Five Countries Four Marlboroughs: Clearwater to Jasper

So, we have wi-fi again so I can update the past four days!

We made it though the night in Clearwater – phew – and had a yummy breakfast with our crazy hosts and another English couple. We then had a 300km drive ahead of us as we made our way to Jasper.

We have all developed a pattern of going to bed late and sleeping in – even Will. Although I was beginning to think we were missing a lot of the morning, I’ve come to realise the late starts means we are also out late and we see a lot more wildlife. Win-win.

We started our drive towards Jasper around 11am and – oh no, I feel sick. This was not in the plan. I was unusually quiet for most of the drive and not sitting on the edge of my seat looking out the window as normal. Maybe I am running out of adrenalin – I’ve been so excited.

The drive was amazing – we couldn’t believe what we are seeing. We entered Jasper National Park and bought our National Parks pass for our 5 nights we will stay between Jasper and Banff National Parks. We watched for wildlife the whole drive and were rewarded with our first elk right near Patricia Lake which is where we are staying. Patricia Lake Bungalows is 5kms from the town of Jasper and I was so happy that we were staying there. Jasper is very touristy so we felt we were a little out of the tourist trap. We checked into our bungalow and then drove back to Jasper for supplies. As I was not feeling well all I wanted was a bowl of vegies. Everything is so expensive and I have to say – not the best quality. I can’t help thinking I am so happy I am not in an RV – there are so many of them everywhere and it was freezing!

Even though I wasn’t feeling great, I couldn’t help myself and I convinced Will to leave the fireplace and head down to Patricia Lake with me. It was only a short walk away however we were rewarded with a beautiful lake at sunset and later that night – I convinced Terry to come back with me and we watched the fog roll in over the lake. Magic.