Tinkerblue

Tourism 2011 Challenge Completed

I collected the minimum 15 stamps before the end of May. 51 stamps to be exact.

The challenge was to visit as many of the listed attractions as possible and collect the stamps. Entry was for myself and one other person. So Hubby found himself being dragged along for some of them.

We checked out places I hadn't been before (hubby has been to most, although not all)- Power House at Stave Falls, Harbour Cruise, Hells Gate, Fort Langley, Greater Vancouver Zoo, Stanley Park Horse Drawn Carriage Ride...

We also went back to places we know and enjoy - the Aquarium, Art Gallery, Museum of Anthropology, Science World, UBC Botanical Gardens...

And a couple of places that we don't need to return to any time soon- Museum of Vancouver, the Planetarium (it was a lot smaller/older than we remembered), the BioDiversity Museum...

So now what? Depending on how many stamps you collected your name was put in a draw for a variety of prizes. The levels were 15, 25 and 35 stamps. I didn't win any prizes. Oh well.

But... As long as you collected the minimum 15 stamps you received a 2011 Privilege Pass. What exactly us that? It gives me (and one other person) unlimited entry to the attractions for the remainder of the year.

Woohoo we get to be a tourist in our own backyard all year. Hubby will just love that!

Stanley Park Horse-Drawn Tours

We've never been on a tour of Stanley Park before. We have both walked and rode our bikes along the Sea Wall, we've taken out of town guests to see the Totem Poles, hear the 9 'O Clock gun and take photos of the city, but neither of us has been on an organised tour.

 

One of the options in the 2011 Tourism Challenge is a one hour fully narrated tour of the east side of Stanley Park provided by Stanley Park Horse-Drawn Tours. It was raining and cold so we debated whether to go or not. But we were there, I'd get a stamp, we probably wouldn't get another chance before the end of May and it was something we hadn't done before.

 

Reservations are not required, but there is limited availability. Tours depart about every 30 mins and carriages seat 20 passengers. Because of the rain, and everyone else being home getting ready for Easter dinner there were not many people around. So we got a seat on the next carriage. There were maybe only 10 of us all together.

 

 

The horses travel slow enough that there are plenty of opportunites to take photos of the sights along the way. (Although not with an iPhone, a real camera would have been better. My iPhone photos are all slighty blurry or too dark). The only actual stop is at the totem poles. Where we were allowed to get off and take some photos, and pop into the cafe to grab a hot chocolate each.

 

The narration provided by the carriage driver/tour guide is informative and a little humourous. Some of the sights that our guide highlighted were the HMCS Discovery, the cruise ships in dock, the Shangri-La hotel, the new convention centre, the old convention centre, the floating gas dock for the float planes, the Totem Poles, Harry Jerome memorial, the cricket and rugby pitches, Lumberman's Arch, the kiddie dryer, Girl in a Wetsuit, the sulpher piles, Lions Gate and Ironworkers Memorial bridges, Brockton Point Lighthouse, damage done by the 2006 windstorm, notches left in large tree trunks from logging back in the day, Children's minature railway, Aquarium, Beaver Lake (actually beaverless), the Rose Garden, statues of Lord Stanley, Robbie Burns, and Queen Victoria, Vancouver Rowing Club, Vancouver Yacht Club and more. Some of it we had heard before, but some of the information was new to both us.

 

 

Despite the rain and the cold we enjoyed the tour, it was a great way to see Stanley Park, learn some of the history, it was fun and we're glad we did it. It's not something we would have gone and done normally. But that's what the Tourism Challenge is for. To encourage us to experience Vancouvers attractions and to recommend them to our guests.

 

But at $29.99 per adult, or pretty much $60.00 for the pair of us, it was an expensive hour. It wouldn't usually be in our budget.Kids 3 and up are $15.99. I don't know too many of our friends who could afford to spend close to $100.00 for a family of four for an hour. I realise it's a business and they need to cover their expensives and make a profit but with no family rate it's a bit steep.   The ticket office did say to keep an eye out for two for one coupons in the Entertainment Books and on the Vancouver Attractions site. Also the tours are often included in combo tickets or in some of the tourist brochures there may be coupons for a % off. So keep your eyes open. 

 

 

 

Vancouver Aquarium

Hubby is about to start his summer of travel for work and the Century Flight Club, and on Tuesday I start my summer of travel on the Rocky Mountaineer train.  What'll probably happen is I'll be home while he's out in the Prairies somewhere measuring a fast food outlet, and I'll be home. Or I'll be on the train in the middle of the Rockies while he's home. And when we both happen to be home, there's a thousand things that need to be scheduled in.  This is one of our last "free" weekends, so we spent a rainy, cold Vancouver Sunday exploring some of the attractions in my Tourism Challenge passport.

 

We've both been to the Vancouver Aquarium many, many times. I like it more than Hubby. He's of he "once you've been, you've seen it all" mindset and doesn't need to go back. I on the other hand, can spend hours there and see something new to me each time. But he agreed to spend the morning with me, and I think he enjoyed it. Well, there was no grumbling, so that's a good sign.

 

I real life I am not fond of jellyfish. Blame it on the nasty Jellyfish in Queensland, I got stung by. (Not a deadly Irukandji, just some minor species that left tentacle marks and an ugly rash on my leg). At the Aquarium they look so pretty and harmless.

 

 

One thing we  haven't done before is watch the 4D movie. Right now they are only playing one movie - Dora and Diego's 4D Adventure - Catch that Robot Butterfly. Not my first choice by any means. The last time we were here the queue for the 4D theatre was huge. It was like a 3 movie wait, so we figured we'd better go now while we had the chance. The movie was cute. The 4D effects were fun, like the It's Tough To Be A Bug or Mickey's Philharmagic 3D Movies at Disney World. If you have kid's in the Dora age group, you should take them.

 

 

After the movie, our next stop was the Amazon Gallery. A baby marmoset was born on April 15, and if possible I wanted to see it. I always forget how hot it is in the Amazon gallery. I know the Amazon it hot, but given that it was cold outside my mind didn't quite compute that the exhibition would be unbelievably warm. Hubby was fascinated by the bat cave. Bats creep me out. I'm glad I don't have to go in and put their food out. Yeach. The baby marmoset was so cute. Not very big. He/she was tough to spot riding on the mother's back. Tiny. No flash allowed = crappy photos = no photos. I did however take a photo of these Hyacinth Macaw who were so posing for the cameras.

 

We spent a bit of time watching the belugas and reading about the receding ice cap, and the temperature warming at the Arctic, before heading outside to watch the Sea Otter presentation. I know they are not big, nor do they do any spectactular tricks like whales or dolphins or porpoises, but I think Sea Otters are adorable. I could watch them for ages, if it weren't for the fidgety hubby beside me. 

 

 

We sent about 2 hours at the Aquarium, I could easily have spent longer, but hubby was showing signs of being done.  The Aquarium is not cheap. $21.00 per adult.  With a membership being only $58.00, it's a better deal. That $58.00 gets you unlimited visits all year, one free guest pass (one time use only ), 10% off other guest visits, 20% off animal encounters, and 20% off at the cafe and gift shop.  With a membership it'd be easy to drop in for an hour or so, grab a drink and be on your way without having to worry about getting your money's worth. Two visits and you're pretty much covered.