Quebec City

Well, it’s been quite some time since my last post, and it feels like an eternity since we were in Quebec…… but…. it is a beautiful city. Lots of history, fantastic architecture and a great vibe.

Our lack of French didn’t hinder us much. I think the funniest experience was filling up the rental car at a service station on the highway into Quebec. I went to fill up the car and worked out that it was prepay, went to pay and the girl didn’t speak any english. I should have remembered how to say eight in French, but on the spot I resorted to some funny hand signals and was relieved that Nicole was waving out from beside the car/fuel pump. As for paying with cash, I’d have to let them take the coins out of my hand – counting to ten in French is a proud struggle for me!

It’s amazing how much it feels like being in a totally different country when in Quebec. A definitive must see place for anyone wanting to experience the real Canada.

Ottawa

Based on all the comments I had about hiring a car in Quebec, I really have to say that driving in Quebec was no worse than anywhere else I’ve driven.

Sure, the traffic in Montreal was a little more fast pace than Yellowknife – but in my opinion, Yellowknife’s not a City. It’s only got about 18,500 or so people for gods sake. That’s what we call a big town in New Zealand. In fact, it’s crazy to think that little old Cambridge (where I grew up) has now mushroomed to nearly to 20,000 people (15,192 as of the 2006 census).

But I digress.

So, we picked our little Toyota Matrix and navigated our way west towards Ottawa. After an hour of driving on the highway we took an off-ramp and ended up an amazingly quaint little town – Rigaud. It was about as French as you could get without being in France, but we managed to order “du cafe”, and then stroll around the streets before getting back on the highway.

Ottawa was beautiful. The sun was shining and the parliament buildings and surrounding grounds were fantastic. We had to laugh when we stopped off for a few pre-dinner beers at a pub near parliament. While sitting in the sun in the garden bar, a group a bureaucrats occupied the next table and kept us amused with talk so very reminiscent of our old life in Wellington.

Still sporting my Yellowknife Do. No, the fence wasn't electric.

Two nights in Ottawa was enough time to check out the main sights, get hair cuts from hairdressers that spoke english and then it was time to head back into the depths of francais and onto Quebec City.

Museum of Civilisation

"Wall Street? Buy at $100, sell at $150"

A sojourn to Quebec

After a few months of living in Vancouver and doing a bit of exploring around British Columbia, and then Alberta on our way up to Yellowknife, it was a pleasant change of scenery to head east and check out Quebec.

Even though it’s only been a few months since we were last in a big city (Vancouver for a weekend in April), it was a shock to see so many people when we strolled through Calgary airport en route to Montreal. While we’ve only lived in Yellowknife for nearly ten months, the small community feel is quite quaint, and it’s rare to walk anywhere without seeing someone you know.

Montreal was great. Our first day was a little over cast, but after a hectic week, it was nice to wander the streets on the first day of a well deserved and long awaited holiday. The following day it rained, but the rain didn’t dampen our spirits as we wandered the streets and enjoyed nice coffee and the hustle and bustle of a city which seemed so far removed from Yellowknife, and even Canada.

Obviously, the French language and culture are a big part of Canadian culture, but B.C and Alberta definitely don’t seem to have such as influence. It’s been interesting living in Yellowknife where we’re meet “locals” from all parts of Canada, but mainly from the east.

As non French speakers we bumbled our way through ordering drinks and food in pidgin French with our Kiwi accents, and were amazed at how much it felt like being in a totally different country.

Observatory

After the first two days of average weather, the remainder of our holiday was blessed with glorious sunshine, and warmth – with NO BUGS!

Cycling in Montreal

Hiring bikes in Montreal was cool. Nicole wasn’t so keen to brave the streets so we cycled alone the paths adjacent to the river. Dining at a restaurant called Le Local was a definite highlight. The French speaking waiter whose english wasn’t too good was fantastic and when he found out that we were from New Zealand he was super excited as he is about to travel there for a holiday. I ended up giving him my email address and assured him that he can stay with us in Wellington when he comes over.

Three days in Montreal was enough to see the main sights and do all the touristy stuff (Mount Saint Royal, Bio Dome, Botanical Gardens, Old Port area, Bio Sphere etc etc). We managed to pack a lot into three action packed days, but also enjoyed a few sleep ins and time for several coffee stops.

Coffee & Sudoku = holiday time

Now it was time to pick up the rental car and see how well my French skills would work will driving in Quebec.

