Let the Contiki Games begin!

DAY 1 DRIVING TO WHISTLER
After making the most of free wifi and a proper bed I woke up extremely excited to meet the 34 people that will be joining me for the next 11 days around Canada. The Contiki group consists of 25 Aussies, 3 Kiwis, 2 german, 1 Italian, 1 Irish, 1 British, 1 Canadian and 1 American. We all met in the foyer of the hotel and made our way to the coach bus that we were going to be travelling on for the whole trip. I sat by myself at first and was still tired from my last tour so wanted to spread out and sleep until the HOTTEST guy ever walked on the bus and sat next to me. It was like a dream come true!! His name is Aaron and he is from Cairns in Australia. He is tanned, good body and really funny, he loved saying YOLO like me and was a ski instructor at Camp America. Anyway.. getting a bit carried away there lol when we all were accounted for we started the roadtrip to Whistler. It was such a scenic drive along the coast and it was my first taste of the Canadian blue waters and awesome scenery. This drive went pretty fast as not only did I have Aaron to talk to but Adam the contiki leader gave us a briefing about the whole trip and how it would run. We also got told that when we got back home from a drunken night to make sure we didn't pay for any tv programs on the tv's in the motel as there is always one guy on each trip that ends up getting porn and only realises when he pays the bill on the final night that it happened haha. We arrived at Whistler and it was AMAZING!!It reminded me of Queenstown. We were staying at what I thought was a huge upgrade from camping. It was a resort with a pool, spa and air con in the center of town. We all got put with one person to room with for the whole trip with the exceptions of a few people who got single rooms. I was roomed with an Australian called Ella who was on exchange too.

My new Husband

Lunch Cocktails in Whistler

Crankworx biking event

Our rooms weren't quite ready yet when we arrived so everyone either did some touring, shopping or got some food before we had to go ziplining for one of our activities. Alex a 26 year old lawyer from New York, Mary 19 year old from Aussie, Ella & Nat 21 year olds from Aussie and Mel who was born in London but has lived in NZ for the last 6 years and I all went to look at the Crankworkx Festival where there were thousands of people mountain biking and bmx racing. It even included little kids. We had lunch really close to the course and where we all were shocked that there was a live dj playing awesome music at this restaurant/bar. It was a really hot day and no clouds in the sky so we got some cocktails including the one in the photo which Alex drank that had a Corona seeping into the cocktail. Some of the girls tried one of the local dishes here in Canada called "Poutine". It is pretty much french fries with gravy and cheese. We then had to head back to the hotel and get ready for Ziplining at Cougar Mountain haha.

Ziplining time!

On our up to zipline

wahooooo!

My zipling group included about 10 of us and I was with the 9 people that had joined our contiki from another contiki around the East Coast of Canada, so all up there trip was a month long. The way it all worked was we got to do 5 lines and you do it in pairs. Bec another kiwi who is doing her masters in Dunedin went with me. The first line was small but fun and then it kept building up to longer, faster and steeper lines from there. Godzilla was the steepest and fastest line which definitely gave me an adrenaline rush thats for sure. On the last line we got to slingshot each other so we could go faster which was awesome.

Bec & I doing the run and jump line

GODZILLA!!!

The walk up to Godzilla

After zip lining our rooms were finally ready so we got time to chill and get ready before we were due at the bar in the hotel for pre drinks and then to have dinner at the spaghetti factory. Adam (the contiki leader) was so good in accommodating my dietary requirements especially since it was a full on pasta restaurant. I had my very own dish of gluten and dairy free spaghetti and meatballs. I was lucky because another person was celiacs and a couple were vegetarian etc so I wasn't the only one wahoo!! After dinner Adam found out there was a fluro party at one of the local well known bars MOJO's. He got us all in for free, drinks were $3, glow sticks were given out and there was fluro face painting for a $1 donation...What a night!! The club was pumping too since crankworx was going on. A new experience was having to have 2 forms of id at the door to get in.

My 5 new best friends!

