Having lived in Vancouver for over a decade, I have never been onboard the famous seaplanes. Back in June it was time to cross this item off the list and take a 50-minute scenic flight around our beautiful city and the surrounding mountains!
Harbour Air Seaplanes is the world's largest 100% seaplane airline with 43 planes in services across 21 destinations.
Most of the planes on their fleet are de Havillands, ranging from small Beavers (DHC-2) and Otters (DHC-3), all the way to 19-seat Twin Otters (DHC-6).
Inside seaplane there is not a lot of extra room and if lucky, one will get to sit next to the pilot.
It's a rather noisy environment but taking off was surprisingly smooth and before we knew it, we were airborne over Burrard Inlet.
The great thing about seaplanes is how close to the ground they fly. Our flight took us first over East Vancouver with Vancouver's only amusement park Playland visible.
Highway 1 rush hour was just starting to pick up by the time we flew over.
Next door to Vancouver is the City of Burnaby, which has several impressive and fast-evolving skylines.
Close up of Brentwood with Metrotown in the background.
Burnaby Mountain has an university campus on top of it and oil terminals behind it. This is terminus for a twin-pipeline from Alberta.
Our flight took us next up the Indian Arm and behind North Shore Mountains where nature is wild and largely untouched by man. Most Vancouverites will never see these valleys, although they are only 20 kilometers from Downtown!
Flying over mountain crests requires ascending above the snow line. The was plenty of snow on the mountains even in June.
After some flying we finally reached Howe Sound. Squamish and Whistler are located north from here.
Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal from above.
Vancouver in the distance through a warped windscreen.
Across the English Bay and at the tip of the peninsula is the main campus for University of British Columbia.
Vancouver's affluent Westside is lush with trees.
Oakridge mega construction site in the distance. BC Children's Hospital is in the foreground. Vancouver General Hospital in the photo above.
Kingsway is the main thoroughfare through East Vancouver. We are now quickly approaching Downtown for the final swoop.
Downtown Vancouver
BC Place is an easily recognizable landmark among a sea of towers.
The Butterfly is a major luxury skyscraper currently under construction.
The Granville Bridge loops area has been densifying quickly and is planned to continue doing so with the loops getting removed.
Our famous washed up barge was still intact in June.
English Bay below.
Lost Lagoon and afternoon traffic in and out of Downtown.
Landing to the Vancouver Harbour Water Aerodrome takes one past the Coal Harbour skyline. You can almost touch the buildings as you land.
And there you have it! What an amazing 50 minutes it was in the air with so many amazing views of the city and the beautiful landscape. I hope you enjoyed this scenic tour of Vancouver.
Nice views!! I just returned from Vancouver 3 days ago and really enjoyed my time there. Though I like these scenes from June a little more because the grass was still very green back then, unlike now following the dry summer months (same as here in the SF Bay area).
Nice views!! I just returned from Vancouver 3 days ago and really enjoyed my time there. Though I like these scenes from June a little more because the grass was still very green back then, unlike now following the dry summer months (same as here in the SF Bay area).
Glad you enjoyed Van! Were you at all surprised that the California high dry summer stretches as far north as Vancouver?
Neighboring downtown Victoria has only received 0.6mm (0.02 inches) of rain through August and September.
The skyline looks pretty gorgeous, its like if the city was coming out from the clouds, a city over the SKY , never been in Vancouver but im pretending to do so.....
Amazing sight**
Truly one of the most spectacular places on this big rock.
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"The destructive effects of automobiles are much less a cause than a symptom of our incompetence at city building" - Jane Jacobs 1961ish
Cowichan Valley is an interesting area that many people overlook when visiting Vancouver Island.
The first stop on our trip was the newest attraction on the island, called Malahat Skywalk.
While there is no elevator, the massive structure is easy and effortless to climb up do only an 5-7% incline of the climb.
It's often windy on top of due to how open it is.
The attraction offers beautiful views of the Finlayson Arm some 250 metres below you.
Our place of stay for the trip was in a small seaside town of Cowichan Bay.
Cowichan Valley is home to several farms where it is possible to see farm animals upclose.
Shawnigan Lake is location of Kinsol Trestle which is one of the highest railway trestles in the world.
The bridge is 44 metres (144 ft) high and 188 metres (617 ft) long, and it was renovated in 2011.
The bridge was originally built in 1920 for trains hauling timber.
The small municipality of Cobble Hill is the location of several nice and award-winning vineyards.
Duncan is the central city for the valley and home to world's biggest hockey stick, because why not?
Nice place to have a brunch in Duncan.
There are many nice small municipalities on the island and Chemainus is a nice little town with long history in lumber industry.
