Day 5

These gentle morning starts are getting to be a habit now, and despite waking up at 9 we still potter about for the morning and leave about 11. With Clare's renewed confidence in the car, she drives us away. Although I've visited Kelowna before, Clare hasn't - so we set out this morning for Kelowna, via Vernon where google had told me I could find a wreckers yard. We didn't know what the weather would have in store today, as the morning had started out chilly and crisp. Before long, rain started and was quickly followed by some light snow. It must have been snowing through the night as well as there were small amounts of snow in the roadside and the mountain trees around were similarly dusted in white. The snow stopped and everything cleared up, just in time for our ferry crossing over Arrow Lake.

The ferry over Kootenay Lake had been a conventional ferry boat. The ferry this morning used 2 orange ropes strung underwater from shore to shore to pull it backwards and forwards every 30 minutes, we must have just missed it as we watched it slowly cross the 500m gap between shores. Safely across the other side, the snow started again. Not just a light snow now but enough that it was starting to settle and the small mountain lakes we were passing were ice crusted with snow on top. Our plan with heading south had been to miss the snow in Banff so as to not get so depressed about missing the upcoming ski season, and avoid for as long as possible the miserable grey sky and rain of the UK. Mother Nature was having none of that however and taunting us with every condition we were trying to run from. Along the road we had an option of driving to Shuswap Falls, but decided at the turn off not to bother, the mountain was invisible behind the snow clouds. Instead we continued on to Vernon, where we quickly made our way to the wreckers yard. Banff being the tourist
town it is, weekends don't really effect opening hours, bring on holiday the days seem to blend - so when the gates were locked to the yard, it was a few minutes until we worked out it was because it was Sunday, and of course they were all at Church....

Clever money saving plan scuppered, we abandoned Vernon and headed for nearby Kelowna, stopping at a Canadian Tire ( Canadian equivalent of Halfords/Super Cheap Auto) where we were about to effect the same repairs as the previous owner for around $15. Considering the car will be scrapped in 3 Weeks, job well done! Running by memory of my previous visit we headed for the downtown area of Kelowna to get a hot drink and do some research of where to stay. Stymied momentarily by the extensive road works, we finally managed to find our way to the wharf, and went for a little walk. Clare was impressed by her first impression of the city and we found a great little coffee shop which served amazing hot chocolate. With our research completed, we'd worked out a vague plan for the next few days, and set off to Penticton, at the southern end of Okanagen Lake. From here we'd be able to explore some wine areas on our own, and head onto Oliver for a more structured (ie someone else driving) tours. Getting to Penticton meant driving down the lake, and with the sun setting over the West Kelowna hills we had some amazing views over the lake. This area is just so stunning, it must be a great place to be during the summer months.

With a few navigational hiccups, we arrived at the Swiss sunset motel where we'd be staying for the night. For a change, we decided to get take out to eat in our room and being jammed directly between 2 lakes, we assumed there would be some good fish and chips. Not disappointed, we were directed to a chip shop by the motel owner, and enjoyed a massive meal. Tomorrow the wine drinking begins, so a well filled belly should set us off to a good start!