The road from Kelowna to Banff was breathtaking. I can’t even begin to tell you how beautiful this country is. We have passed hundreds of waterfalls and rapids along the side of the road. I look at the abundant water here and think of our home Melbourne which is experiencing water restrictions due to a long-term drought.  What a contrast between the two places!

The photos I show you will give just a small insight to the beauty we are witnessing. Even the views from our hotel rooms have been amazing.

Last night we watched the rain sweep across the mountains nearby from our room and then it cleared and a rainbow appeared.  We had dinner at a German restaurant which was amazing in itself.  As we stepped out from our hotel and gazed at the scenery around us, we could have been in Germany or anywhere in Europe really – the architecture and scenery certainly made it seem that way.

This morning we did a very steep 2.4km hike up Tunnel Mountain and back – one of the smaller mountains here and saw some wildlife and heard stories about the area from our tour guide and learned about the native flora as well.  Graham had to help me up and down some of the slopes as I don’t feel as surefooted as he does and didn’t want to slip on the slopes.  I need to get more exercise too – I got easily out of breath. Although the guide did say that it’s not always due to lack of exercise but because of the height and the thinning of the air some managed much better than others.  I was relieved to find that I wasn’t the only person who felt that way – short of breath.

This afternoon Graham took out a hire mountain bike to ride around the mountains here at Banff and I joined our tour group to ride the gondola to the top of one of the mountains to take in the views and more wildlife.

We are beginning to see some of the wildlife too. So far, in order as we’ve seen them: Moose, Black Bear, Least Chipmunk, Golden Malted Squirrel, Elk.  Also some birds, one of which I know is a Gray Jay but think another is a Firecracker Jack. And then another with a bronze head I still need to identify.

These photos are hosted at Facebook so you’lll need to leave comments here is you don’t have access at Facebook – I hope you enjoy viewing them.  Just click on the photo below to see many more.