Banff
From Jasper, Banff is about a 3 and a half hour drive along the Trans-Canada highway heading back towards Calgary. It's an alpine resort town, much like Jasper - if not a little bigger. It is known to have the most amount of Aussies and Kiwis in Canada by far due to the fact that everyone who does move over here gets a job in Banff so they can enjoy the winter sports. I for one am not much for winter sports; good thing we were heading into summer - even though on this particular day it was cold and raining.
We handed in our key cards at the front desk of the Jasper Downton Hostel, handed the clerk our bags of laundry, thanked him for all his handy tips and suggestions and put Jasper in our rear-view mirror. It was about 10AM and we were wanting to check out the Valley of the Five Lakes on our way through to Banff; the clerk at the hostel had suggested checking it out if we had time and said there was a stunning lake to see only a short walk from the car park. I was tired and cranky - I'd been around people for too long, hadn't gotten enough of my own space to recharge and really wasn't wanting to tramp through the bush to see another lake but I sucked it up - it was only going to be a short walk.
My definition of a short walk would be maybe 20 - 30 mins one way to a destination. Maybe even 20 - 30 mins round trip. I'm not sure what the clerks definition of a short walk was but it definitely wasn't the same as mine. We were all tired and we were all cranky and I don't think any of us really wanted to tramp for ages but we'd been walking through dense bush and trees, with no other people around save for their footprints, for about 40 minutes with no lake in sight. It got to a point where we looked at each other, shook our heads and decided to head back to the car - we still had a while to drive and we just wanted to get to Banff.
It had been 2 months since I've left home but I hadn't felt like I'd left New Zealand at all - especially with the weather being the way it was. The only thing reminding me I wasn't in New Zealand anymore were the Peaks of Mt Rundle and Mt Cascade that framed Banff's town skyline. We made our way towards the Samesun Hostel that we were to stay in for the rest of our road trip - circled the block about 3 times before we figured out a way to get into the parking lot under the building, went upstairs, checked in with the cute British boy behind the desk (his name was Matt) and went back down to grab our things. We left our heavy luggage in the car - we were on the 3rd floor and there were no elevators. Classic Hostel living.
This time we were in a 6 bed dorm, 3 bunks - it seemed we were the 2nd to arrive. Our companion had already set up on one of the bottom bunks with their things, sheet hung up around the bed. Kieran took the bottom bunk across from theirs and Laura and I chose the bunk against the far left wall - me taking the top and Laura the bottom. We got ourselves set up, changed into clothes that were a tad but warmer and made our way back out the hostel to roam the streets of Banff for a bit. We decided since it was a miserable day we'd hit the hot pools, so we headed back to the hostel the grab our togs and headed up to Banff Upper Hot Springs on the other side of town. The springs are up in the trees, in the middle of nowhere and the view is meant to be spectacular but unfortunately due to the weather it was so misty up there that we couldn't see a damn thing. It was nice to relax in hot water in pouring rain though after days of being active - nice to give the muscles a break and a recharge.
For dinner we decided on a little place in town called Tooloulous - a cajun restaurant. The restaurant was so tiny that if we hadn't been actively searching for it we would've walked right past it. The small bay windows facing the street had single round tables in them with 2 chairs at each. The table cloths were checkered red and white and there was a single candle in the center of the tables. The inside was very much the same. Little square tables of 2 or 4 pushed up against the walls, checkered red and white table clothes, the lights dimmed down to almost nothing, cute and quirky photos and trinkets hung from the walls and above the bar. There were a couple tables occupied - one a family of 4 and the other an elderly couple. It was a shame that the place was so small and so empty because the food was amazing and the staff were very warm, almost familial. I ordered ribs and Laura and Kieran ordered burgers. I ate as much as I could (which we all know is barely anything), packed the left overs into a container to take home and we set off for the stroll back down to our hostel. The rain had let up by this point, the mist and clouds were clearing so it was a nice walk home.
If you're looking for a place to stay in Banff when you have no concrete idea of what you'd like to do Samesun Hostel is the best by far. There were daily and nightly activities happening every night. Our first night there was a Thursday and the nightly activity was Open Mic. Kieran was exhausted from the many days driving so he headed up to bed, Laura and I decided to grab a drink and a table and watch the Open Mic for a while. We stayed for a few acts (which weren't half bad) but decided we would head to bed too; we were exhausted.
