Canadian Rockies wilderness holiday, Canada
| country: | Canada |
| location: | Canadian Rockies, British Columbia |
| price: | From CA $1000 per person for 5 nights |
| offers: | 15% off wilderness holidays beginning on July 7th, July 12th, July 26th, Aug 6th. |
description
This ranch is a small, private and comfortable lodge in a hidden corner of British Columbia that offers discerning guests a chance to explore the undiscovered Canada.
We aim to offer our guests a respite from their busy lives and a chance to spend time surrounded by the very best of the wilderness. At night we put you up in comfort in one of our three cabins. Each is hand-built and has its own bathroom. The meals we serve at the ranch are famous among our small following. During the day Julius, your guide, will take you on a voyage of discovery into the surrounding wilderness.
We may study and photograph some of Canada's majestic wildlife - moose, grizzly bear and black bear or we may head into some of our old-growth cedar rainforests where the larger trees are 1,400 years old or more.
In the summer we like to head into the high country seeking out old forgotten trails. Through the seasons our valley and the surrounding mountains are home to a plethora of rare birds and animals and alpine wildflowers.
Depending on the time of year you come we offer activities that give you the best of the wilderness. The general theme is exploration of the vast and mostly virgin wilderness around us, its mountains, rivers, lakes and wildlife.
We take our guests on trips in our 4x4s along local gravel roads and up old logging tracks up to 6,000 feet into the alpine, where we hike, walk or picnic, before returning to the ranch.
We also plan a day on one of our local lakes in our Zodiac powerboat which is a great time to enjoy the silent remoteness of the country where we live. We usually combine this with a walking tour through a remarkable old-growth cedar rainforest where some of the trees are more than 1,000 years old.
The holidays we offer at this time of year are five nights and four days and the days are usually warm, hot even, and the water cool and refreshing. To limit our impact on our natural surroundings, we cater for an absolute maximum of 7 guests at a time; more typically 2, 4 or 6 guests.
A typical day would see you waking up in your own cabin to the sound of the fast-flowing river that runs alongside our property.
For the early birds among you, we offer early coffee and then breakfast in the main house at 8.30am. Kristin, who spent several years cooking on the diplomatic circuit, serves a large, healthy breakfast with plenty of piping-hot tea and coffee.
After breakfast your guide, usually Julius, will take you out for a day-long guided tour of the surrounding forests, lakes and mountains. Depending on the day we may head off to one of our unspoilt lakes, taking the Zodiac powerboat with us for a day of cruising on the water, relaxing in the sun and wildlife-spotting.
On other days we may hike in the ancient rainforest that surrounds us or head into the lower reaches of the high country to the retreating snowline.
We will spend at least one day in the high country which, most of our guests have told us, is an unforgettable natural experience, redolent of the times before the settlers arrived in the new world.
Lunch is a picnic of home-made sandwiches, fruit and chocolate that we take along on our day tour.
Our tours typically end about 4 or 5pm and dinner may be a sit-down affair where we serve fine freshly-cooked local food and the best of British Columbia's beer and wine is served around 7pm in the main house or a barbeque by the river next to a campfire.
We aim to offer our guests a respite from their busy lives and a chance to spend time surrounded by the very best of the wilderness. At night we put you up in comfort in one of our three cabins. Each is hand-built and has its own bathroom. The meals we serve at the ranch are famous among our small following. During the day Julius, your guide, will take you on a voyage of discovery into the surrounding wilderness.
We may study and photograph some of Canada's majestic wildlife - moose, grizzly bear and black bear or we may head into some of our old-growth cedar rainforests where the larger trees are 1,400 years old or more.
In the summer we like to head into the high country seeking out old forgotten trails. Through the seasons our valley and the surrounding mountains are home to a plethora of rare birds and animals and alpine wildflowers.
special things to do and see here
Depending on the time of year you come we offer activities that give you the best of the wilderness. The general theme is exploration of the vast and mostly virgin wilderness around us, its mountains, rivers, lakes and wildlife. We take our guests on trips in our 4x4s along local gravel roads and up old logging tracks up to 6,000 feet into the alpine, where we hike, walk or picnic, before returning to the ranch.
