Cruises, Woodpeckers, Mum, snowshoes, salt, Uncle, cold, New York, and Christmas

You can view more stuff here: videos and photos here

Firstly congrats to my big sis Lisa on having a little girl named Kate Isobel - just heard the news - well done Steve and Lisa - Lucy now has a sister. I'm an Uncle again (in other words - an old bastard).

The snow images in the last post are nothing compared to the large dumping of snow we had on Sunday.




Ottawa recently had the biggest snowfall for few years and the 'weather experts' are stating that this Winter, Canada will be moving into a 'mini ice-age' - in other words it might be the coldest Winter in 20 odd years. I can kind of believe this as last week we had a -20C and a few -10C days (well below the seasonal norm for this time of year), and on Sunday night we had at least a 30cm dumping of snow (it is snowing outside at the mo.). The fact that Winter doesn't officially start until December 22, this is the coldest Autumn/Fall I have ever experienced! Miriam and I have spent a small fortune on winter clothing, boots (with rubber soles that will not harden until the -30Cs), hats, clothes and scarfs - so we are set for the Winter - bring it on. We also have our ski/boarding gear ready - the fields across the river (closest is 20mins from our apartment) are already open, and have had their best start to a season in years - powder as opposed to rock and ice. We have been up a few times - and may get a season pass for the evenings at Camp Fortune, so that we can hit the slopes after work - saaaweeet!






Ottawa is used to this kind of weather though, - all the systems are in place. As soon as the roads have some accumulation of snow, the salt trucks are out - spraying the roads with a salt grit mix (good for the car - have had it rust proofed though - a must every Winter, and it's only $80. Even with the rust proofing, the car is still prone to getting rust, so I have to clean it often (see pic below - the white stuff is dry salt)). If the snow is heavy, graders and trucks with ploughs come out to clear the roads, and contractors with snow ploughs on the front of their huge pickups (6litre chevys) clear driveways and side streets. The contractors get paid a set amount each Winter from households, to clear the driveways - if it is a mild winter (like last year), they have a sweet winter - still get paid, and have little ploughing to do. But if it a snowy winter (like this one is going to be), they have their work cut out for them. A friend of ours, has a landscaping business during the summer/spring months and ploughs during the Winter. Last Sunday, he started ploughing at 4pm, had a break at 4am and was back on the roads after a 2 hour sleep! Anyway, the snow is ploughed in to huge piles all around the city (sometimes over 15feet high) and to the sides of roads. During the night the streets are full of huge dump trucks and blowers, that blow the snow piles into the back of the trucks for disposal (out of the city somewhere). This city doesn't have to stop for snow or extreme cold (a good example of this, was last night (-12C), they had a huge crowd out to watch the Christmas carols and to see the Christmas lights on Parliament (see pic below).





So with the cold, comes colds. I had my first Canadian cold last week - it lasted all week! Hopefully that is it for Winter.


So what's been happening (apart from the snow and cold). Miriam's mum was in town for a looksy; we went on road trips to Quebec City, Montreal, and Toronto; tried ice skating; had a go at curling; have been playing dodge ball, volleyball, indoor soccer, hockey, and b ball; helped with some landscaping (digging); received a cruise for two in the Caribbean (scam); went to Ottawa Wine & Food; Miriam went on a girls shopping trip down across the border ($Canada was at $1.10 to $US1); Miriam had her birthday (in Quebec City); had many a night out; went to Senators ice hockey match; saw some wolves (well saw one wolf and the hind legs of what may have been another in the bushes off the side of the road); been driving on ice, salt, grit and snow; had my photo and name said on National TV; had my face printed on a t-shirt; bought someone else's face on a t-shirt; almost finished the marmite; have been up snow boarding/skiing at Fortune, Edelweiss and Tremblant; and we are ready for New York - leave week after next - for Christmas and New Years.


Miriam's mum, Anne, arrived in Ottawa mid October after competing in a singing contest out West in Calgary (their group, the 'Sweet Adelines' were placed 9th out of about 36 international barbershop groups - great effort). After a few days in Ottawa, we took Anne out east to Montreal, Quebec City and surrounding areas. Anne really enjoyed her time out east - even though it was a short trip. Miriam had her birthday in Quebec City - we had a very nice 3 course meal in a 80's decor restaurant - very nice. The weather was nice, and cold enough for there to be an out door ice skating rink in old Quebec City. So Miriam and I had a go - Miriam was skating like a professional and I was trying not to fall on my arse, but it was fun - will have to learn how to do it properly, as the canal will be open soon for ice skating (it is already frozen over - but the council will not open it until there has been 10 days of -15C!).