Friday started slow - we woke up and headed down to the bar for the complimentary breakfast (pankcake buffet) where we ate to our hearts content before we headed back up stairs to get ready for the day. We decided we just needed a chill day. The weather was better than the day before so we took a walk through the town to suss out where everything was, went back to the hostel to grab the car so we could do a bit of grocery shopping and then headed back to the hostel. Laura and Kieran decided to head back into town to the mall to do a bit of retail therapy but I decided I needed a bit of alone time so I stayed in our dorm to catch up on The Walking Dead.
I was about 2 episodes in when the dorm door opened and two unfamiliar female faces walked in, I said hi as they popped their bags down and headed back out. A couple minutes later, 2 more unfamiliar female faces wandered in. I looked at them, a bit confused and informed them that the room was full. They left, looking a bit worried and before too long the first two (now familiar faces) were back with the rest of their stuff. I introduced myself, and let them know who was sleeping where (told them about the awkward encounter they'd just missed) and asked them what they'd been up to. In between this Laura and Kieran came back and we all sat chatting and laughing getting to know each other - and this was how we met Katelyn and Sawin.
They were best friends doing a summer roadie. Katelyn was on vacation from Ontario and Sawin lived in Calgary with her husband. We decided to head out drinking together that night. The girls got settled and changed, headed out for lunch and Laura, Kieran and I relaxed in the dorm until it was time to get ready to hit the town.
Friday was musical Bingo Night in the bar downstairs so the 5 of us headed there to pregame and make some new friends. All of the staff were super friendly, they told us all of the good places to go and invited us out to Mel's (which is the local where everyone goes to have a good time). The drinks at the Hostel Bar were ridiculously cheap ($4 for a whiskey and dry) so we pregamed hard (to say the least) and at about 11.30pm headed into town. It wasn't the warmest (it was still a bit drizzley and overcast) but we all had our drunk blankets on so we were doing fine. The first bar we hit was The Devil's Gap, a dive bar up some stairs that was pumping and had no line or door charge. The 4 of us boogied down to our hearts content (we'd lost Katelyn along the way to some beautiful boy outside). It was so good to get out and dance again, I'd missed it. We danced for about an hour until the dj changed and so did the music, which became more techno and less RnB which wasn't my style so we decided to find Katelyn (who was still outside chatting) and go to Mel's a ways down the road. By the time we got to Mel's the line was down the stairs, out the door and around the corner and us girls desperately needed the bathroom - we were to the point of tears but somehow we managed to hang on in the 15 minutes it took us waiting in line. We pushed our way through the crowd to the bathrooms at the back of the bar.
Honestly, my favourite thing about clubbing are the drunk girls in the bathrooms. Everyone is super friendly and super complimentry and chatty. We made friends with some Aussie girl who instantly added us all on Facebook because we were going to be friends forever, found a cubicle that actually had toilet paper and once we were done blew kisses to our new found friends and went to find the dance floor.
The place was packed, you could barely move.
And everywhere was Australian accents. I felt like I hadn't left home at all.
We found a table and got some drinks and settled in for a bit. We were all tired. We'd managed to stay out till well past midnight and we were thinking it was time to leave to head home. I was starting to get claustrophobic so I let everyone know I was heading out and to find me outside and left the building. I settled myself of a seat outside next to some aussie bloke (I think his name was Tyler) and we yarned about random things while he chainsmoked until my friends found me and I waved goodbye to yet another new friend. Katelyn wanted to check out one more bar but by this point it was already 1.30, most of the bars closed at 2am and we were all exhausted so we drunkenly wandered back to our hostel. When we got back to our dorm our other companion, who we had not met yet was already fast asleep. We tried our best to get ready for bed without waking them (Katelyn who was on the bunk above them accidentally dropped her phone on their head).
The 5 of us had been speculating since we'd met who our other companion would be. We couldn't decided whether it was a girl or a boy - some of the toiletries looked like both a girl or a boy could use it, the clothes looked mostly boyish but then we found a hair straightener so we'd decided it was a girl, but a tomboyish girl.
The next morning I awoke just as the shower turned off. I was climbing down from my top bunk to grab my medication when the bathroom door opened and a beautiful, shirtless boy wandered out. He smiled, whispered good morning (I apologized for the dropping of the phone on his head in the middle of the night), chucked on some clothes, waved goodbye and was out the door. I couldn't quite tell where he was from but he was pretty.
