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View our Worldwide toursIt’s a big world and Club members the Browns are determined to see it. Here we catch up with them about their unforgettable Canadian tour
Moraine Lake near the village of Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada
Lorraine Brown and her husband Michael recently returned from a dream Canadian tour organised by the Club. Their holiday included the likes of husky sledding, white water rafting, careering down mountains on bikes, cruising through Alaska and spotting bears in the Rocky Mountains. But their incredible experience very nearly stalled at the outset...
The couple had decided to take the plunge and book a bespoke, 31-day independent motorhome tour of Canada with their friends after spotting information in a Club brochure. However, a change in circumstances meant that their would-be companions were reluctantly forced to pull out, leaving the Browns agonising over whether to go ahead on their own. Fortunately, they made the right decision, as their Canadian adventure turned out to be simply unforgettable. Lorraine, 62, and Michael, 70, admit that things could have been different but for the support and guidance of the Club’s specialist Worldwide team.
“We had a little bit of spare money and decided we wanted to take a big trip,” says Lorraine. “We saw the Canada tour advertised in one of your brochures and it looked amazing as you get to see so many tick-box things.
“It is a lot of money but at our age we were of the opinion that ‘it’s a big world – so you have to get out there and see it’. We were all very excited but then our friends couldn’t make it anymore, which left us sitting on the fence over whether to go ahead by ourselves.
“Fortunately for us, Gemma at the Club was brilliant. She reassured us and took care of everything. We didn’t have to worry about anything as it was all arranged for us.
“Until you do a trip like this you don’t really appreciate how much there is to organise, and the Club did it all. It can seem a bit daunting taking on such a big trip on your own at our age but I’m so glad we did and would encourage others to give it a go, too.”
At the Columbia Icefield Skywalk
The Browns flew to Calgary to begin their tailor-made tour in late August and, after a night in a hotel, picked up their fully-equipped motorhome to begin a 17-day road trip westwards.
They travelled some 1,200 miles visiting places like Banff National Park, Jasper, Clearwater, Whistler and Victoria on their way to Vancouver. After exploring Vancouver Island, they embarked on a seven-day Alaska Inside Passage cruise. To cap a truly memorable trip they then took the Rocky Mountaineer train on a two-day journey from Vancouver to Banff before flying home from Calgary.
“Canada is one of those places that keeps on giving in terms of experiences and scenery,” Lorraine continues. “Every day was kind of like an adventure. You didn’t know where you would be going and what the campsite was going to be like.
“We used an app [Vamoos – a travel app, which can be used during the Club’s Worldwide tours] which tells you all about the area you are in and what you can see and do on your route. Sometimes there were not enough hours in the day to do it all!
“There was always something good to look forward to in terms of the itinerary. When you are planning it you think, ‘Is it going to work?’, but it really did.
“It is tailor-made for you, very much bespoke. The fact we booked so far in advance meant we had the ability to tweak things and upgrade if we wanted to as well.”
The Browns, who have been Club members since buying their first motorhome in 2018, crammed so much into their 31-day expedition that Lorraine admits picking out a highlight is impossible.
“There were so many highlights,” she says. “The Rocky Mountaineer train ride was amazing and the fact we had already been hiking in the mountains made it even better.
The Browns saw bears on their travels
“We hiked to Peyto Lake on a really beautiful day and saw so much. We watched bears – from a distance – and saw goats and marmots.
“The boat for the Alaska cruise was great... In Juneau we did a musher’s tour where you were pulled on the snow by dogs and then got to meet all the puppies. There was white water rafting in Clearwater and flying down a mountain in the Yukon Pass on bikes.
“We wanted to give everything a go as we are probably never going to have the chance to do it again. Then again, we were literally talking the other night about doing the Savannah, Safari & Falls trip with the Club as we had such an amazing time.”
On the road to Castle Mountain near Lake Louise
The Browns enjoyed a bespoke Canadian holiday organised by the Club but we run numerous trips with set itineraries, including escorted tours, during which you are accompanied by experienced hosts throughout. For more information on tours in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and southern Africa, please see camc.com/worldwide or call 01342 488059.