Me & my YOLO boy Aaron

A shot called- Wet Pussy

This was a pretty wild night, I got rather intoxicated and saw a NZ flag which I "borrowed" for the rest of the night haha I decided to make a game with it.. I got my friend to hole the other side and we lifted it up and down on the dancefloor..if you weren't from NZ you had to walk around it and if you were from NZ you were allowed to go the luxury way..under it :) Seemed a good idea at the time haha. I was there until closing and then everyone followed to Whistler locals to the 4am pizza slice shop. It has every pizza flavor you could think of for $3 and the slices are ridiculously large! Unfortunately for me they didn't have any that were gluten free :(.





DAY 2 WHISTLER
 This morning was a very interesting morning.. I had a pretty bad hangover from all the wet pussy shots I consumed last night courtesy of some Canadian guys. I had to be down in the hotel foyer at 9am ready for my paddle excursion activity on the Lake. I kind've wished I hadn't signed up for it but it was definitely worth it afterwards :) You got the choice of a canoe or a kayak, most of us chose the kayak with one group choosing the Canoe. The River where we were paddling was pretty shallow so the Canoe suffered big time, with the three girls in it getting stuck around every corner haha. We kayaked 6km down a little river with a couple of small rapids in it that caused some serious almost capsizing moment within the group. It was such a nice day for it and the water was refreshing. Half way during the kayak the water temperature dropped as we entered glacier water. We had to get out of our kayaks and walk them 1km because of the water height and then re-enter the water which was a laugh. At the end of the kayak Adam our tour leader and Matt went for a quick dip to prove how tough they were. Adam handled it Matt was shivering when he came out and regretted his decision to go for a swim instantly.

The lake

                                         

                                                     Getting the kayaks ready

Once we got back from Kayaking Aaron and I decided to check out Whistler and some shops. We went to see the Olympic rings from the winter games in 2010 which was cool. Aaron got some "Poutine" which is a traditional Canadian dish in the photo below. It consists of fries, gravy and cheese.

Olympic Rings!!

Me & a Black Bear

Poutine. Fries, gravy & Cheese

After hanging out with Aaron we had some down time to have a power nap before getting ready to go to dinner at this local Irish Pub where live music was playing. The atmosphere was awesome and even better, they had a GLUTEN FREE MENU!!! The first I had seen since being over here wahooo! We found out at dinner it was 80's themed night at one of the local bars so we tried to find a potential 80's costume out of what we bought over which was almost impossible and headed to the bar. There was a lady doing fluro face paint there so we all got amongst that. It was a crazy night with locals turning up in retro 80's ski suits and pulling out some old school dance moves. There were platforms to dance on and 4 poles around the dance floor that you could go crazy on, which yes of course I did. There was a 65 year old old man with some of his mates trying to find some fresh young meat. He was hilarious, he bought Mel and I cocktails and if everyone thought my laugh was loud this guy takes the cake. He was dancing in a Hawaiian t-shirt and shorts and turned around to show us his bare bum on the middle of the dance floor in which he revealed way too much and we saw the whole package and all. Thank god it was 1:45am at that time and the bar shut at 2am as Mel and I couldn't handle much more. When its closing time for most bars in Whistler it turns into a street party for the next hour before it gets shutdown and then everyone heads to the pizza shop and gets as many $3.50 giant pizza slices for a feed on their way home. That's when it sucked to be gluten free.. OH WHAT A NIGHT!!!

Fluro Glow in the dark face paint!

                                   

                                                Me & the 65 year old party animal!

Shots Shots Shots Shots Shots Shots...Everybody!!!

DAY 3 LAST AM IN WHISTLER THEN KAMLOOPSThis morning was another hard morning to wake up to but when on contiki you just got to keep going as it really is a YOLO experience and one I recommend to everyone and anyone. This morning was a rushed start as we all had to have packed and have our rooms all cleared out and have gone on the Whistler Blackcomb peak to peak Gondola ride before midday. We all dressed for the hot weather as it was a nice day outside and seemed hot but after the first gondola ride up the weather started to drop and we were all freezing. The Peak to Peak had amazing views and the scenery was spectacular, I couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like at winter. Some of the group on contiki had never seen or touched snow so this was an unreal experience for them. We made sure we went to the top which was 7,347 feet up and had a group photo by the statue llanaaq. The statue of llanaaq is the logo of the 2010 winter games that were held in Whistler. It was also used as a navigation tool and as a point of reference for hunting places, fishing, camping grounds etc. Just thought I would throw that
 in so that the rents know I am learning during my adventures in Canada :) hehe. Today was also a day to mark in the baby book of first things I've done/seen...on the way down from the gondola Aaron and I were on the lookout for bears. We saw a black spot in the distance and lost it.. it was a baby black bear. This was the first time I had ever seen a bear and it was the cutest thing ever. It was just in the middle of the green grass directly under where the gondola ride goes. It was awesome!!!