Anne enjoyed Ottawa as well. She went to a few of the museums, and took a tour through the Supreme Court, downtown - I think she was impressed. We also took her out to Wakefield and Gatineau Park - with all the impressive Fall colours - we even organised to have a few deer come out of the forest on cue, as we were driving by. Her time here flew by - and it wasn't long before we were saying the goodbyes at Ottawa airport.



A few weeks back we decided to go to Toronto for the long weekend (well one night of the long weekend). We stayed in Old Cabbage town at a little B&B - 213 Carlton Street - a good place that was close to the downtown area. Toronto (as you would expect) was a very lively place (made Ottawa seem like a ghost town). Queen Street West is the one of the major downtown streets with all the shops, bars and restaurants. We went to this cool underground op shop - it was huge. It had everything, new and used - very cheap. We had a good look around, ate some Mexican (food that is), and ended up at a place called The Drake Hotel at 1am. We were talking and drinking a cocktail and all of a sudden I thought I was back in Wellington. We didn't click until half way through a song that it was a kiwi song - Dust by Recloose (featuring Fat Freddy's Joe Dukie). Nice one - it felt as though we were back in NZ for a few minutes.




The next day we went up the CN Tower - which had the highest deck in the world. It was impressive - planes were flying below us! Miriam couldn't stand near the edge - so she hung around the center of the tower. It was pretty cool walking over the glass floor - I wonder how often they check the supports? The day was clear and we had a great 360 degree view of Toronto (see pics).

I spent a day curling a month back. A friend here in Ottawa was short a player so I decided to give it a go. Good game (a little boring), I even got the hang of sliding down the rink on my feet before releasing the rock. The concept was simple, we would play for an hour, then go in the club rooms and drink for an hour - and we did this for 8 hours! Not really a sport to keep fit.

Ottawa had a Wine and Food show a few weeks back. It is an annual event that attracts huge crowds - with wines, beer, spirits and food from all over the world. New Zealand was well represented and was a popular tasting spot, closely followed by Aussie. Miriam put her name in for a draw to win a 8 day Caribbean cruise for 2. Guess what........

...about 2 weeks after the wine and food show, we had a phone call at home. Miriam answered and was told that she had won an 8 day cruise for 2 in the Caribbean on Majestic Imperial Sea cruises (the same competition she entered at the show). The catch - we had to pay $299US each on the spot over the phone, in order to cover some sort of admin costs that couldn't be covered by Majestic Imperial. By that stage I was on the phone as well, as the (con)man said that we should both be on the phone at the same time. We said, that we don't give out credit card details over the phone, he said - why do think this isn't legit? By this stage he was getting impatient and rude. We said again that we just don't give out credit card details over the phone - he kept on repeating 'so you think this isn't legit', then he said that we would receive an audio receipt from a third party (we were thinking, yeah right, a third party - you mean, someone in the other room (from him)). To cut a long story short, he was rude, impatient and a conman - we rejected the offer, he yelled some abuse and hung up. We looked up Imperial Cruise Scam - here are some results in Google.

We were told about a website - http://www.joytshirt.com/ . Have a look, something different - where you send an image of yourself - this dude draws your face - writes down your life passions - another random person from wherever orders your face (t-shirt) - the Joy dude prints your face on a t-shirt, adds a tag with your life passions and posts it to the person that ordered it online. I bought 'Frank Joy' from North America. My face will be up soon - might be the first kiwi on the site!

A friend here in Ottawa had some tickets to see the Ottawa Senators play - this is the team that made it to the playoffs at the start of the year and the whole city went berserk! It was a good night - new experience - but the Senators lost 4-3. There is so much ice hockey over here - it's on every night - just about.

Have seen a lot of wildlife of late. Last week after the big snow, I was driving through Gatineau and a wolf (maybe two as there was some hind legs in the bush ahead of it) crossed the road in front of me. I went to the local Information Centre (like a DOC info Centre) to report the sighting. They said that there are two wolf packs in Gatineau, but seeing them was a rarity. Keeping on the wildlife theme, Miriam and I tried out snowshoeing on Sunday in Gatineau. We spotted a woodpecker doing its business to a tree. We got within 3m of it and it was still pecking away.