August job hunt

So, another month has flown by and it’s all down hill till Christmas!

It’s been a pretty crazy month for us here in Yellowknife. Following my work permit debacle in July, I’d been keeping a close eye on jobs back in NZ and ended up getting one.

I applied for and got a really good job here in Yellowknife at the Territorial Government, but running parallel to this was my New Zealand job application process. It was an uncanny series of events really.

Why don’t I relay them.

With a re-newed Canadian work permit in hand I applied for a good job here in Yellowknife. The job was with the Department of Transportation and would have included travel all over this vast territory. Based on what I’d heard about the Territorial Government’s (GNWT) “reverse discrimination” hiring policy (ie. as a friend who works in HR at the GNWT told me: if I was a middle aged, disabled native women going for a management job, I would have been a shoe in) I wasn’t counting my chickens.

One morning while having breakfast I heard a story on CBC radio about a recently released report essentially saying that if you weren’t from Yellowknife, and especially not from Canadian you basically didn’t stand a chance of getting a job at the GNWT.

Later that same day I had a phone call for an interview for the job. Only about 6 weeks after I’d applied for it! Although quite excited about this prospect I took the news with a grain of salt based on what I just heard on the radio.

I arrived home that evening to find an email in my inbox requesting a phone interview for a job in New Zealand which I’d applied for a mere 10 days earlier.

After lots of study on what the Department of Transport does in the NWT, I had a pretty good interview. It was funny because I wasn’t exactly sure of where it was and it was at 8:30am. So I went into the building, up and down the lift, back up the lift and managed to find someone in the HR department who directed back downstairs to where she thought the interview was to be held.

Twiddling my thumbs for five minutes, a lady approached me and introduced herself. She was the manager of the team I was interviewing for and it was probably quite good that we got to chew the fat for fve or so minutes before another one of the interviewees turned up.

But still no sign of the HR person. Ten minutes later we started the hour long interview.

I also thought it was funny that the next subject was waiting outside when I left. I gave her a scowl, a side ways glance to infer that the she didn’t stand a chance and then went to work.

That evening I had an hour long phone interview for the New Zealand job. It also seemed to go quite well.

A few days later I had a call to say that I’d got the Yellowknife job. It was subject to an appeal period but it was all pretty sweet. That evening I had a second interview via Skype for my New Zealand job.

One week later I had another call from the GNWT to say that the appeal period was over and that I’d got the job, and a contract would be drafted up and signed asap. That evening I had an email from the NZ job saying that subject to one final reference check I’d got the job.

Hmmm, two good job offers, on different sides of the globe. I found myself in a little bit of a quandary.

The next morning the GWNT phoned again to say that they’d received a late appeal. Although late, the appeal would need to be processed and reviewed and I would find out what this meant in a week or so…….

So after a weekend of soul searching I decided that while I could take the job here and experience some great travels to some remote parts of the Arctic during another long winter and do some interesting work, I couldn’t guarantee that a job like the one I’d got in NZ would be available when we decided to head home in a year or two.

Mountain Biking Yellowknife style

And I missed hiking NZ style, real mountain biking and many other NZ things that you just can’t do in Yellowknife.

So I’ve gone from the prospect of staying here for another two years to having to pack my bags and start a new job in NZ in only five weeks time!

A change is as good as a rest, or so they say.

News from the North….

….. don’t get excited, it’s not “my” news, but just News. From the North.

Arctic Shipping

Climate change is altering the Arctic. Year round sea ice is fast disappearing; this once permanent ice pack has thinned over two feet in the past four years. Heading into these increasingly ice-free and turbulent ses is an unprecedented wave of new ship traffic, including cruise ships, oil gas and mining vessels, commercial, research and fishing boats.

In 2007, Canada’s Northwest Passage – connecting the Atlantic and Pacific through the islands just below the North Pole – opened for the first time. Last year, 62 ships used the passage, most for regional shipping but a few traveling the entire distance.

Among the recommendations from the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment study, is prevention of another Exxon Valdez disaster. The northern waters of Alaska’s Prince William Sound still suffer from the 11 million gallons of oil spilled by the tanker in 1989.

Furthermore, the snow should stay white. That’s right folks, no more pissing in the snow. Oh, and no more burning dirty fuel in ships thank you very much. It increases melting when the black carbon settles on snow and ice. So does urine. Apparently. Scientists recently concluded that black carbon (not piss) and smog cause almost 50% of warming in the Arctic.

