Luckily checked Langdale to Horseshoe Bay Ferry times again and found we had downloaded the one to Sept 1 instead of from 2 Sept. Ferry leaves at 10:25 not 10:50, but no problem. A short and easy drive later we are waiting in line and the ferry is late. There's no charge from the Langdale side for this journey - good stuff. The mountains in the distance are partly shrouded in fog, and we can hear the ferry approaching before we see it - gosh that fog horn is loud.
Waiting in line
Discussion with BC Ferry person reveals that the boat will take 250 cars, that's the front rows waiting and four of the rows behind, after that you are on the next ferry. Loaded into the top deck, well with our compact car it's only like hand luggage. Parked up right next to an opening and watched to sea pass by from the car (the voyage is only 40 min today). Saw a harbour porpoise just before we arrived at Horseshoe Bay.
On disembarking we looked for the slower more scenic route to North Vancouver, along Marine Drive. Stopped in Dundarave in West Vancouver, and parked in a 2h slot to have a look at their 'pier' and for a walk along the Seawall.
Weather hot and sunny by this time. Lots of big boats/ ships and sailing vessels as well as kayakers. Views to Lions Gate Bridge, which leads to Stanley Park.
We were passed by most people as we strolled, as most seemed to be out on a Saturday morning fitness regime, even the oldies were walking faster than we were. All sorts of things were banned on the Seawall walk, they even had a specific 'run' for dogs at one point, as they were not allowed on much of the pier.
We watched quite a few people let their dogs off the lead at the entrance to the dog walk, then they walked on the Seawall and the dog walked alongside behind a mesh fence!
Such a pleasant outlook that we decided, on returning to the car, to buy a ready made picnic, move the car and return to the seafront. We'd saved one of the cinnamon buns the lady from Gibsons had left us, so that finished our lunch off very nicely thank you.
Our next stop was going to be Lonsdale Quay, but after sitting in traffic for a while we decided to head straight for the Capilano Suspension Bridge, we thought we needed a bit of an adrenaline rush by this time.
Pay to park, pay to enter, but the fee does include everything on the site - thought it was going to be like a Disney Style Theme Park. We were pleasantly surprised.
Eric in the frame.
Having spent the money we were going to get our money's worth even though it did mean being 70m above the Capillano River for the entire time. First it was the rock face walk on a see through path, basically nailed to the side of the cliff, and including a semicircular path out over the gorge for about 25m.
Then after waiting for a large party to clear the way we ventured onto the bridge itself. Swaying and wobbling 70m above the water was not as scary as it sounds. I might be tempted to try more than 2 rungs up a ladder when I get home.
On reaching the other side of the suspension bridge we found three choices of attraction; Raptor Ridge, Treetop Walk and Nature's Edge. Of course we had to partake of all three after paying all that dosh to get in. Nature's edge dropped slightly below the level of the suspension bridge, through lush rainforest. Passed a guide type person talking about the Banana Slugs they have there - they're big and yellow and have very few predators as their slime has anaesthetic properties. The First Nations People used the slime to ease toothache. Raccoons have learnt that if they roll them in the dirt first then they can eat them - a bit like a banana fritter I suppose! The guide assured us they were indeed disgusting as his supervisor had made him lick one when he first started the job. Ugh! It did make his tongue numb for about 10 mins.
The tree top walk was next, basically a wander around the canopy of the very tall Redwoods and Douglas Firs. Not much can be said about it other than it was a long way down.
The Raptor Ridge was an introduction to captive owls (a Barred Owl and a Great Horned Owl) plus a Harris Hawk. Seemed a bit of a cheat taking this picture since it was essentially tied to the tree.
After booking into the B&B we visited the salmon hatchery at Capillano and could watch the Sockeye salmon jumping the man made weir.
Back to the lodgings to check-in for our flight to NZ tomorrow, which, because we cross the international date-line, means we completely miss September 29th. Don't know where it goes or if we can claim any of it back at a later date. So we will expect everyone to make notes and report back to us on what happened on our return.