p.s: All the pictures in this post are of low quality due to my phone problem T_T
Earlier this summer this year, I had a chance to join a tour by Discover Banff Tours called Discover Grizzly Bear Tour. I was excited about this tour as Discover Banff Tours promotes a guaranteed grizzly bear viewing. Little did I know that the grizzly bear is a refuge bear instead of a wild bear. More on that later.
Earlier this summer this year, I had a chance to join a tour by Discover Banff Tours called Discover Grizzly Bear Tour. I was excited about this tour as Discover Banff Tours promotes a guaranteed grizzly bear viewing. Little did I know that the grizzly bear is a refuge bear instead of a wild bear. More on that later.
Places included in this tour are Takakkaw Falls, Emerald Lake, and Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. Unfortunately, the road to Takakkaw Falls was still closed when I went for the tour. So, we skipped Takakkaw Falls and went to Emerald Lake straight.
Tip: Bow Valley Parkway and roads to Takakkaw Falls, Moraine Lake and Peyto Lake are usually open around mid/late June and close around early October depending on the amount of snow that we receive in the winter. So, plan accordingly if you want to see these places.
As you may or may not remember, it was very cloudy when I went to Emerald Lake for the first time, so I didn't get to see the pretty Emerald Lake like the ones posted on the internet. Honestly, it was cloudy everywhere we went on that day. Oh well, it was the end of May. That's the kind of weather that you'll get here in the mountains.
Tip: If you really want to come to the national parks or provincial parks located in western Canada for sightseeing, the best season would be the summer season - mid/late June to the end of August. However, do note that these months are the most expensive as well.
It was such a short stop at the Emerald Lake. Think we were given around 20 minutes? There were not as many people as I expected but there was a group of Chinese tourists when we were there. Also, a couple was doing their wedding photoshoot. Absolutely gorgeous! We then stopped for about 10 minutes at the Natural Bridge when we were on our way to the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort.
As I mentioned in this post, I didn't get to appreciate the beauty of Natural Bridge on my first visit. That is due to the short time given by our guide on top of the cloudy weather and muddy water. You'll understand if you see the picture above.
After the short stop, we headed straight to the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort for our lunch and grizzly bear refuge tour. Technically, it was my second time here. My first time here was when I went on the snowmobile tour last year. It was good to be back :)
We had our lunch at the Eagle's Eye Restaurant which is the highest restaurant in Canada. #cooltakcool Well, I skipped my lunch because it was Ramadan so I could only imagine that the lunch provided was delicious based on the plating and appearance. Anyway, we had to ride the Golden Eagle Express Gondola first to reach the Eagle's Eye Restaurant. It was quite a long gondola ride but not as long as Sunshine ones. The view along the way and at the top? Magnificent!
After lunch, we headed down to the base and took a chairlift ride for our Grizzly Bear Refuge Tour. This was my first time riding an open chairlift ride, so I was really nervous. There were 2 other girls with me but it was their first time as well. We requested the lift attendants to stop the chair masa nak duduk. Kemain panjang doanya masa naik chairlift tu. Haha.
Actually, we almost didn't make it to our Grizzly Bear Refuge Tour due to miscommunication between our guide and the bear's caretaker. Thankfully, she allowed us to join the tour for a bit. Otherwise, memang rasa macam tak worth it la the tour. Once we reached the sanctuary (okay, tak sure the exact word apa but hopefully you get the gist of it?), we were greeted with the sight of Boo, the grizzly bear.
We then were bombarded with a lot of details about Boo along with other information regarding grizzly bear behaviour. We also learned about the efforts they are putting in to ensure Boo's survival and other bears around the world that happened to have the same fate as Boo. All this happened in about 30-45 minutes?
I found Boo really huge but the guide mentioned he was at his lightest weight when we were there. He weighed around 300 kg when we were there but the guide said he can easily reach 800 - 1000 kg, if I'm not mistaken when he's ready for the hibernation. #coolgilaokay
All in all, I had an enjoyable day during the tour. I learned so much about grizzly bears that I hope other tourists will start educating themselves about bears before coming to national parks. I also managed to visit Emerald Lake for the first time and see magnificent views of the mountains in Yoho National Park and Golden.
Tip: Bow Valley Parkway and roads to Takakkaw Falls, Moraine Lake and Peyto Lake are usually open around mid/late June and close around early October depending on the amount of snow that we receive in the winter. So, plan accordingly if you want to see these places.
As you may or may not remember, it was very cloudy when I went to Emerald Lake for the first time, so I didn't get to see the pretty Emerald Lake like the ones posted on the internet. Honestly, it was cloudy everywhere we went on that day. Oh well, it was the end of May. That's the kind of weather that you'll get here in the mountains.