We also plan a day on one of our local lakes in our Zodiac powerboat which is a great time to enjoy the silent remoteness of the country where we live. We usually combine this with a walking tour through a remarkable old-growth cedar rainforest where some of the trees are more than 1,000 years old.
The holidays we offer at this time of year are five nights and four days and the days are usually warm, hot even, and the water cool and refreshing. To limit our impact on our natural surroundings, we cater for an absolute maximum of 7 guests at a time; more typically 2, 4 or 6 guests.
A typical day
A typical day would see you waking up in your own cabin to the sound of the fast-flowing river that runs alongside our property.
For the early birds among you, we offer early coffee and then breakfast in the main house at 8.30am. Kristin, who spent several years cooking on the diplomatic circuit, serves a large, healthy breakfast with plenty of piping-hot tea and coffee.
After breakfast your guide, usually Julius, will take you out for a day-long guided tour of the surrounding forests, lakes and mountains. Depending on the day we may head off to one of our unspoilt lakes, taking the Zodiac powerboat with us for a day of cruising on the water, relaxing in the sun and wildlife-spotting.
On other days we may hike in the ancient rainforest that surrounds us or head into the lower reaches of the high country to the retreating snowline.
We will spend at least one day in the high country which, most of our guests have told us, is an unforgettable natural experience, redolent of the times before the settlers arrived in the new world.
Lunch is a picnic of home-made sandwiches, fruit and chocolate that we take along on our day tour.
Our tours typically end about 4 or 5pm and dinner may be a sit-down affair where we serve fine freshly-cooked local food and the best of British Columbia's beer and wine is served around 7pm in the main house or a barbeque by the river next to a campfire.
rooms, food and facilities
Despite our location, we have most of the conveniences of modern life including wireless high-speed satellite internet that is free for guests to use and a satellite-based telephone system. We also have powerful hot-and-cold showers and flushing toilets.
All three guest cabins at the ranch are hand-built, of solid wooden construction and fully-heated. They come with fresh linen and towels.
The largest cabin, which we have named Volga after the river we spent so many happy weekends on when we lived in Russia, has two floors. It has a living area downstairs and upstairs a private bedroom, with a queen-sized bed, and a balcony which overlooks the Lardeau River.
Volga also has its own en suite bathroom with a toilet, bathtub and shower and hot water available day and night. It has a wood-burning fireplace for those frosty early and late season mornings and evenings. It is ideally suited for a couple but also has a pull-out sofa bed downstairs and can accommodate up to four people at a pinch.
Our second riverside cabin is the Eco-cabin. We have remodelled this cabin with a new bathroom and a large window that gives beautiful private views over the Lardeau. Using the latest in eco-friendly technology we put in a high-efficiency water heater and used organic products to finish the wooden floors and walls. Again, this cabin is ideally suited for a couple. It has its own wood stove and a supply of hand-cut birch, fir and larch.
The Hiker's cabin was also fully renovated in 2007. In place of its three single beds, it now has two beds (or one double) and a new bathroom.
Unlike the other cabins, Hiker's is heated with a propane heater which is convenient for those who don't want to be bothered with feeding a wood-burning stove. While it's low roof beams might challenge guests taller than about 6'3" it is a cabin full of character.
All three guest cabins at the ranch are hand-built, of solid wooden construction and fully-heated. They come with fresh linen and towels.
The largest cabin, which we have named Volga after the river we spent so many happy weekends on when we lived in Russia, has two floors. It has a living area downstairs and upstairs a private bedroom, with a queen-sized bed, and a balcony which overlooks the Lardeau River. Volga also has its own en suite bathroom with a toilet, bathtub and shower and hot water available day and night. It has a wood-burning fireplace for those frosty early and late season mornings and evenings. It is ideally suited for a couple but also has a pull-out sofa bed downstairs and can accommodate up to four people at a pinch.