For the sake of the Arctic and its people, we need to tightly regulate the growth of ship traffic in the Arctic.

The Mackenzie Valley Highway

Still up in the air.

Deh Cho Bridge delayed by a year

Although I have yet to drive the 14 hours south to Edmonton (Yellowknife’s closest city), the bridge will solve Yellowknife’s isolation problem (to a degree) by allowing travel across the Mackenzie River during the break-up period where the ice road is unusable and the ferry can’t yet get through the ice.

Same old story, contractor problems. It’s now predicted to open in the fall of 2011. Watch this space.

Few NWT fires

The annual NWT forest fires have almost failed to show up this year. Which reminds me: “But, Yellowknife has amazing summers” everyone told us during the bone chilling winter. Our first summer here and one of the worst in memory for most people I’ve spoken to.

As of July 31, there have only been 26 wildland fires in the NWT, outside of national parks – burning a total of 8 square kilometres. Which is nothing when you think the the NWT is 1,140,835 square kilometres in size (New Zealand being a mere 268,680 square kilometres in total by comparison).

Feds need to partner with NWT

The federal government’s recent announcement of its Northern Strategy was released with consultation with the territorial government (GNWT). News reports from Ottawa say the North is one of the governments top priorities. Thanks for letting us know, Stephen.

Icebreakers are the key to the feds strategy.

Never mind the North’s economic development, access to remote communities, and sustainable energy. Icebreakers are pretty cool though. I spent 10 days on one in the sub Antarctic. It had a bar and the Russian crew served up delicious meals, but I digress.

Election rules “a joke”

Some Fort Good Hope residents are calling for electoral reform after their chief was chosen by ballot draw – after the top two candidates both received 64 votes each. A tie, hmm what shall we do? An arm wrestle? A cage fight? Who can get to the highest level in a game of Pac Man? No, names were drawn out of a hat. Yawn. My ears (taringas) pricked up when I heard New Zealand being mentioned on CBC North. Apparently Maori also do a hat draw when elections tied.

Harper to come North

That’s right folks, old Stevo is heading to the Knife. I wonder if he’ll dine at the Wildcat, or have a brew at the Gold Range.

Nah, I reckon he’d be more of a Black Knight man. He better get there early if it’s a Wednesday – wings night after all. It’s a shame he missed Godson DJing at Twist last night – it was great.

Monster in the net

George Kennedy of Deline has set a new world record for the largest trout ever caught. 84 pounds and 49 inches long. I wonder if it tastes old? They’re gonna mount it on a wall. That’s one big fish.

Deline is located on the shore of Great Bear Lake – which is where the uranium was mined for the Hiroshima nuclear bomb. The locals didn’t know that their uranium was to be used for mass destruction and have apologised to Japan. But I wonder if all the uranium makes the trout grow massive.

Mine plant won’t be in the North

The company developing a gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper mine near Whati has announced it’s moving part of the mine’s process facility south. The move is to alleviate concerns among Tlicho elders about possible contamination of the local water supply. Haven’t they heard of bottled water? I’m kidding.

While part of me says, good on you elders, another part says, if the mine was to treat the water to mitigate any contamination – as they said they would – why send them south. They rape and pilidge the land and the economic benefits head south along with all that useful gold, cobalt, bismuth and copper. I mean come on, they were out of bismuth at the local supermarket this week.

With the legacy of abandoned mines in the NWT it’s no wonder these elders are jubious of the mines promises to maintain the environment.

I’m sure all those aspiring hydrometallurgists in Whati are gutted.

And finally, ’80’s Model GMC pick-up truck for sale. This truck needs some minor work…a little TLC, but it runs all the same. Asking $500.

Tempting. Maybe when they finish the bridge?

July’s been and gone….

Yellowknife’s amazing summer never quite came to fruition this year, but we’ve had the odd good day and hopefully it’ll be a late and mild spring. While summer’s not over just yet, I’m not holding my breath.

It’s been an action packed month though. Canoeing to Hidden Lake, Folk on the Rocks, fishing/stag do antics, weekend bar-b-ques and the usual summer activities. We had yet another day off work on Monday – a civic holiday. Whatever civic holiday means, it meant a day off work for us.

