The gold rush is long over in the mountain streams of BC but men of vision are still drawn to this vast wilderness of emerald forest and royal blue ocean in a Canadian province that is the size of France, Germany and the Netherlands combined. Up near Alert Bay , in the misty, dense woodlands lands of the coastal aboriginal tribes, Craig Murray saw a magnificent waterfall and knew that it would be the power behind his Nimmo Bay heli-fishing resort.
Down in the Cariboo ranch country, expat Brit, Norm Dove came across a cattle ranch in alpine Echo Valley that he knew would be the perfect spot for the Thai spa that he longed to build with his Thai wife Nan. British Columbia is relentlessly beautiful and wild and much of the province is inaccessible. Until recently, a visitor had to work hard at the Canadian wilderness, lugging backpacks, tents, depressing rations of dried food and cans of bear and bug spray. Over the past few years, the reserved, modest Canadians have been working quietly to create some of the most luxurious resorts in the world and take most of the misery out of communing with nature. The Nimmo Bay Resort is a favourite of George Bush Senior, Richard Branson and CEOs of some of the biggest American and European companies. The lodge consists of a half dozen luxurious log cabins on stilts nestled around that waterfall on an inlet of the Pacific just across from Port Hardy. The food is fantastic, there are hot-tubs at the base of the waterfall and a masseur is on call day and night but at Nimmo Bay, the helicopter is the thing. Throughout their stay, guests have a helicopter and pilot, available to whisk them off to lunch on a glacier, salmon fish in remote rivers or beach-comb on one of the Canadian West Coast's immense, empty white sand beaches.
Like so many Canadian resorts, Nimmo Bay takes care to nurture the nature that surrounds it so fishing here is of the catch and release variety. Fishing is the big attraction but there are other adventures that only a helicopter can provide and on the first day, we let the salmon wait and head out to Alert Bay to visit the local First Nation community. This tiny village is home to the highest totem pole in the world. Members of the band – as tribes are called in this part of the world – take us out for a paddle on one of their canoes and invite us to lunch of local specialities in their Long House. The morning is rainy and grey – this is rain forest country after all - but after we leave Alert Bay, the sun comes out and Gregg, our pilot, takes the helicopter soaring over the snow-capped summits just across from the village. Like Wagner’s Valkyries, we soar vertically in the air just yards from the peak, then swoop down the other side to one of the hundreds of turquoise lakes that are hidden among the mountains.
On the second day, we fish. Gregg takes us hovering above a salmon river. He knows that the shadow of the helicopter will scare the salmon so he hovers with care like a giant eagle until he sees the the fish, scores of them coming through a narrow bend of the river near a sand bank. Within minutes we have landed on the sand bank and are casting our lines. Within a few more minutes, one of our group of four has caught a salmon. Like me, she is a city journalist and first-time fisherman. She is astonished at the size of her catch, and of the extraordinary adrenaline rush of thatfirst-ever tug on a line. We celebrate with lunch on a glacier. Gregg takes us soaring through pristine blue ice crevasses up to a small rocky peak where he sets up a table complete with linen tablecloth, award-winning Canadian wines, even an ice sculpture.
After an afternoon of whitewater rafting, a dinner of fresh crab is waiting on the deck back at the lodge. Nimmo Bay’s food is fabulous. The emphasis is on fresh local foods but the desserts are decadent and wonderful. The chocolate mousse beats anything I have ever tasted in Paris. The day ends with a soak in the outdoorhot-tub which sits at the base of that waterfall, nestling in the stillness of the surrounding cedars.
Far from the lush rain forests, Echo Valley sits in a meadow on the edge of BC’s Cariboo ranch country – a scenic five and half drive north of Vancouver. Echo Valley has the sagebrush and cactus of BC’s canyon country to one side, pine forest and mountains to another and lakes and marshlands to a third.Across the meadow from the Echo Valley lodge, there is an exquisite teak Thai pavillion. Norm Dove, the owner, commissioned Thailand’s premier architect, Dr Pinyo Suwankiri to design this spa pavilion, as a tribute to his Thai wife, Nan. My first thought is that this beautiful structure is out of place among the rustic setting of what was once a cattle ranch. That was before I have Thai massage late on my first evening at Echo Valley.
Entering the pavilion with its opulent silks and hand carved teak furnishings and its fragrance of sandalwood, I leave the Canadian summer night far behind. I am given a pair of cotton Thai pyjamaas to wear, then a gentle Thai woman applies pressure along “sen lines” to free up energy flow. She takes my limbs and moves them in ways I wouldn’t have imagined possible – rather like passive yoga. The energy comes later; during the massage I drift off into a delicious sleep. Next morning I am encouraged to return to the Thai pavilion to try the “rue sri dut ton” class. I hike through the dewy meadow to sit on Baan Thai’s polished floor. “Rue sri dut ton” is a series of 1000 year old hermit stretching exercises. They seem gentle and easy but I feel full serene and full of energy at the end.
The days at Echo Valley divide easily between the rugged , rustic pursuits of a Canadian cattle ranch and the gentle, peaceful mysteries of the Thai spa. Many of the guests go horse riding for hours through the forest. Norm and Nan send their seven border collies to accompany me on a three hour hike through woods and fields of wild roses, cowslips and indian paint brush. Other guests choose to fish. Their catch of brook trout is kept this time and cooked up at the evening dinner. This is eaten ranch-style round a communal table in the main room of the lodge with its stunning view of the valley and the mountains beyond. But the food is not just fare for would-be cowboys. The cook was chef to a couple of ambassadors and a Scandinavian royal before coming to Echo Valley. When he takes a night off, the Thai staff take over and present a Thai banquet. When they have finished cooking the aprons come off and we are treated to a display of traditional Thai dancing.
Craig Murray saw a waterfall and gave us the magnificent heli-adventures of Nimmo Bay. Norm Dove fell in love with a golden valley and the result was this beautiful eccentric hybrid – City Slickers meets The King and I.As I fly back to Vancouver over the mountains and forests, I wonder what new venture a pioneer is carving out of this wonderful wilderness.
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