Our second riverside cabin is the Eco-cabin. We have remodelled this cabin with a new bathroom and a large window that gives beautiful private views over the Lardeau. Using the latest in eco-friendly technology we put in a high-efficiency water heater and used organic products to finish the wooden floors and walls. Again, this cabin is ideally suited for a couple. It has its own wood stove and a supply of hand-cut birch, fir and larch. The Hiker's cabin was also fully renovated in 2007. In place of its three single beds, it now has two beds (or one double) and a new bathroom.
Unlike the other cabins, Hiker's is heated with a propane heater which is convenient for those who don't want to be bothered with feeding a wood-burning stove. While it's low roof beams might challenge guests taller than about 6'3" it is a cabin full of character.
how this holiday makes a difference
|
The ranch was opened in its present incarnation in 2006 in a remote part of southern BC with high local unemployment and very few non-winter tourist facilities. We have committed to buy all our groceries and the vast majority of our non-grocery supplies from local retailers. We buy many of our vegetables direct from local farmers. More than 85 percent of all food and drink that we serve is grown or produced in British Columbia. We also encourage our guests to make use of local businesses and other tourist-related facilities in the area. We have integrated the offerings of a local company, Kaslo Kayaking, into our programmes and around half of our spring and summer guests have booked tours with them through us. On a more general level we have endeavoured to show that wildlife-viewing and wilderness walks and treks can provide an alternative revenue stream to hunting and fishing in this area.
Prior to its reopening in 2006, the ranch operated as an ATV Centre and its perimeter was littered with old fridges, freezers and other junk. The pristine river that runs along the edge of the property was frequently used as a garbage point and toxic compounds were used in everything from lawn care to building maintenance. Since taking over we have reversed these policies and enacted a series of measures to turn our lodge into a model eco-facility. We phased out the ATV tours because of environmental and safety concerns and, instead, introduced trekking, tree-viewing, scenic rafting, wildlife-viewing and mountain tours. For the latter we use a reconditioned Toyota Land Cruiser operating on a biodiesel blend and only travel on existing logging and mining trails. Once we reach the alpine, we hike. We have a no-litter policy in place for our activities and encourage guests to pick up litter left by others. Before each of our day tours we hold a safety and environmental briefing during which we instruct guests in no-impact trekking and touring. We take our guests to view ancient stands of remarkable cedar threatened by logging and encourage them to carry home a message that such natural treasures should be saved from harvesting. We also take guests in the spring to view a local environmental project to save the population of the local Gerrard trout, the largest rainbow trout in the world, from extinction.  On the construction front, in our latest cabin we have installed a modern composting toilet and a super-high-efficiency on-demand water heater. The body of the renovation is carried out using local wood and all the finishing uses organic products. The floors are treated with a mixture of tung oil, linseed oil, citrus essence and bee's wax, giving a wonderful aroma to the cabin and a long-lasting organic finish. Well over 80 percent of our waste and all our paper and cardboard is recycled at our local transfer station. Finally we are investing in new high-efficiency appliances including a very high-efficiency SunFrost fridge. We are off-grid and our generator, which we use sparingly, runs on a biodiesel blend. We conserve power using a large battery bank. All our light bulbs are CF. Our lawn maintenance is organic. We do not offer guests bottled water but instead provide water from our well. All our showers are fitted with low-flow heads. Of the food we serve more than 80 percent is organic. Although we have no full-time employees, all paid help is sourced as close to the ranch as possible. In the autumn we sub-contract an expert on grizzly bears in the area to give interpretive talks to our guests who have come to view these magnificent animals. We make a particular effort to use the various skills of the five or six families living in our remote valley, whether as carpenters, mechanics or in their other capacities. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've lead the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |