The winner today are the boys with a few big fish

Today was the most spectacular day with the best that Canada has to offer on the nature front. Fishing was a bit quieter with a fair number of catch and releases but a couple that are good for smoking.






Then to nature. We trawled into a small bay and up rose a humpback whale. Just awesome as Duncan turned the engines off and we just sat quietly listening to the raspy blows of the whale and watched it heaving in and out the water.
It came so close to the boat that we had the most magnificent view and first hand experience of it's fishy breath.













After having a fish stolen by the sea lion yesterday we have kept a watchful eye open for them and amazingly Ross managed to secure his salmon under the full view of the sunbathing seals!
We returned to the lodge for lunch and were nice more treated to a beautiful view from the dining room table, spotted by Ross.










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Catch of the Day

So to put this all in context, Langara is a very small island just north of the Haida Gwai islands. We are staying in the Chinoook lodge which sleeps about 20 and there is one enormous table which we sit at together to tell fishing tales and eat a delicious 4 course dinner each evening.





The only access to the lodge is via a funicular lift, with the most spectacular views.

















We headed off at 6am this morning, Ross was delighted that we had a 5.30 wake up as he spends his life getting hassled to sleep later and for once he had to be woken up. It was chilly and drizzly but with our red suits we huddled down and carried on.





The best thing of all is that at 9am a tender boat called the Hercules comes out with hot breakfast baps and flasks of coffee and hot chocolate and makes you forget the cold and rain.
A few salmon and then just when we had decided to pack it in for lunch time, Trevor struck gold at 220 feet down. He was using a salmon rod with 25lb line and hooked a 71lb halibut. What a fight, must have taken a good 15 minutes of strain to slowly haul him off the bottom. Duncan then expertly gaffed him and he was hauled aboard. Enough fish for a year of dinners! Trevor was shaking and swears he now has 1 arm longer than the other after heaving up that weight.











A great day for wildlife although with the persistent drizzle we did not manage to get any pictures. We saw 3 lots of humpback whales, awesome to watch for their spray and then see their majestic backs arch as they plough through the water and then up flicks their tail. With a cheeky wave of their white lined pectoral fin, they dive dive dive.
Bald eagles aplenty and we tried to tempt them by throwing bait into the water.






My big catch of the day was kindly donated to a hungry bull of a sea lion. Sad to lose the fish but even more disappointed that I did not have my camera as he surged out of the water, tossed the salmon in the air and chomped on it with his almighty jaws. All that was left was a head!

This afternoon was really quiet with Ross having the only keeper of the afternoon with a 21lb chinook which gave him a good long fight and he will have a sore arm tomorrow.

So settling down to a dinner of:
1. duck spring roll
2. Spinach and fennel salad
3. Mains the choice of grilled beef tenderloin with foie GRAS and truffle sauce, or pheasant dinner or baked sable fish
4. Raspberry sorbet and almond and brown butter torte

So as you can we see we are starving.

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Langara and salmon fishing

Today we travelled from Vancouver on the next leg of our trip. We left the Okanagan early Monday morning where cherry picking week started on the farm. There can be nothing to beat a freshly picked bunch of cherries and we were fortunate to be able to pick a bag full to take on our trip down to Vancouver, about 5 hours.



The route of some 400km took us through Merritt to Hope and onto Vancouver. We stopped for another A&W burger and the boys still rate them as the best burgers in the universe.
After an overnight in Vancouver we had an early start to get to the airport for 8am to get our fishing licences and boarding passes for the plane and helicopter we needed to get to Langara. the 2 hour plane trip took us to Masset which is on the north of the Queen Charlotte islands (now called the Haida Gwai Islands). We caught up with a South African couple, Gustav and Estelle, who we had met last year a Langara - lovely to see them and hear Trevor chatting on Afrikaans again.


We were treated to a welcome coffee and a few smoked salmon snacks whilst we waited for our heli transfer. Trevor got to be the co-pilot whilst Ross and I were good back seat drivers.






Just fabulous to be back at Langara and after a quick lunch we were getting into our red fishing gear and heading out with our guide, Duncan, for the first afternoon of fishing.




Well the prize of the day goes to Ross






who had an almighty catch with a 25.8lb chinook salmon, definitely one for smoking, we also caught a few cohoe salmon and I got a butt-ugly lingcod (or Lynn-cod as it was dubbed). Trevor got an 18lb chinook and I released a 15lb one.


A fab way to start the fishing. The day ended with Trevor having a beer in the lounge, Ross in the jacuzzi and me downloading photos.

Fun in the sun

Real weekend fun. A good competitive mini-golf game started the weekend with the girls declared the wins (with a bit of healthy tweaking of the score cards). The winners:



The losers:




Trevor went on a nature trail with Bud and found this flower which only blooms every other year.




Today was a picnic on the beach,

Holiday from our holiday

How lovely to be in 1 place for a while and not be eating in restaurants all the time. Ross used Will's drill and some rope and manufactured a swing.



It was the Krige cook night so we went into town so get provisions and found Tony, the most awesome butcher from whom we seemed to buy half a cow. Ross was making yoghurt bread and the rest of the menu was a typical South African meat feast.


It is actually quite fun to wonder around a supermarket in a different country (don't think the boys would agree) but I could have very happily spent the morning going up and down the aisles.
The afternoon was spent with the girls in the kitchen and the boys out and about on the farm, helping, swimming, tinkering etc.
As you can see from the pictures below we had a great evening and took the opportunity to take family pictures in the evening light.









Ross got the opportunity to scrum with the best in Canada.







And we toasted to us being in Canada, good friends and the what ever the future may hold.






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The Okanagan

We left Jasper at 6.30am in the rain and mist passing signs saying mind the moose, the elk, big horn sheep and bears. Only saw an elk and it was an ex-elk!
Took the route on the yellowstone highway through the mountains and next to charging rivers of clear water. Stopped for the obligatory cafe latte (which despite being a truckers stop had to be rated at least a 9 out of 10).
Down to Kamloops and then took a left to Vernon and onto Kelowna which is on the north side of the magnificent Okanagan lake.
We had lunch in Vernon at A&W - the home of the 'family of burgers'. So this means you chose a 'mama', 'papa' etc burger. On the Ross scale the mama burger rated a 10 - but on the basis that he only has a bun and patty and a bit of ketchup, his scale is very subjective.
We met up with old family friends of ours, the Williams family and spent the night at Penny and Ian's beautiful house at the lake. Ross went swimming despite the wind and choppy waters and in the morning made good use of their kyaks.




















We were treated to a great South African feast of bootie and boerewors and I have come away with some of Penny's delicious recipes, it is always such a gastronomic treat to sit down at her table as all the jams, chutneys etc she could proudly say 'I made it myself'
We had a tour of James Williams (my childhood friend) and Jill's house which they have gutted and await the start of the building work. Really look forward to our next visit to see it completed.
We said our fond farewells and made our way around the lake, down to Penticton at the southern to of the lake and then up the east side to Naramata. We are staying with my school friend Polly and her family who live on a farm, they grow grapes for Mission Hills winery. How lovely to see them again - the family are Bud (Dad), Polly (mom), and Will, Ben and Emily.
The house has the most superb wrap around verandah with views over the lake. Hung along the verandah ceiling are hummingbird feeders and it is fascinating to watch their frantically flapping wings, whilst we relax in the sun with a glass of cold and crisp Okanagan white wine.




























From the following pics you will see that we are not starving, so will also go home with a few of Poll's recipe.













Polly and I planned some girl-time in Penticton so left all the boys at home. Ross and Ben were working on an old bicycle which they were combining with an old chain saw. So while Polly and I were enjoying the first thing on our list, a latte, we got a call from Ben to say that Trevor was rushing him to A&E as he had sliced his little finger with the grinder. We all met up at the hospital and Trevor and I concluded that the Canadian A&E is way more luxurious than the UK, with fabric chairs and a coffee bar. So after a 2 hour wait he was all x-rayed and cleaned up. Trevor took him off for a milkshake and Poll and I resumed our shopping. No more bike/chain saw, this holiday.

posted by the Krige family