It was such a short stop at the Emerald Lake. Think we were given around 20 minutes? There were not as many people as I expected but there was a group of Chinese tourists when we were there. Also, a couple was doing their wedding photoshoot. Absolutely gorgeous! We then stopped for about 10 minutes at the Natural Bridge when we were on our way to the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort.
As I mentioned in this post, I didn't get to appreciate the beauty of Natural Bridge on my first visit. That is due to the short time given by our guide on top of the cloudy weather and muddy water. You'll understand if you see the picture above.
After the short stop, we headed straight to the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort for our lunch and grizzly bear refuge tour. Technically, it was my second time here. My first time here was when I went on the snowmobile tour last year. It was good to be back :)
We had our lunch at the Eagle's Eye Restaurant which is the highest restaurant in Canada. #cooltakcool Well, I skipped my lunch because it was Ramadan so I could only imagine that the lunch provided was delicious based on the plating and appearance. Anyway, we had to ride the Golden Eagle Express Gondola first to reach the Eagle's Eye Restaurant. It was quite a long gondola ride but not as long as Sunshine ones. The view along the way and at the top? Magnificent!
After lunch, we headed down to the base and took a chairlift ride for our Grizzly Bear Refuge Tour. This was my first time riding an open chairlift ride, so I was really nervous. There were 2 other girls with me but it was their first time as well. We requested the lift attendants to stop the chair masa nak duduk. Kemain panjang doanya masa naik chairlift tu. Haha.
Actually, we almost didn't make it to our Grizzly Bear Refuge Tour due to miscommunication between our guide and the bear's caretaker. Thankfully, she allowed us to join the tour for a bit. Otherwise, memang rasa macam tak worth it la the tour. Once we reached the sanctuary (okay, tak sure the exact word apa but hopefully you get the gist of it?), we were greeted with the sight of Boo, the grizzly bear.
We then were bombarded with a lot of details about Boo along with other information regarding grizzly bear behaviour. We also learned about the efforts they are putting in to ensure Boo's survival and other bears around the world that happened to have the same fate as Boo. All this happened in about 30-45 minutes?
I found Boo really huge but the guide mentioned he was at his lightest weight when we were there. He weighed around 300 kg when we were there but the guide said he can easily reach 800 - 1000 kg, if I'm not mistaken when he's ready for the hibernation. #coolgilaokay
All in all, I had an enjoyable day during the tour. I learned so much about grizzly bears that I hope other tourists will start educating themselves about bears before coming to national parks. I also managed to visit Emerald Lake for the first time and see magnificent views of the mountains in Yoho National Park and Golden.
16 Comments
wahhhh best nya dapat tengok grizzly bear depan mata.
ReplyDeleteteringat zaman kecik2 dulu pernah tengok satu kartun movie tajuk BROTHER BEAR, pasal grizzly bear. teringin nak tengok depan2 :D
gambar2 pemandangan dalam blog kak farah, tak pernah tak cantikkk semua cantik2 :)
Kalau dapat tengok yang liar punya lagi best. Feeling dia lain sikit dari tengok bear yang macam Boo ni :)
Deletevery interesting and awesome scenery especially the Emerald Lake
ReplyDeleteEmerald Lake is more prettier in the summer :)
Deleteim looking forward for my own escapism also.. btw, have a nice day :D
ReplyDeleteThank you. Hope you'll have a good day as well ^^
DeleteRasa nak peluk bear tu ahaha
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are breathtaking
Hahahaha. I guess that's what everyone wants to do everytime they see a bear :D
Deletealolo comelnyaaaa nak peluk boleh tak?
ReplyDeleteI guess everyone has this kind of reaction whenever they see a bear, eh? Automatik rasa nak peluk? :)
Deletealoooo so cute. mendadak jugak ya berat dia turun tu, dari 800-300 kg
ReplyDeleteItulah. Agak mendadak juga. Maybe because in summer dia boleh keluar makan hari-hari unlike in winter where he has to stack up his nutrients and all and be ready for the hibernation for god knows how long.
Deleteaaaa so cute !!! that Boo was not the biggest ? hahaha the biggest tataula guano. all the pictures are fine Farah. they r still pwetty ^^
ReplyDeleteYeah, he was kinda at his lightest weight when I was there. Rasanya memang akan nampak lagi besar when he's ready for hibernation.
DeleteBesarnya grizzly bear. Tempat cantik, snap pakai fon problem pun still cantik. I is jealous!
ReplyDeleteYeah, one of the biggest bears that I have ever seen in my entire life tapi caretaker tu cakap yang Boo nampak kecil if you compare to the usual.
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