Rocky mountain highs

Over the summer, Helen Dolphin married her husband Paul and they honeymooned in Canada. In a departure from her normal column, she reflects on the transport and other experiences on offer north of the 48th parallel

As our flight from Heathrow to Vancouver was at 11.00am we opted to stay the night before in a hotel and catch the early morning shuttle bus to the airport.

On arrival at the Air Canada check-in desk, I was pleased to hear that a seat with extra legroom had been reserved for me and our flight went according to plan. Both my wheelchair and I arrived unscathed!

Due to the nine-hour time difference we arrived in Vancouver at roughly the same time that we left Heathrow. Feeling rather jet lagged we made our way to the Skytrain which takes passengers into the city. Although there are narrow gates to stop people stealing luggage trolleys I just had to press a button and the gate opened for me. The Skytrain took us within 100 metres of our hotel.

On our first day we set off to see Vancouver’s Stanley Park. There are approximately 120 miles of trails and roads in the park so we only managed to cover a very short distance on foot. In the middle of the park is an aquarium and I was very excited to discover that one of the dolphins was called Helen!

Overlooking Vancouver are the North Shore Mountains, one of which is Grouse Mountain. To get to the mountain we boarded a SeaBus to the north shore and then a bus to get us to the bottom of the mountain. Unfortunately, the driver forgot I was on the bus so one of the other passengers had to run after him and ask him to put the ramp down. We then boarded the cable car up to the top. It was raining on top of the mountain but we still saw a very entertaining lumberjack show and rode a chairlift to the peak.

On 1st July it’s Canada day which is a national holiday. There are many processions through the streets and we decided to go to Granville Island to watch the carnival. To get there we first caught a bus and then boarded a water taxi, which is a small boat. It seemed in Canada the wheelchair just wasn’t a problem and the water taxi driver just helped push me on.

One of the highlights of our trip was a two-day journey on the Rocky Mountaineer, which is a train that takes you through the Rocky Mountains. As it was our honeymoon, we were travelling Gold Leaf and we were cooked gourmet meals and got to travel in a carriage with a glass roof. To my amazement, the train also had an internal lift. The train ride was a fantastic way to see some of Canada’s amazing scenery and wildlife and we spotted mountain goats, eagles, ospreys and even a black bear.

After two days travelling, with an overnight stay in Kamloops, we arrived in Calgary. Here we picked up our hire car and drove to Lake Louise, going via the Bow Valley Parkway where we saw even more wildlife. We stayed at Lake Louise for four days and whilst we were there we tried out a hot spa, visited Moraine Lake, trekked to Johnston Canyon – which was a bit of a challenge for Paul to push me to as the path was rocky and steep, and went up on a chair lift where we saw a grizzly bear eating dandelions.

I was sorry to leave Lake Louise as it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen but we had to continue on our journey. On our way back to Vancouver we stopped overnight in Lac Le Jeune. The hotel where we stayed had bear paw prints on the window and a beaver dam in the lake just behind.

Our drive to Vancouver was really easy and as navigator it didn’t pose me that many problems as it was basically the same road the entire way – the Trans Canada Highway. The hardest part was finding where to drop the car off in Vancouver as the car rental company had been told to take down their signs.

This time we only stayed in Vancouver for one night before heading to the airport to catch our flight to Toronto. To make life easier we got a taxi and I was amazed at how quick and easily the driver wheeled me up the ramps and tied down the wheelchair – maybe British cabbies could learn from this!

Our flight to Toronto was a little more exciting as the plane had an aborted landing when we were about 50m from the ground. Another plane was still on the runway so our plane had to divert. To get to our hotel we boarded a coach, which was fitted with an accessible lift.

In Toronto, we went up the CN tower where I jumped on the glass floor. We had also booked ourselves onto a mini bus trip to Niagara Falls. Although the mini bus was not accessible we were told this when we booked so to get on board Paul just gave me a piggyback. At Niagara Falls we took a ride on the Maid of the Mist and got completely soaked.

Our trip to Canada was amazing and I was sorry to return home. Not only does Canada have breathtaking scenery but they have made it easy for people with disabilities to travel around and see it.