river, I was pretty startled. Luckily it was a beautiful bottle nosed dolphin that ended up coming within about 10 feet of me. I've always wanted to see a dolphin and that was completely unexpected. 

Gen was sick for a while before getting here and the flights only made it worse so she's had a rough go to start this trip.

She did manage to tough it out for a trip to Rottnest Island, about 20km off the coast. The weather was perfect and we cycled around the island to a few incredible beaches for some snorkelling. It was so good to get back in the water and look at the fishes, I can't wait to do more. The other highlight of Rottnest is the Quokkas, small marsupials with funny little faces that are all over the island. We also saw a pod of Dolphins at the mouth of the river from the ferry back. 

Hannah was an amazing host, her parents welcomed us into their home and it was so nice to meet them and hear their stories. She took us to the port town of Fremantle where we wandered the beaches and city before meeting up with her siblings and friends for a night out. We went to a quiz night hosted by a cross dressing friend of theirs that was a hilarious good time that you could only find yourself at with locals. Nights like those with friends in new places are the fucking best. 

Gen and I spent the better part of a day in Kings Park overlooking the city. There are so many common birds there that are so exotic to me and I just love it. All of Perth was like that. Hannah and Toby met us there with beers for sunset which is always a treat. 

One thing that really stood out about Perth was how much it reminded me of Canada. The mining industry is most prominent in West Australia and by listening to Hannah and Toby describe their city and people they knew, as well  as seeing the expensive utes (SUVs) and the sprawling suburbia I couldn't help but see similarities. Australia makes me think of Canada in a parallel universe where everything is completely different and exactly the same all at once. 

On our last night Hannah invited us down south to Yallingup Beach near Margaret River on a camping trip with a bunch of her friends. It was really cool to see a little more of WA. The bit we saw really made me wish we had time to do more. The beaches and reef and tropical northern parts of the state will have to wait for the next trip. 

It was so great to see Hannah and Toby, and meet her friends and family. I liked Perth and the area around it more than I expected and hope to get back for sure. 

A land down under

As anyone reading this already knew, we are in the middle of a long awaited jaunt around Australia. I'm just sitting in the Perth airport waiting for Gen's plane to land after her version of the epic 2 day journey to get here. My pilot informed us that the 16 hour Dallas to Brisbane flight I had is the longest commercial flight, so there's one for the bucket list. 

I've just spent 8 days exploring Sydney since I had a little more time off than she could get from work and I really wanted a chance to get to know the city a bit better.

I've wanted to visit Australia for a very long time, when we were feeling a little bored in Vancouver the choices for a working holiday were either London or here. I kinda felt like Australia wouldn't offer enough of a change since it's basically a warmer Canada. I think we made the right choice going to London, but since getting the snub back then Australia hasn't really left my mind. The unexpected move to Montreal nearly threw a wrench in the plans, and though it's not exactly the lengthy meandering adventure I'd envisioned I am really glad that we were able to get here in some capacity. 

As I often do, I planned and researched the absolute hell out of this trip. In reading about Captain Cook and idolizing the crazy adventurous spirit the explorers and early settlers had I couldn't help but laugh at the irony, considering all the google maps and street views and trip advisor reviews I've used to make the trip more seamless. I couldn't be further from an explorer.

I stayed at a dirty old hostel in the somewhat offensive area of Kings Cross. I think it's safe to say that my backpacker hostelling days are very nearly over so I guess it was a last hurrah of sorts. Luckily I don't look my age so I think I was able to pull it off. I did meet a few good people, almost all of them Brits, but my days were entirely solo missions to various beaches and skate parks and spots. Manly and Bondi were both beautiful beaches, and if those are the city beaches I can't wait to see what a little exploring find us. 

Hyde Park had a little plaza area that a bunch of skateboarders take over in the evening so I found myself there most nights. I couldn't believe how friendly the guys I met there were, typically I find skateboarders can be pretty cliquey in Canada but that wasn't the case at all in Sydney.

I knew Sydney was a beautiful city from all the photos I've seen, but it never really occurred to me how big it is. At over 4 million people it's a huge city with a massive downtown skyline and tons of diverse neighbourhoods to explore. It's funny but shouldn't be surprising how much parts of it remind me of London. The English really made themselves at home here. 

While I was taking some photos of the harbour bridge one night I heard some rustling in the bushes that I assumed was a little rat or something, then shortly afterwards a possum about the size of a small dog ran and jumped right over my legs as it scampered along the rocks. This was while the evening congregation of thousands of giant fruit bats was taking place in the trees above me. Add the fact that every bird is a new species to me, and I haven't even seen the animals I had hoped to yet, I think I am really going to enjoy the wildlife encounters here. 

I'm really looking forward to sharing the rest of the trip with Genevieve, and seeing some friends from London here in Perth.

Montreal so far

So we've been living in Montreal for about 6 months now, although, actually it still feels more like I've been regularly vacationing there with the amount of time I've spent working in Saskatchewan. Genevieve could probably give a better idea of what daily life is like in Montreal. What I can do is share a bit of how I've found the city, and province, so far.

I spent a week in Montreal when I was 20, so before this move, like London, I had some idea what to expect while Genevieve was going into it completely blind. At least when you tell people that you are moving to Montreal everyone has something great to say about the city, or at least they've heard good things and want to visit. That was a nice change from the sympathetic looks you get telling people you are moving to Alberta.