Saturday was a beautiful sunny day - only a few clouds sprinkled the blue sky. Katelyn and Sawin were up early (hungover or not) as they were wanting to hike up to Lake Agnes tea house up at Lake Louise. I informed them of our pretty BOY companion, much to their amazement (we had all been so sure it was a girl), before they left for their hike. I got showered and dressed and went to the kitchen to make some toast and coffee for breakfast. I was entering our dorm just as Laura was coming out of the bathroom. Her, Kieran and I made the decision to go to Lake Louise so we all got ready and left.
Before we'd left on this road trip my great uncle had told me that Lake Louise is one of the most beautiful sights he'd ever seen. So far I'd seen a lot of lakes, and I thought, you know, once you've seen one like you've seen them all. But that's definitely not true. Nestled on the edge of the lake is the gigantic Fairmont Hotel, it looks like a princess castle. It over looks the entire lake, which was still half frozen but the colour and clarity of the water was unbelievable. The water was a stunning turquoise and it was so clear that in parts you could see right down to the bottom. On either side of the lake green pines stretched from the waters edge leading up to massive mountains, their snow capped peaks reaching up to the heavens. We wandered along the path on waters edge till we got to the back end of the lake and the path lead up through the mountain. Laura and Kieran wanted to get a better view so they walked on a bit, but I was tired so I planted myself on a rock on the waters edge and watched tiny ground squirrels dart in and out of the crevaces in the rocks looking for food.
Laura and Kieran found me 20minutes later in the same spot they left me. We headed back for the car and our hostel.
Sunday was our last day in Banff. Katelyn and Sawin had left that morning - we'd grabbed each others details and promised to keep in touch with Sawin once we got back to Calgary. I was done. I was done with people and moving and going out so I stayed right there, on the top bunk of my hostel bed and watched the rest of The Walking Dead while Kieran and Laura went out to explore more. In hindsight it probably wasn't the best way to spend my last day in Banff but I knew if I'd gone I'd just be a mopey, mean, upset mess so staying in was the better option (besides, Calgary is only an hours drive from Banff anyway - I'd make a trip like that in Auckland in a day). I repacked most of my bags as we were heading back to Calgary in the morning and settled in to spend the last day of our vacation relaxing. The next day we were heading back to our home away from home for the next two years. Exciting and scary but so worth doing.
We handed in our key cards at the front desk of the Jasper Downton Hostel, handed the clerk our bags of laundry, thanked him for all his handy tips and suggestions and put Jasper in our rear-view mirror. It was about 10AM and we were wanting to check out the Valley of the Five Lakes on our way through to Banff; the clerk at the hostel had suggested checking it out if we had time and said there was a stunning lake to see only a short walk from the car park. I was tired and cranky - I'd been around people for too long, hadn't gotten enough of my own space to recharge and really wasn't wanting to tramp through the bush to see another lake but I sucked it up - it was only going to be a short walk.
My definition of a short walk would be maybe 20 - 30 mins one way to a destination. Maybe even 20 - 30 mins round trip. I'm not sure what the clerks definition of a short walk was but it definitely wasn't the same as mine. We were all tired and we were all cranky and I don't think any of us really wanted to tramp for ages but we'd been walking through dense bush and trees, with no other people around save for their footprints, for about 40 minutes with no lake in sight. It got to a point where we looked at each other, shook our heads and decided to head back to the car - we still had a while to drive and we just wanted to get to Banff.
It had been 2 months since I've left home but I hadn't felt like I'd left New Zealand at all - especially with the weather being the way it was. The only thing reminding me I wasn't in New Zealand anymore were the Peaks of Mt Rundle and Mt Cascade that framed Banff's town skyline. We made our way towards the Samesun Hostel that we were to stay in for the rest of our road trip - circled the block about 3 times before we figured out a way to get into the parking lot under the building, went upstairs, checked in with the cute British boy behind the desk (his name was Matt) and went back down to grab our things. We left our heavy luggage in the car - we were on the 3rd floor and there were no elevators. Classic Hostel living.