Peak to Peak Gondola

My New favorite animal Yogi the bear!

Group shot at the top in summer clothes freezing our butts off!

Once we came down off the Gondola ride so excited to tell the rest of the crew that we had spotted a bear :) Our buzz soon died down as we now had a 5 hour drive to Kamloops where we were staying the night just for a stop over and it was too far to drive to Jasper in one haul for the bus driver Nath. It was a scenic drive with some of the longest trains you have ever seen, Bec and I counted 155 carriages on ONE TRAIN!

Beaver Dam!!!

The A team!

On the road scenery...

We stopped at a Lilooet a gold mining town on the Fraser River. It had an awesome bakery that we stopped at and yet again no gluten free food :( waaa! Rice crackers until kamloops for me. It did however have 24 soft serve flavors though!

24 SOFT SERVE FLAVORS!

Once we arrived in Kamloops after a long day of travelling we made tracks for our room and freshened up before dinner. We went to Frick and Frack's for dinner and had a typical pub meal with some awesome cocktails. After dinner a few of us headed out to the microbrewery to do some beer tasting and since it was Sam's birthday the boys ordered a bottle of Champagne. As you can imagine things got a little crazy but not as ruthless and unleashed as other nights on the trip yet had been. Kamloops was a pretty quiet place and we were only stopping there for a night so the bus driver got some rest as there is only a certain amount of hours and km's you can travel in Canada legally with no rest.

Frick & Frack's team dinner!

Best Peach/Mango cocktails ever!

DAY 4 KAMLOOPS TO JASPER
After a Denny's breakfast to start the day everyone packed up and jumped on board the bus to begin the 5 hour drive to Jasper. Today was an extra fun day on the bus as we got to play an activity called "the icebreaker" with the whole bus. Everyone had to come up to the front of the bus and answer the questions/ tell their stories using the microphone so that we all could get to know everyone incase we hadn't already.

Reunited with my Godfather in Calgary

5 DAYS IN CALGARY WITH MY GODFATHER

My new home!

After waiting for a delayed flight and carrying way too much stuff on me I finally arrived in Calgary to see my godfather who I haven't seen since I was 8 years old. I pretty much looked like a homeless person through the arrivals gate especially considering my godfather admitted to thinking I looked homeless and not recognising me. It was cool to see him again after 13 years of living in separate countries. Dad also was at the airport as he was in Calgary to see Barry his bestmate on the way through to Scotland for his boys golfing trip so that was cool too.

DAY 1 IN OKOTOKS
This morning I woke up and had the best sleep in of life! I did however feel a little disorientated as I woke up in a campervan (RV) on a random gravel road. Once I woke up I saw my godfathers house and land in daylight which was awesome. I met his wife Nives and their 3 dogs, Cisco the husky, Drew a Lab and Cobber. I had my first proper meal in weeks a fruit salad with GF cereal and yogurt! Nives had put a picnic basket filled of gluten free goodies in the pantry for me with my name on it so I felt like it was home instantly! After breakfast Barry my godfather had made a schedule of activities for me to do for the day which was unexpected but cool. Jeff his 18 year old son picked me up to go play some Ice Hockey with him and 2 of his irish family friends who had never skated before too. On the way to the Ice Hockey arena I couldn't see much out of the windscreen cause of how cracked it was. It's legal to drive over here with a completely cracked windscreen from the cold winters. I had never seen anything quite like it. At the Ice Rink I met the 2 irish guys who I could barely understand but they seemed pretty funny. Jeff got me geared up for the ice and I hit the ice to begin skating. It was an open slot time so everybody and anybody was on the ice, it wasn't the most ideal situation for me to be in since I had never skated but YOLO.