These days the town is most famous for its 53 historical murals which are very well made and display a lot of local and Canadian history.
Maybe the nicest looking Subway in existence?
It was a nice little trip to visit Cowichan Valley and to us it has some hidden gems that many people are missing out. I hope these photos will inspire someone else to visit the area one day, hopefully with better weather!
Thanks for the photos; the Owl's Nest in Chemainus is quite nice for lunch. The hockey stick in Duncan hails back to Expo 86, where it was part of the federal government's contributions to the fair.
I was gifted a ticket to go and try out the Eagle Coaster, Canada's longest alpine coaster on top of Cypress Mountain.
I haven't been up Cypress Mountain for few years, so I was surprised to see few new structures having gone up next to the Creek Lodge. Looks good and the place was bustling with hikers.
The coaster zig-zags down the mountain with everything being powered by gravity.
Enjoying the view on the way up.
I was the very first rider for the day, so I was able to push it as much as I wanted. The track is 1,719 meters long and has an elevation change of 279 meters, offering speeds of up to 40km/h which feels rather fast so close to the ground.
Carts are very simple and only have a seat belt and a brake lever, allowing one to adjust their speed. I was full speed most of the time and only braked slightly in some corners, as the ride can be a bit rough on your back.
All in all, I had fun and was actually wanted to do another go. Tickets for the 3 - 3.5 minute ride are tourist price at $35 for single ride and $52 for two rides. In my opinion it is worth it to do it once and I am happy Cypress has introduced a new attraction to the city.
Last weekend saw the LTX Expo take place at Vancouver Convention Center. It was my first time visiting the expo and I had a good time with thousands of others!
As I made it to Downtown on Saturday morning, the line-up already stretched far along the seawall.
Fortunately the line moved quickly and I was soon inside the Convention Center. I have never been to the lower level, which was being fully utilized by the expo.
The expo is known for a lot of things to see and do. There were so many fun challenges to take part in!
Case tossing challenge is a real LTX legend.
There were a lot of opportunities to test some high-end gaming rigs and multiplayer VR setups.
LTX is a real treasure trove for computer enthusiasts and there were several show booths about building a high-end gaming rig.
Part of the show floor was also taken by some 300+ spaces for people to bring their own computer for a massive WhaleLAN party that lasted the whole weekend.
The main stage hosted many panel discussions on several interesting topics around gaming and technology. Many of the panelists were also famous tech Youtubers.
LTX is organized by Linus Tech Tips, the popular Youtube tech channel being produced in Surrey, BC. Linus Sebastian is the founder and face of the channel and it was great to see him be the same everyman that he appears on the LTT videos.
I don't recognize a lot of Youtubers, but I do know JayzTwoCents.
LTT has over 100 people on their staff and they get featured on their videos. It was cool to see familiar faces interact with the expo goers.
Highlight of the first day was a 2.5-hour live stream of The WAN Show, which is a popular weekly video podcast by Linus and LTT's Chief Technology Office, Luke Lafreniere. It's a fun and unscripted show, and was great to see how it was being done.
Like said in the beginning, I had great time at LTX and plan on going again next year. Line management was a challenge on the first day, but the expo had over 4,000 people participating, which exceeded everyone's expectations.
It is fantastic that something like this exists in Vancouver and many people even travel from overseas to be here, which is really cool.
Fort Langley is a nice little suburban town tucked away in the Eastern Lower Mainland.
It's a small town where almost everything is centered along just few streets, but full of nice old heritage buildings.
Fort Langley Community Hall has been seen on many movies.
There is a surprising number of breakfast restaurants in the area, many of them really good, too.
McMillan Island on the other side of the Bedford Channel has some nice trails which we have previously visited.
Fort Langley is very popular especially during summer weekends and patios are bound to be full when the weather is nice.
Vintage and Farmer's Markets are a common sight.
This was our first time actually spending some time in Fort Langley and it is a fun place to check out. We were quite lucky it also not being quite as busy on the Saturday we went, as it can be packed on some days.
Mayne Island is one of the smallest Gulf Islands and people living there enjoy a very relaxed pace to life.
Georgina Point lighthouse is a very familiar structure to all ferry passangers.
Ferry traffic through Active Pass is a very frequent sight.
Mayne Island inhabitants.
Mayne Island Resort is one of the few accommodations on the island and it is really nice place to stay.
High tides make all piers on the island really long.
There are some short hiking trails to be found on the island.
Only 1,200 people live year-round on Mayne Island, so the main street of Miners Bay is never very busy.
There are two grocery stores, one gas station and only few restaurants on the entire island.