So with all the snow, the ski fields have opened early. We have been up a few times to Fortune, Edelweiss, and once up to Mont Tremblant . Edelweiss had 3 out of 16 runs open, Fortune 3 of 16 runs and get this, Tremblant had 69 runs of 94 open! 94 runs - we were in ski/board heaven - and it was all powder mate. Have to go up again this weekend!
















New York New York, The Big Apple, the city that never sleeps, the bagels, Fifth Avenue, Broadway, Statue of Liberty, Macy's, Natural History Museum, The Empir....yep we are driving down to New York city (10 or so hours from Ottawa - depending on weather, traffic etc) next Thursday and will spend Christmas and New Years there (and take a side trip to DC). We are meeting up with two friends from NZ who are travelling across from the UK. It will be a blast!

So it has been 8 months, and we are getting into/used to the Canadian life here in Ottawa - the canoes, poutine, beaver tails, beavers, black bears, wolves, keiths red, oat and a boat, salty roads, icy roads, snow, -20s,+36s, Tim Hortons, Senators, Dodgeball, curling, ice skating, skiing, snow boarding, snow shoeing, wood peckers, majestic cruise scams, tipping, good service, piss poor service, forms, more forms, maple trees, Autumn colours, Fall colors, turning right on the red, left hand driving, freeways, Canadian/French politics, cable tv, fast Internet, and how similar Canadians are in a way to NZders, and how dis-similar Americans are!

Probably won't have time to write another Blog entry before the New Year, so...

Have a good Christmas and New Year everyone - tis a white Christmas here (no bbqs for Christmas this year!

I need some more marmite.

Blog will be updated soon

Gone snowboarding.

I will update the blog soon - probably in the morning.

In the meantime here are some shots of Ottawa over the past few days (taken from our apartment window). One of the photos made it on National TV - third photo down (along with my name, nationality, and it was mentioned that it was my first winter in Ottawa) - it was on the Weather Channel (whoopiee)!

More shots and vids are here, and here .

Bloody Ref, the '50/50', Fall, Tremblant, Goliath, and Salsa

***Update before you read below - THAT WAS A FORWARD PASS - it is 4 days later (just after the long weekend - Thanksgiving ) and we lost - I kind of had a feeling before the game started that the ABs were up against it - as the French are an unpredictable team that somehow always rise to the big occasions. The ABs need to go into the next World Cup as under dogs - ie I think we need to play poorly over the next 4 years and then play with less pressure from the Nation and the world's media (and the people of NZ). Or we keep on winning over the next 4 years, go in as favorites and have massive home support (with the crowds at the games yelling chants that all kiwis know) to psych the players. Or we send the entire squad to a sheep farm way down south for 4 years, to give them more mongrel.

It is a cold and wet Saturday morning - a perfect time to write a blog entry. The view of Gatineau Park from our apartment window is changing daily, as the trees have turned from a dark green to shades of red, yellow and brown. Yes Fall is here (the geese are flying south - see pic) which means the infamous Ottawa winter is not far off - let us see if Ottawa's tag as the second coldest capital in the world eventuates this Winter - a lot of the locals are sceptical because of the (sped up) effect of Global Warming - last week the average temperature was 25 C (the 'norm' at this time of year is supposed to be around the early teens), the locals are all saying it is strange. Anyways, the Maples in Gatineau have changed and tourists are cueing up to drive through the Park. We on the other hand are still in Ottawa, at least for today, and will go to the 'Heart & Crown' to watch the AB's play France in the World Cup quarters. We are watching it with a couple from London, who will be happy that England beat Aussie in this mornings quarters 12-10. It will cost us $20 each to watch it, as the pub has to pay $10,000 to get the sports channel that plays the world cup!




So the last month - again a lot has happened. It started with the trip to La Ronde, a roller coaster park in Montreal; then there was the 3 day canoe trip down part of the Noire River in Quebec with 4 others; a 200 foot bungee jump; a secured full time position at a certain embassy; and the busy happenings in Ottawa.

