We're Going On A (Real Live) Bear Hunt (Watch)!

Um...we have a baby...will it be safe?!

Everyone thought we were crazy, travelling with a 5 month old baby. And not just travelling, but we were heading to the other side of the world....CANADA! 'Poor little thing getting dragged by her parents all the way over there, just to fulfil some selfish plans of theirs, how inconsiderate of them to want to take such a big trip with a baby!!! She will never remember any of it!' Pft! There were a handful of supporters, saying encouraging things like 'Oh, if you are going to do a trip like that, this is the perfect time for it. Before she can walk, crawl or roll, while she is free to fly! It will be much harder to go when she is older.'

Two of our best friends are living in Canada and were halfway through their 4 year stay. We were desperately missing them and had vowed before they left that we would visit them sometime during that 4 years. Yet all of a sudden we were having a baby. When Greg suggested we go anyway once the baby was born I was initially skeptical, then committed to the idea! As long as the baby was settled enough, we would go. So we waited to see what the luck of the draw would bring us and were delighted when we met Lucy May Granger - a sweet little placid girl who could be fixed by either changing, feeding or sleeping. Hooray! After consultation with our friends regarding dates and if indeed their invitation to stay could also include the baby, we bought our tickets without much more thought. And to the great surprise of many we planned a five week trip to Canada, travelling the Rockies, and visiting Ottawa, Niagara Falls, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver Island and Whistler.

Now, if any of you know my husband, he loves his outdoors and even more so his wildlife. So he was extremely keen to check out any Canadian animals we could find, moose, elk, whitetailed deer, squirrels, etc etc etc. And me? Well, of course I was looking forward to seeing deer...but I was more excited/anxious to see a BEAR! Now, our friend's parents had been to Canada only a few months earlier and had seen about 5 or 6 bears just by driving around the rockies, so we were expecting big things as far as bear sightings were concerned. And we looked for them everywhere we went. In fact, we actually went driving around the small towns we stayed in at dusk trying to seek them out! 'Wildlife watch'.

And I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Because what if we actually did come across a bear? A real, huge, scary big bear!? What if it was by the side of the road? Would we stop at a respectful distance, or would we drive straight past it, hoping to God that it wouldn't jump out in front of our car (they are like Kangaroos over there, except they cause much worse damage!).

On our Wildlife Watch drives we indeed spotted so many magnificant beasts, elk were coming out our ears. We really wanted to see a moose and a bear, but we just kept spotting massive elk bucks. We could get so close to them too - Greg took the below photo from maybe only 10m away! And they can be dangerous too - as can Kangeroos. See those antlers? They have a good use for idiot tourists annoying them too much! Let me show you a pic of how gorgeous they are, and you can rightfully judge us for our lack of respect by the end of the first week! 'Oh great! Another elk buck. Where are the moose? Where are the bears!?'

 Boring!

So as we neared the end of our rockies tour (which was at the beginning of our trip), we heard from a tour guide that he lived in Canada for 4 years before he first sighted a bear and our disappointment was heavy. We forgot about seeing the bears. Well, when I say we forgot, perhaps I mean we gave up on actually seeing a bear. They were always in my mind though, I didn't forget them for one second. Anytime we stepped out of the car, I was at the ready to protect the bite-sized Lucy at all costs. And there were constant and very real warnings everywhere about the bears too. We saw a sign that stated 'to go beyond this point you MUST have 4 or more people in a group'! My mind was full of bear related questions. If the bears den got covered over by an avalanche while the bear was hybernating, would the bear be able to breathe? And do bears mate for life and carry on as a family or do they just find a new partner each year? Do they hybernate together? Were bears like snakes in Australia (meaning that snakes are common, but rarely are actually seen). Much to Gregs amusement, then frustration, I voiced all these questions (and many many more!) out loud, to which I got very little answers! 

And then it happened! It was our 3rd last day in Canada. The end of a very long trip during which we had not even spotted a bear from a distance. And we spoke to man who told us very matter of factly that if we wanted to see bears, just go to this place at an inlet from the ocean and they would be there, filling up on the salmon swimming upstream in preparation for their winter hybernation! As if it were that easy!!! And we almost didn't take that 45 minute drive to the location mentioned...but thankfully we took a risk and did so. And we saw our very first Black Bear as we drove down to the hatchery alongside this inlet. I was beside myself. Greg was amazed! We were so happy! We had been reassured by the hatchery staff that because there would be so much food to keep the bears attention that they wouldn't be bothered by us at all, that we could actually get quite close to them and view them from just the other side of the river. And that it was safe with Lucy too. 

Now, it did run through our minds that perhaps we would be in the news the following day...those dickhead arrogant Austalian tourists (AND stupid first time parents!) who thought they could get close to one of the most dangerous wild animals in the world and live to tell the tale. Those poor people who got mauled and their baby taken too! So Greg thought he'd check it out. You should have seen the looks on our faces. We were excited and also terrified, elated and nervous all at once. I told him I loved him....just in case. And then some locals arrived, climbed out of their car nonchallantly and walked close to where the bears would be. So Greg followed and then signalled for me to come too - I left Lucy in the car initially, then took her out once we established that the bears didn't really care that we were within attacking distance! 

And although it sounds like the most dangerous thing in the world, it was actually okay. And the most amazing experience of our entire Canadian trip. To see those bears, so huge and magestic, swatting massive salmon right out of the water onto the banks just like a John West commercial was the most awe inspiring moment. Like we were now privy to a secret world that no zoo could ever show you. There were no fences. Nothing between them and us. It was completely exhillerating...and honestly the most scared I have ever been in my life. Our hearts were beating so fast, our eyes darting around to make sure those giants didn't have us surrounded at any point in time. And we were blessed to see a mother and her cub, that would have been born around Lucy's birthday too...like we were living parralel existences. 

Mumma and cub

We were so glad we listened to that man and took a chance by getting out of our car, although without the locals who turned up and acted as our protectors and tour guides, there is no way we would have got Lucy out of the car. We saw seven bears including the mumma and cub, some large daddy bears, other smaller bears. All bigger than us though. And you couldn't wipe the grins off our faces for days to come.

Big Papa!

Occasionally, I have nightmares that this bear turns towards us and attacks. I suppose we didn't walk away from that encounter completely unscarred. But who else can say they have witnessed such amazing scenes in nature? 

And as if Canada was laughing at our disbelief of the bears, the following day at Whistler we saw another bear trundle across the slopes of Whistler mountain, within veiwing distance from our room balcony. We would have been so excited just to see that! Yet because of the day before, we were now the nonchallant. Meh! Another bear. We almost touched the ones on Vancouver Island. This Whistler bear has nothing on them! 

Ciao for now, 

LG, Life's Good!