The  ice hockey gear!

Me on the ice!

Cobber 

It turned out I wasn't too bad except stopping like the professionals do wasn't going to happen today. I had a new stopping technique which was spin on the spot in a circle twice and that seemed to do the trick. I didn't have a fall either but the irish guys were falling left right and center and one came off with a pretty sore back from a head on collision with an 8 year old haha. After ice hockey I chilled out for a bit and organised my suitcase and got some much needed washing done. For dinner Laura (20), Rob (30), Matt (24) and Jeff (18) all came for dinner which was pretty special as I haven't seen them or really met them properly for years. It also was good that MATT WAS SUPER SUPER HOT & PLAYS PROFESSIONAL ICE HOCKEY! Rob who hunts on a regular basis bought over some fresh Alk and Deer meat for Dad and I to try. The Deer sausages were AMAZING!!! We cooked them inside the shed as it was raining on a big grill as if we were camping. I got to collect the firewood with Barry and drive the tractor which was loads of fun.
It was a cool night with lots of laughs and memories from back in the day when we all were in NZ together. Since Dad was heading to Scotland for a month of golf he needed some practice so I Jeff, Matt and I all said we would play tomorrow morning. With me having not played since 7th form and that was barely playing I thought it would be funny if I talked myself up and said I was really really good in the hope that I would be able to back it up. So I went to the RV that night a little bit worried of how I would go tomorrow.

Coolest Godfather ever!

Rob Cooking Deer & Alk for dinner

Barry & I on the tractor

 DAY 2 IN OKOTOKS
It was an early start this morning with teeing off at 7.30am and I was still pretty tired from my Trek America Tour. We headed to the golf course and decided to get golf carts to make it more fun. Dad & I shared one and so did Matt & Jeff. My first drive was sooooo awesome, it was straight down the middle of playing field and had good distance too. The boys were shocked that I could even hit it and thought they were going to get beaten by a girl but my game deteriorated after that and it clearly showed I hadn't played in years. I had one par though and finished off the 9 holes with a good long putt. Judy (The boys mum and my godfathers ex wife) came to pick us up and shouted us all breakfast at the golf course cafe. It was cool seeing her again and catching up with what she had been up to. For the rest of the day I helped Barry run some errands and went to the dump. I saw a house being lifted off a truck and unloaded at the dump which was pretty exciting. Later on this evening Barry took Dad to his close friends stag party whilst Nives took me out for a girls night to the Okotoks Cinema to watch Bourne Legacy. The town of Okotoks seemed so old fashioned and cute with little cottages as shops. I missed spotting the cinemas cause they were so small! It was a very basic cinema with plastic seats that weren't super comfy and the cinema was a square slab of concrete with a projector screen. It was pretty funny to experience something different and when I told Nives about Sylvia Park and La Premiere she didn't believe me haha. Bourne Legacy was a really good movie and a must see one.

The boys & I.

Jeff, Matt & Dad picking the best line

Okotoks Cinema!

Once the movie has finished Nives and I went to pick up the boys from the stag party. I thought a stag party was the kind that involved everyone getting wasted and strippers present. They are not the same in Calgary that's for sure. It was a boys night drinking, playing their guitars and singing with Barry & Dad on the shakers hahaha. It was so old school and I thought they were dressed up for the occasion but it turns out that't what they normal wear. They were dressed as bikers with cowboy hats and leather jackets and they were really good at singing too.Once we finally dragged them to the car it was home time and another awesome day in Calgary.

DAY 3 IN OKOTOKS
Today was a pretty chilled day as Dad headed home in the afternoon and it was an hour drive into downtown Calgary to take him to the airport. We went in early and checked out some of the malls. Dad tried on some shirts and a really nice jacket for work, I looked at the price when I was taking it to his changing room and it was a $1000 jacket so we quickly left the shop and aimed for somewhere a bit cheaper. We went to the airport and after giving dad a quick tutorial on how to electronically checked in he threw his toys and wanted a actual airport employee to check him in but didn't realise that they only do electronic check in over here, so was fun for me to watch :) Once dad had checked in and we said our goodbyes I had a long drive back to Okotoks and went to bed early after quickly cramming in 5 episodes of home and away as was getting rather stressed that I would be missing too many episodes haha.