La Ronde , a roller coaster theme park in Montreal was a blast. I had never been on a roller coaster before, and Miriam hadn't been on any for years, so we thought we would have a look. We chose the wrong day as it was a national holiday in Quebec, and the cues for rides were....long (like the airport cues in America - with the zig-zag lines). However the park is massive with hundreds of rides, so there were some options, like the Goliath, Bateau Pirate, Boomerang, Cobra, Manitou, Monstre, Orbite, Super Manege, Tornade, Vampire, and the Vertigo . Speaking of adrenaline rushes, I was asked to join some of our Ottawa friends in bungee jumping (Miriam wasn't up for it) at the 'Great Canadian Bungee' in Quebec (about 20 mins drive from Ottawa). The reason why I said yes, was because the jump was half price - not because it was a dodgy outfit or anything, but because a friend had a 2-for-1 pass. It was a 200 foot jump into a lagoon - I asked if I could be dipped on the way down, I ended up getting dunked down to my waist!

About 4 weeks back, we went on a 3 day canoe trip with 4 others (Dan, a Swiss Canadian, Mike & Amanda, friends of Dan, and Dave who knows Dan and whom we meet at tennis in Ottawa). We went down part of the Noire (Black) River , in Quebec. It took us about 2.5 hours (from Ottawa) to arrive at the canoe outfitters - located way out in the wops, down a gravel road. From there we were fitted with all the gears - life jackets, helmets, paddles; sorted out our food - in which we stored in a waterproof/bear proof barrel; and loaded the canoes onto the trailer for the 1.5hr drive to our drop off point (the road was rough as guts - 4x4 only). When we arrived at the drop off point, it was getting quite late (and dark), so we paddled up stream for about 15minutes to find a suitable place to camp the night. We had enough food to (almost) sink a canoe, and we needed to some how hoist the barrel of food 15 feet up a tree (and 2m out from the trunk), in order to safeguard it from the bears. Dan (the Swiss Canadian - well he comes to Canada all the time, so is considered a local) had the rope and with the help of some of us, we manged to hoist the food up without any hassle (the following night we weren't as successful, as the branches came crashing down on us - too much food in the barrel).

The next day, we had a gentle canoe ride down the river - although the wind made it seem as though we were paddling up stream at some points. We arrived at the campsite just before the infamous grade 3 rapid aptly named '50/50' - because you had a 50% chance of capsizing or getting through it unscathed. It was the first time we had encountered anybody for the entire day - in fact the campsite was choker (about 15 people), so we had to pitch the tent on some wild brush - very uncomfortable. Dave and I were the only ones game enough to try the '50/50' - we studied it a few time that night and were going to attempt it the next morning, without the camping gear inside the canoe. The next morning came, we studied the path we would take (over and over) before deciding it was time. We were all psyched up, we hopped in the canoe - adrenalin rushing through our veins - and paddled up stream a bit to get a better run up - on the way up stream we both spotted a snake swimming across the bow - was this a good omen, we thought. Nup, we capsized 2 seconds into the rapid, and went down the rest (over boulders) on our arse - canoes are s**t, why can't they stay upright! Anyways, the canoe was stuck (full of water) on a boulder in the middle of the rapid - we managed to somehow tip it over to release some of the water, and it finished the '50/50' without us. Oh, well there were more grade 3 rapids that day - bring it on!