This time we were in a 6 bed dorm, 3 bunks - it seemed we were the 2nd to arrive. Our companion had already set up on one of the bottom bunks with their things, sheet hung up around the bed. Kieran took the bottom bunk across from theirs and Laura and I chose the bunk against the far left wall - me taking the top and Laura the bottom. We got ourselves set up, changed into clothes that were a tad but warmer and made our way back out the hostel to roam the streets of Banff for a bit. We decided since it was a miserable day we'd hit the hot pools, so we headed back to the hostel the grab our togs and headed up to Banff Upper Hot Springs on the other side of town. The springs are up in the trees, in the middle of nowhere and the view is meant to be spectacular but unfortunately due to the weather it was so misty up there that we couldn't see a damn thing. It was nice to relax in hot water in pouring rain though after days of being active - nice to give the muscles a break and a recharge.
For dinner we decided on a little place in town called Tooloulous - a cajun restaurant. The restaurant was so tiny that if we hadn't been actively searching for it we would've walked right past it. The small bay windows facing the street had single round tables in them with 2 chairs at each. The table cloths were checkered red and white and there was a single candle in the center of the tables. The inside was very much the same. Little square tables of 2 or 4 pushed up against the walls, checkered red and white table clothes, the lights dimmed down to almost nothing, cute and quirky photos and trinkets hung from the walls and above the bar. There were a couple tables occupied - one a family of 4 and the other an elderly couple. It was a shame that the place was so small and so empty because the food was amazing and the staff were very warm, almost familial. I ordered ribs and Laura and Kieran ordered burgers. I ate as much as I could (which we all know is barely anything), packed the left overs into a container to take home and we set off for the stroll back down to our hostel. The rain had let up by this point, the mist and clouds were clearing so it was a nice walk home.
If you're looking for a place to stay in Banff when you have no concrete idea of what you'd like to do Samesun Hostel is the best by far. There were daily and nightly activities happening every night. Our first night there was a Thursday and the nightly activity was Open Mic. Kieran was exhausted from the many days driving so he headed up to bed, Laura and I decided to grab a drink and a table and watch the Open Mic for a while. We stayed for a few acts (which weren't half bad) but decided we would head to bed too; we were exhausted.
Friday started slow - we woke up and headed down to the bar for the complimentary breakfast (pankcake buffet) where we ate to our hearts content before we headed back up stairs to get ready for the day. We decided we just needed a chill day. The weather was better than the day before so we took a walk through the town to suss out where everything was, went back to the hostel to grab the car so we could do a bit of grocery shopping and then headed back to the hostel. Laura and Kieran decided to head back into town to the mall to do a bit of retail therapy but I decided I needed a bit of alone time so I stayed in our dorm to catch up on The Walking Dead.
I was about 2 episodes in when the dorm door opened and two unfamiliar female faces walked in, I said hi as they popped their bags down and headed back out. A couple minutes later, 2 more unfamiliar female faces wandered in. I looked at them, a bit confused and informed them that the room was full. They left, looking a bit worried and before too long the first two (now familiar faces) were back with the rest of their stuff. I introduced myself, and let them know who was sleeping where (told them about the awkward encounter they'd just missed) and asked them what they'd been up to. In between this Laura and Kieran came back and we all sat chatting and laughing getting to know each other - and this was how we met Katelyn and Sawin.
They were best friends doing a summer roadie. Katelyn was on vacation from Ontario and Sawin lived in Calgary with her husband. We decided to head out drinking together that night. The girls got settled and changed, headed out for lunch and Laura, Kieran and I relaxed in the dorm until it was time to get ready to hit the town.
Friday was musical Bingo Night in the bar downstairs so the 5 of us headed there to pregame and make some new friends. All of the staff were super friendly, they told us all of the good places to go and invited us out to Mel's (which is the local where everyone goes to have a good time). The drinks at the Hostel Bar were ridiculously cheap ($4 for a whiskey and dry) so we pregamed hard (to say the least) and at about 11.30pm headed into town. It wasn't the warmest (it was still a bit drizzley and overcast) but we all had our drunk blankets on so we were doing fine. The first bar we hit was The Devil's Gap, a dive bar up some stairs that was pumping and had no line or door charge. The 4 of us boogied down to our hearts content (we'd lost Katelyn along the way to some beautiful boy outside). It was so good to get out and dance again, I'd missed it. We danced for about an hour until the dj changed and so did the music, which became more techno and less RnB which wasn't my style so we decided to find Katelyn (who was still outside chatting) and go to Mel's a ways down the road. By the time we got to Mel's the line was down the stairs, out the door and around the corner and us girls desperately needed the bathroom - we were to the point of tears but somehow we managed to hang on in the 15 minutes it took us waiting in line. We pushed our way through the crowd to the bathrooms at the back of the bar.