DAY 4 IN OKOTOKS
Today was a big day of laboring for my godfather and Kenny, his best friend who was getting married the next day. After I woke up barry, Nives and I headed over to help put up marquees, put a trampoline together, waterblast the drive and move shrub and dead trees 4 km away from the house which I didn't really think was for the wedding but more something Kenny has wanted to be done for ages haha. We spent majority of the day helping out until we all were dying for food and drinks. Barry and I went in town to get him some new jeans as he wore the ones for the wedding today and destroyed them. It was fun helping him pick jeans and watch him try on skinny leg jeans too. We had Edo, japanese food together in the mall and on the way home stopped at DQ. You can get mcflurries in a fizzy drink large mcdonalds cup over here and pick whatever you wanted mixed in it. The drive thru and speaker box server needs to find a new job and would not get kfc employee of the month if he was in Dunedin thats for sure :) On the way home driving Barry's car steering system locked up as we were turning a sharp bend to go on the motorway and the car turned off while driving at 90kmph it was insane!!!!I saw my life flash by for about 5 secs and then the car was fine. I said to my godfather the car needs to be serviced before driving me to Uni in Edmonton lol.
When we got back to the farm Barry decided to have a little play on the bobcat before lay down grass tomorrow. There were 2 levers with 10 different actions it moves in on each lever. I jumped up on his lap and had a go at steering, we couldn't stop laughing as one moment you are moving forward, then bunny hopping then lifting the loader up and go left and right at the same time it was almost enough to make you throw up but was enough to make me want one when I get back home to drive around town lol

The farm

Barry on the Bobcat with Rockies in backgroung at sunset 

Later on in the night at 10pm Matt and Jeff send me a text and came to pick me up to take me to the local pub. This was an experience, it was another tick off the bucket list but one I wasn't expecting. We walked into the bar and were joined by an obese hen's party. I almost lost the plot dancing next to them on the dance floor. I also had another tick off the bucket list by the boys thinking I needed to do catch up drinking so bought me a shot. I tossed it back like any other shot but once I swallowed it I ran straight over to the ice machine and poured half of the machine down the throat. What they had ordered me was a "prairie fire" which consists of Tequilla and Tabasco hot sauce!!It was disgusting and caused a hot eruption in my mouth for the next hour. I next experienced Jeff join in on the line dancing on the d floor which everyone once the song comes on goes into lines and covers the whole d floor doing it. It was crazy to watch. I then was Matt's wingman for the rest of the night while he tried to score, watch him dance after having knee surgery was pretty funny. At 2am Matt rang Barry to come pick us up and get us a feed at Macca's before heading home..it reminded me of the good old nights in Dunnos.

Deer I stalked to get a photo on the farm

Its Blizzard load up on Dairy for the day time :)

LAST DAY IN OKOTOKS

Today was my last day in Okotoks and what a way to wake up to some freshly made gluten free pancakes by Nives. I was unsure if they were excited to see me go or what the special breakfast was for but I found out later that I was laying out sow grass all around the house for the dogs with Barry and Jack. We only had 2 hours to do it aswell since I had to be packed and ready to depart for the airport in the city. Once I finished the lawn I cleaned up the Rv and tried to pack everything and get the zip done up...this was way harder than I expected. We hit the road for the airport and I said my goodbye to Barry and Nives and went through the tightest security check I have been through since being in Canada. You stand in a glass elevator like room with your hands above your head and then when you step out the computer shows red dots on your body showing you have something dodgy. Luckily I had no red dots and could go straight to the gate, where I found my plane to be delayed an hr!!! Yet again missing home and away stressed me out so I got 2hrs of free wireless where I got to watch more home and away episodes I had missed :) I can'tt wait to land in Vancouver and meet the people I was heading on my 11 day contiki around Canada with.