Actually, the next one was 1oom upstream, one in which we were not aware of. We packed our gear on board and headed downstream. In 3 canoes ahead of us were a family (including a very young baby strapped in the front of the canoe - when I say strapped in, I mean strapped into a baby seat (like in a car), not a baby literally strapped to the canoe (like a pack);). 50 m upstream we all noticed the rapid. Miriam said, 'I hope that canoe with the baby is not going down that rapid ahead', I said 'no, but we are'. They portaged it, and we were heading for it. In the end, with Miriam's superior front end guidance and my panicky steering at the back, we got through the rapid fine, albeit a little wet - and so did the others. From then on there were many small rapids (grade 2s and 1s) and low water crossings to make - all of which we survived. However, later in the day we stopped before another grade 3. Dan suggested we take the gear out for this one. So we walked the gear through the forest to the other side of the grade 3, and studied the path we would take through the rapid. 'Alright, who is up first' , Dan said. Miriam and I said we would go first - on the walk to the canoe there were a few nerves, but also kiwi pride - we will do this one for all kiwis that have been in a canoe (not many). We headed up stream a bit - Miriam would go hard out up front and yell out directions, I would go hard out , steer, and yell out 'Oh mama'. Right this was our moment, the Canadians were filming it and were cheering us on. Now you would think that we might have come a cropper (**like the All Blacks vs France) , but nay - we conquered it - sweet. We some how turned the right way at the right time with our eyes closed and ended upright, out the other side of the rapid. Now it was the Canadians turn - Amanda and Mike were next. We were filming this time. They were looking good until the front left got stuck on a rock and swung the canoe around, tipping and filling it with water in the process - bugger (it was unlucky, as they were looking good. Even more unlucky was that when they tried to upright the canoe, it buckled under the pressure - this wasn't noticed until we returned the canoes to the outfitters later that day - they were given the option of buying the canoe for $800, or paying $250 for the damage - they paid the $250). Anyways, Dave and Dan were next. To cut to the chase, the experienced canoeists did with out a problem - nice one.

So within a few hours the canoe trip was over. It was a great experience, one in which we will do again for sure next summer.

** As I said at the top, this blog post has been written over a few days, because of the lack of time in which I have had to write it. I managed to secure work at 'that place' and have decided to postpone my studies until January (part-time, work full-time), because of many reasons. Mainly I had just started the new job, which was taking up a lot of time, and we have been making the most of the good weather by exploring parts of Quebec and Ontario - like last weekend in Tremblant.

Thanksgiving weekend, we went to Mont Tremblant to see the colours of Fall - the red, yellow and brown maples. We drove through Gatineau Park on the way, and then up the 317 to Tremblant. All I can say is stunning. If ever you get a chance to come to this part of Canada, come in Fall - it is unreal, the pictures don't do it justice at all.

So, Miriam's mum is here in a week (she is actually in Calgary at the mo. in a singing competition - good luck Anne!). Miriam has taken the week off (and I am in between contracts with 'that place'), so we might go to Quebec City and Montreal for a bit. Hopefully the Fall colours are still around.

Winter is a coming, so we purchased some ski/snow board gear at a warehouse sale. The gear was, get this, 70% cheaper than in NZ. We were stoked, as it will last us for years, and we saved a s**tload. Now all we need is snow.

I am still doing the OSSC sports on Wednesday nights. This time I have registered to do the 'All Sorts of Sports' option - which includes Dodgeball (yes like the movie - it is big over here), volleyball, floor hockey, indoor soccer, and basketball). During the winter, I might try ice hockey or curling!

We had a go at Salsa a few Tuesdays ago. It was cool, I think I'm a natural......being that needs to practise in order to get good at it. Miriam made it look easy - how do you move your hips like that! Anyways, we haven't been lately cos of some work (liaison) dinners that have ended up always occuring on Tuesday evenings. We'll get back into it in Winter.

We just purchased winter tyres and rims for the car - a must for Ottawa in Winter. They set us back a bit, but we are hopeful they will last the distance. Also speaking of the car, we are driving down to New York for Christmas and New Years and meeting some friends (Hamish & Karen) there, who are flying across from the UK. Hopefully the journey south will be OK - without the hassle of holiday traffic and blizzard like conditions.

Well, that is about all for now - back to my book 'Eau Canada' ( it is a book about water governance/management (or lack of it) in Canada. There is a common perception that Canada has 25% of the World's fresh water - this is a common 'myth' that has circulated around the media. The fact is that Canada has 6.7% of global fresh water, in which only 2.6% is able to be used in a renewable way. The great lakes are like giant swimming pools - if the water is used they will dry up, as they are not fed significantly and the average rainfall around the lakes is quite low. And the water sources up north are unattainable for obvious reasons. There are water shortages in the prairies, and water management is of concern throughout Canada - eg the Walketon disaster . USA has more renewable water sources than Canada, and they still import a lot from Canada. Brazil and Russia, top the list for global water resources).

I still can't believe the AB's are out of the World Cup.

Bloody Ref.

Need Marmite;)

Update coming and geese

Yep it's been a while since the last post. I will make a conscious effort to write something decent this weekend. There are some newish photos on FlickR of the canoe trip etc.

In the mean time here is a large pic of some Canadian Geese!