Mon. 31st August ‘26
We are heading out of Vancouver today and are returning to the airport to collect a hire car, which will be our transport for the next month. As ever we are offered an upgrade, which is just as well as our two big suitcases only just fit in the boot. Oh how different from our round the world gap year with our 15 kg backpacks 14 years ago. Once loaded up we head out of the city. The first hour is nose to tail traffic through road works so we are soon ready to find some lunch. Pho is the order of the day again for Dave, whilst I tuck into a beef and vegetable dish conscious of trying to get my five a day (and not just in fermented grapes).
With a change of drivers there is a change in scenery once we turn off Highway 1 onto a windy road through expansive forests and mountains. It was breathtaking but sadly we were on a mission to get to Osoyoos and we forgot to stop and take any photos. We did however stop at Spotted Lake which lived up to its name due to algae growing on its surface. Not the best photo as it is taken pointing into the sun.
Our overnight stay is in Osoyoos, which is only 5km from the US border and at the southern most point of Lake Osoyoos and a string of lakes heading northwards which we will being following tomorrow. Having driven 400km we were ready to stop and stretch our legs so took a walk to the lake and a sit in a craft beer pub. Is a theme developing?
Tue. 1st September’26
We were not sad to leave the Park Inn which reminded me of the place we stayed in Katherine in Australia. It was a row of rooms off a walkway overlooking a swimming pool, grandly called a King Room with pool view. Whilst not as bad as the Teepees shown in the picture, it was definitely not the advertised 4-star hotel having only the basics in the room and a basic breakfast. Swimming was allowed from 9am and that was the time all the kids jumped in shouting and laughing. Time to check out and move on.
When he questioned why we were visiting Osoyoos, I told Dave it was Canada’s only desert. And so our first stop of the day was at the NK’Mip Desert Cultural Centre to learn about the First Nation Indigenous people and how they lived. The centre was well worth a visit with a 1.5km walk around a reconstructed village. It was very well done with animal and human figures made from metal looking very realistic. I was a bit worried as there was a sign to say watch out as a bear had been spotted in the area. The lady in the shop told me that was Friday and not to worry, phew as we have not purchased any bear spray yet. The other sign is for us to watch out for rattle snakes. Neither bears nor rattle snakes roamed the paths but we did see a metal bear statue and a rattlesnake in a display tank at the exit.
The lake is surrounded by mountains, so our next stop is a viewpoint looking out over Osoyoos, which was an option for sunset last night had we not been drinking craft beer. It is only about an hour’s drive to our next accommodation, so we take a leisurely drive stopping at sights on the way. The next lake is Vaseux lake with a migratory bird sanctuary with a Boardwalk to a three storey bird hide. No wildlife but we did stop to chat to a lovely couple driving home to Idaho after dropping their daughter off in Kelowna who were also keen travellers like us. We could have talked all day but we had places to go.
We love a waterfall so we keenly anticipated a stop at Okanaga Falls, sadly it is just a town but no falls. An interesting sounding KVR trestle bridge made a quick detour. It was popular with the locals jumping into the lake, which Dave found added to an otherwise boring bridge. KVR stands for Kettle Valley Railway. We will be meeting the KVR tomorrow, as it is now a gravel cycle and walking trail. We headed on past Skaha lake to Penticton, which is at the southern tip of Okanagan Lake. This was an option for our next overnight stop, but we decided to head on to Naramata which is a much smaller town in the middle of many Vineyards. Guess what our activity tomorrow will be?
We elected to stay at the Inn at Therapy vineyard, which is a lovely place overlooking the lake. The downside is the lack of restaurants open on a Tuesday evening close by but fortunately we managed to book a table at Bistro Lapin Perdu in Naramata Inn. We elected to walk via the lakeside, about half an hour walk, with time to contemplate our fortunate position to be able to visit such a great country. We also compared the experience of wildfires given the dreadful fire which effected our villa in Spain and the fire across the lake in Summerland a few weeks ago which caused part of Naramata to be evacuated and the Inn to close briefly. Like Bédar, life is returning to normal but the memories remain.