Montreal is a very beautiful city, the European influence is more obvious than anywhere else I've been outside Europe, and it does make it an exciting place to be even when you’re just running errands. The Old Port is the most obvious example but the entire city really reflects this style. I really love how much of the city streets are lined with 2 and 3 story rowhouses with the wrought iron staircases. It’s a stark contrast from the urban sprawl of most other cities in Canada to see so many people actually living IN the city they choose to live in. The endless miles of cookie cutter homes and 2 hour commutes does not do it for me, and living in the Plateau in Montreal is the perfect alternative to that.

I read a stat that said a person could eat at a different restaurant every day for 13 years in Montreal, and I believe it. The population density means that in every neighbourhood there are countless options for dining, shopping and entertainment. There are so many bars and restaurants within a 5 minute walk from our door that we won’t even scratch the surface. The city parks are lively, ice skating and tobogganing in the winter and picnicking with beer and wine in the summer, especially the Sunday phenomenon of Tam-Tams with thousands of people gathering at Mont Royal park for drum circles, larping, circus training and general lounging in the sun. It’s so pedestrian friendly that weather permitting you can walk or ride a bike to pretty well anything you need to do, I think I drove or took the metro maybe 5 times before the snow came. When Chris and Phil came to visit in September we rode the bike share Bixi’s all over the city, to skate spots and bars, without ever riding more than maybe 15 minutes.

Unlike the “Festival City” we moved from, Montreal actually has a ridiculous amount of events going on year round. Every time I walked around a corner this summer a street would be blocked off for another event I hadn't heard of. We only got here in August last year so I’m really looking forward to seeing what else the city has to offer this summer. Montreal considers itself to be mentioned in the same breath as London, Paris and New York, and while I wouldn't agree with that if it means they keep trying so hard to be relevant and exciting that’s fine by me.

One of the main reasons I was excited to come here was to have a home base on the other side of the country. It’s pretty cool to have so many new options for road trips, which we've already taken advantage of with a couple trips to New York. I've wanted to visit NYC for a very long time but I never expected I’d first see Manhattan by driving straight into it. I absolutely loved both my trips there and can’t wait to go back. I can see why people would draw comparisons between New York and Montreal, they’re both very exciting and vibrant cities with endless options for entertainment thanks to their population density. One of my parallel lives could definitely be living in New York.

We've also gotten to ice skate the Rideau Canal in Ottawa and explore the old walled city in Quebec. There are a number of new cities to see near us, as well as friends in Toronto, and family in the Maritimes. I also bought a Backroad Mapbook for Southern Quebec that looks like there will be a lot of options to get out and explore some lakes and ‘mountains’ north of the city.

Now I couldn't write this blog without venting some frustrations about Quebec, but I’ll try to keep it brief. I moved here with an opinion of this province and that hasn't changed. I don’t agree with a province that has little to offer the country, aside from Olympic athletes, making so many threats and demands, especially the spoiled brat mentality that it wants to move out from its parents’ house and keep the credit card. I don’t agree with a government exploiting its own racism and oppressing minorities to push for separation because they feel their culture is oppressed. I don’t understand why the road signs at Tofino’s national park, over 5000km from any New France claim or French speaking Canadian, are in French but when I’m 1km from Ontario’s border important road signs pertaining to construction or lane closures are not in English.

As a white male growing up in BC I have been fortunate enough to never really experience prejudice, it’s been a very strange and eye opening experience to live where there is the chance that somebody is going to be a total asshole to you for no reason. Of course this is not the norm, but it’s happened on enough occasions that it isn't exactly rare either. I actually kind of appreciate getting a small idea of what it feels like to have someone’s pre judgment affect how they treat you, but at the same time it would be nice to deal with people that didn't treat you like shit for being Anglophone. It’s true that you can get by in Montreal without French, but there is a huge difference between the fluent English you get from a McDonalds employee and the broken English and snarky attitude you get from a government employee when you’re trying to sort out your vehicle registration.
I do appreciate how hard it must be to preserve their language in an English speaking continent. Quebec wouldn't be as foreign and exciting if it wasn't for the language. I think the important thing for me is to stop expecting this place to feel like Canada, it may have the same money but the similarities dwindle after that, a trip to the US feels like going home.
They’re also fighting a losing battle so it would just be petty to make a big deal about it, I give it another hundred years, tops.

Growing up in BC I always ranked the provinces by their natural beauty, but after living in 4 of them now I am starting to appreciate that there is more to a province than scenery. I know I've talked a lot of shit about my time in Edmonton, but there is something to be said about a province that has lots of well paying jobs and opportunity for a good quality of life, and the fact that income tax and sales tax are so much lower is not something to be ignored. I still have no desire to settle in Alberta or Saskatchewan, but I can at least see now why people do. The people in Edmonton and Saskatoon are also the most genuine I've come across. Vancouver is full of yoga hipsters, Montreal is full of artiste hipsters and Calgary is full of cowboy hipsters. People seem a lot more concerned with image in those cities, but there is no bullshit in the cities that aren't as cool. People are just themselves, for better or worse, they aren't trying to impress you. I still like BC best, it will always be home, but I am really enjoying gaining a little more perspective.

It’s no secret that I wasn't ready to leave London and moving to Edmonton was kind of a shock to the system, I was still feeling a lot of wanderlust. Montreal is the furthest you can get from home in Canada and for now that’s still what I’m after. I might rant occasionally about Quebec but in reality it’s none of my business, I don’t even work here. Montreal itself is a fantastic city, in my opinion the best city in Canada, and this is the perfect time in our lives to be here.

-Justin