Galiano Island across Active Pass.
Springwater Lodge is the oldest continuously operating accommodation in the entire British Columbia, having operated since 1895.
Low tide is noticeable.
There is a very nice Japanese garden near Village Bay ferry terminal. While it wasn't blooming yet, it provided for a nice and quiet place to pause for a moment.
Nothing much happens on Mayne Island and the locals do embrace it.
Mayne Island is not really a tourist destination, as there is nothing much to see or do on it. But if you are looking for slow-pace relaxation, it might be one of the best places not too far from Vancouver.
Comox Valley is another lesser known pocket on Vancouver Island that is worth a visit. Our trip took place over this past Thanksgiving long weekend and the weather was absolutely fantastic as we boarded the ferry in Horseshoe Bay.
Hazy Vancouver skyline from afar.
The recommended way to get from Nanaimo to Comox is not to take the highway but instead drive the scenic coastal route.
Goose Spit Bay is a popular leisure spot in Comox.
We don't normally do AirBnB, but accommodation options in the area can be scarce and the carriage house we booked was very lovely.
Canadian Armed Forces have a base on Comox, which is source for a lot of employment in town. There is a great air museum next to the base with an Air Park that is free to enter.
A lot of the equipment has been used in coast rescue missions.
The town of Comox has a pretty fisherman's wharf worth a visit.
Comox Glacier is visible from the town.
Comox is a small town of 14,800 people with a lot of residents being elderly. The main street was rather quiet during a Saturday.
Nymph Falls is a local sight just outside of Courtenay.
Next day we drove up to Campbell River to visit a fun petting farm and we had a great time over there.
Puntledge River Hatchery is definitely worth a visit during salmon run that tends to have its height in late autumn.
Cumberland is another small town in the area with long coal mining history. Nowadays there seemed to be a lot of nice looking restaurants and local breweries, but we didn't have any time to visit them.
Royston has a shore front that was built back in the 1930s by 14 decommissioned ships being sunk. The vessels are still visible from the shore.
The real commercial center and largest city of Comox Valley is Courtenay, but the city has little to see. The downtown can be pretty lively during a weekend, although it is not visible in my photos from Sunday evening.
All in all, it was a fun low-key weekend visiting some small towns with surprisingly lot to see.
Pattullo Bridge, built in 1937 is a beautiful but unfortunately crumbling bridge, that connects the cities of New Westminster and Surrey, BC. There is currently a major construction project ongoing to replace the old four-lane bridge with a new one.
It was a really nice sunny day to be walking around New Westminster shoreline and across the old bridge.
When the new bridge is completed next year, there will be in total four bridges across the river before the old bridge is demolished on the following year.
Traffic arrangements on the north end are starting to take shape.
Nearby Victoria Hill neighborhood has such awesome views, especially on a beautiful day like this.
The exiting bridge is way past its prime, having been completed 87 years ago. It is estimated that it could collapse in case of a major earthquake or during a freak storm.
Lougheed and Burquitlam skylines are looking pretty awesome, considering that a short 5 years ago there was no skyline to talk about.
City of New Westminster.
The center pylon has officially reached its peak height of 168 meters, which makes it the new landmark. I wish some nice lighting would be added to the new bridge once completed, but such things don't unfortunately happen in Vancouver.
First piece of road deck went up recently and there are going to be 80 cables to hold the entire road deck.
On south end, the new bridge will have an offramp connecting it with the Highway 17 that runs directly below it.
Brownsville Bar Park is not a very great park in itself, but it offers some nice views of the construction, as well as the other bridges crossing the river.
I have to admin, I am going to miss the old bridge, as it is pretty iconic part of our city.
The fourth crossing is a railway swing bridge that was built in 1904 and still operates today with no plans for a replacement.
And there you have it. It was a hot day to walk across the bridge and see it from different angles, but it was worth it to capture some photos to remember the old bridge once it will be gone. I hope you enjoyed!
Hart House is a fine dining establishment in Burnaby and close to us, yet this past Mother's Day was our first visit to it. The impressive main building was originally built in 1906, as a residence for a wealthy businessman and was eventually converted into a restaurant in 1988.
Architecturally the building represent the Tudor Revival style.
The building holds a heritage status from the City of Burnaby.
Inside, the former residence has been converted to a restaurant with good taste, retaining lot of the old characteristics.
The Mother's Day buffet table wasn't the largest in town, but it was still fantastic! Here is just a small sample of what was being offered.
The restaurant is located in a very green part of the city, right next to Deer Lake and offers some fantastic views across the water.
Needless to say that we will be back at for another visit to try out their regular menu, too!
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