Honestly, my favourite thing about clubbing are the drunk girls in the bathrooms. Everyone is super friendly and super complimentry and chatty. We made friends with some Aussie girl who instantly added us all on Facebook because we were going to be friends forever, found a cubicle that actually had toilet paper and once we were done blew kisses to our new found friends and went to find the dance floor.
The place was packed, you could barely move.
And everywhere was Australian accents. I felt like I hadn't left home at all.
We found a table and got some drinks and settled in for a bit. We were all tired. We'd managed to stay out till well past midnight and we were thinking it was time to leave to head home. I was starting to get claustrophobic so I let everyone know I was heading out and to find me outside and left the building. I settled myself of a seat outside next to some aussie bloke (I think his name was Tyler) and we yarned about random things while he chainsmoked until my friends found me and I waved goodbye to yet another new friend. Katelyn wanted to check out one more bar but by this point it was already 1.30, most of the bars closed at 2am and we were all exhausted so we drunkenly wandered back to our hostel. When we got back to our dorm our other companion, who we had not met yet was already fast asleep. We tried our best to get ready for bed without waking them (Katelyn who was on the bunk above them accidentally dropped her phone on their head).
The 5 of us had been speculating since we'd met who our other companion would be. We couldn't decided whether it was a girl or a boy - some of the toiletries looked like both a girl or a boy could use it, the clothes looked mostly boyish but then we found a hair straightener so we'd decided it was a girl, but a tomboyish girl.
The next morning I awoke just as the shower turned off. I was climbing down from my top bunk to grab my medication when the bathroom door opened and a beautiful, shirtless boy wandered out. He smiled, whispered good morning (I apologized for the dropping of the phone on his head in the middle of the night), chucked on some clothes, waved goodbye and was out the door. I couldn't quite tell where he was from but he was pretty.
Saturday was a beautiful sunny day - only a few clouds sprinkled the blue sky. Katelyn and Sawin were up early (hungover or not) as they were wanting to hike up to Lake Agnes tea house up at Lake Louise. I informed them of our pretty BOY companion, much to their amazement (we had all been so sure it was a girl), before they left for their hike. I got showered and dressed and went to the kitchen to make some toast and coffee for breakfast. I was entering our dorm just as Laura was coming out of the bathroom. Her, Kieran and I made the decision to go to Lake Louise so we all got ready and left.
Before we'd left on this road trip my great uncle had told me that Lake Louise is one of the most beautiful sights he'd ever seen. So far I'd seen a lot of lakes, and I thought, you know, once you've seen one like you've seen them all. But that's definitely not true. Nestled on the edge of the lake is the gigantic Fairmont Hotel, it looks like a princess castle. It over looks the entire lake, which was still half frozen but the colour and clarity of the water was unbelievable. The water was a stunning turquoise and it was so clear that in parts you could see right down to the bottom. On either side of the lake green pines stretched from the waters edge leading up to massive mountains, their snow capped peaks reaching up to the heavens. We wandered along the path on waters edge till we got to the back end of the lake and the path lead up through the mountain. Laura and Kieran wanted to get a better view so they walked on a bit, but I was tired so I planted myself on a rock on the waters edge and watched tiny ground squirrels dart in and out of the crevaces in the rocks looking for food.
Laura and Kieran found me 20minutes later in the same spot they left me. We headed back for the car and our hostel.
Sunday was our last day in Banff. Katelyn and Sawin had left that morning - we'd grabbed each others details and promised to keep in touch with Sawin once we got back to Calgary. I was done. I was done with people and moving and going out so I stayed right there, on the top bunk of my hostel bed and watched the rest of The Walking Dead while Kieran and Laura went out to explore more. In hindsight it probably wasn't the best way to spend my last day in Banff but I knew if I'd gone I'd just be a mopey, mean, upset mess so staying in was the better option (besides, Calgary is only an hours drive from Banff anyway - I'd make a trip like that in Auckland in a day). I repacked most of my bags as we were heading back to Calgary in the morning and settled in to spend the last day of our vacation relaxing. The next day we were heading back to our home away from home for the next two years. Exciting and scary but so worth doing.
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