The drive from Jasper to Banff is pretty straightforward and only takes a couple of hours if you don’t stop (which is impossible). Many have described the Icefields Parkway that meanders through the heart of the Canadian Rockies going through two national parks as one of the most beautiful drives in the world, I would agree. We have travelled this road a couple of times now and there is so much to see and the views are outstanding.

When we left Jasper the weather was pretty mild but there was a hint of something in the air and so we knew that rain was coming.

Our first stop at Sunwapta Falls is about 30 kms out of Jasper. They are crazy noisy and obviously very powerful with a drop of about 18 and a half metres. Sunwapta means turbulent water and boy does it fit. The water here originates from the Athabasca Glacier which we are on our way to next. If you are a keen white water rafter some groups start from just below these falls. Speaking of which we haven’t crossed paths with the gang we saw earlier in our trip and they certainly did come to mind when I saw the sensational and scary drop and force of this water.

As we got closer to the Athabasca Glacier the rain started and the air was feeling colder and colder – so different from a couple of days ago when we were here last.

The plan is for us to take the self directed Toe of the Glacier Trail which is about 1km climbing 30 metres and takes about an hour to complete. This glacier is one of the six toes of the massive Columbia Icefield which was formed over 240,000 years ago. You are able to travel by bus onto the Glacier and then take a walk on the Glacier itself but with queues being so long and not really wanting to be part of a big group, we got ourselves rugged up for another walk. By the time we got out of the car it was almost horizontal rain and it was cold but we hadn’t seen anything yet.

Along our hike there is information posted along the way by the National Park folk. it came as no surprise to me that apparently icefields produce their own weather, further cooling air as it passes over them and that winds generated here are strongest in autumn.

Other markers which were just numbers demonstrated how the Glacier is getting smaller over time. Over the last 125 years the Glacier has lost half its volume (since railways started) and is now receding by about five metres a year. The idea that something that had been here for thousands of years is slowly melting away is really quite shocking. This is the most visited glacier in North America and so we tourists are part of the problem but are also a great way to spread the word about mans impact on these natural world heritage sites – so it’s a tricky balancing act.

After a warm hot chocolate in the Visitors Centre where we also watched a film, we continued our trip to Banff. We are here for two nights before heading to Calgary for our last few days before flying home.

We are booked into a lovely lodge about 10 minutes from town. It feels like you are in a little cabin in the woods..

Banff is of course known for its hot springs as well as it’s many outdoor activities with about 8,000 people living here – many of them Australian. Every restaurant and shop we were served in has had at least one Aussie accent..from Cairns to Perth to Melbourne – there are obviously jobs for young Aussie’s with working visas. There are also 65 grizzly bears in the National Park which is 6,600 square kilometres hopefully we will see one. 🙄

A trip to the picturesque Bow Falls started our day it’s aa short walk from downtown Banff good to stretch our legs and not too many hills.

Downtown Banff is busy with tourists and tourist buses. Some of the shops are quite lovely and there are so many dogs here..I love it.

I probably haven’t mentioned it before but lots of people travel with their dogs. I didn’t see any on the cruise but ya never know – haha that would have been hilarious and dangerous I know but the possibilities.

Our final stop for the day is Lake Minnewanka a glacial lake that is 21 kms long and 142 metres deep. It is estimated that people have lived near this lake for over 10,000 years this is based on stone tools and spearheads that were discovered by archeologists.

Tomorrow morning we head for Calgary for a coup,e of nights and then home. I’ll touch base one more time from Calgary, I have loved every moment of this trip it has been truly amazing.