Last Friday morning I heard an interview on CBC radio about Yellowknife’s first Critical Mass bike ride. As a keen cyclist and advocate of cycling as a mode of transport, I leapt at the chance to join the predicted 50-100 cyclists in Yellowknife in an attempt to reclaim the streets.

I peddled my way down to the meeting point outside the Post Office at 5:20pm and met up with a dozen or so keen cyclists. It was great fun and although the numbers didn’t swell to those predicted there was about 15 of us who looped around the down town area and then down to Old Town. One of the guys had a stereo (and speaker) on the back of his bike and had funky tunes cranking during the bike ride.

Dana Sipos was on the ride, and she had to cut out early to prepare to entertain us at the finish. I love her music, and I was stoked to see her perform live again.

The Critical Mass bike ride was part of the weekends Ramble and Ride event in Old Town, so we made our way back down there on Saturday morning for an Architectural tour. There were about 30 or so people on the tour, with a local architect (Wayne Guy) as tour leader. It was a great tour and while no longer newbies to town it was a great way to learn about the history of Yellowknife.

Critical Mass?

Cool house and garden

Interesting Yellowknife house

Chewing the fat

Camp cook

Bannock chef

Corn bro

Crazy Canadians

Saturday was a cracker jack day. The sun was shining, and there was a gentle breeze to keep up from over heating as we dined outside at the Wildcat Cafe for lunch, before returning to the events of the Ramble and Ride.

Nicole got to experience the Raven (pub) for her first time on Saturday night. My debut practically doesn’t count as it was the first stop on a pub crawl a few weeks back and myself and 5 other guys were the first punters there. After a few drinks at Kersten’s place to celebrate her birthday we ventured to the illustrious Monkey Tree (Yellowknife’s version of Hamilton’s Outback pub). Being a long weekend must have meant all the students in town had gone camping as it was pretty quite. We then taxied back into town and hit the Raven at about midnight, and it was in full swing.

Nicole and I didn’t move to Yellowknife for it’s night life, so after a short boogey and quick drink we snuck out and left our mates to continue on with their drunken antics.

Sunday’s mission to Little Cameron Falls was great, but unfortunately the weather from Saturday didn’t last and it was overcast and a bit cooler. That didn’t stop Chris and Tenille going for a swim though (just after I decided to put long pants on). I said that I had nothing to prove by going for a swim when it didn’t really feel like swimming weather, and that I’m comfortable being called a wimp. So Nicole, Natasha and I chewed the fat and looked on as Chris and Tenille gingerly immersed themselves into the water and then frolicked around for a good 15 or so minutes.

Monday was for me a day of study in preparation for a job interview first thing on Tuesday morning….. but that’s another story.

Hidden Lake Canoe Trip

It was a bit different to when I’d first gone out to Hidden Lake back in March. We’d left from the same car park at Powder Point, but back in March we were on Skidoos. Riding over frozen lakes and negotiating narrow, windy paths through the trees on a Skidoo was good fun.

This time it was balmy, we had a leisurely paddle across the lake from the Powder Point car park and negotiated our way through the swarming mosquitos for the first brief portage. The second canoe was a little longer, and felt more remote now that we were out of site of the car park and road. Pulling up to the shore we fought of the mosquitos and quickly doned our bug jackets for the long haul up a muddy hill and down to the next lake.

Our system was pretty smooth. We’d unload and store our packs and the all important cooler (aka chilli bag) of food, BEER and wine, I would then hoist the canoe above my head and strut my stuff, while Nicole sidled along with her pack and the camera.

The bugs were insane at the second portage – the video footage of the bugs surrounding our packs gives you a good indication of how many there were. The bastards tend to accumulate under the canoe as it’s over my head, but with the bug jacket on – no worries mate. The bug jackets do restrict your vision and it’s obviously more comfortable (and cooler) without them on. Which is why I decided to take mine off at the end of the second portage. Bad move. Portaging was hot and thirsty work: carry the canoe half way, put it down, go back and get the gear, take that to the end, go back and get the canoe.

Once on the water, the bug jackets came off and we could enjoy the amazing environment of the vast and expansive Northwest Territories.

Half way through the last portage the path seemed to end at a small river/stream and waterfall/rapids. The map and my memory of my Skidoo trip indicated we had to go east, but there wasn’t a path that way….. Nicole asked why we couldn’t canoe on the stream, and I suggested that maybe we were supposed to portage for a reason (like rapids upstream or something?). So we eventually found the path obscured by overgrown trees beside the stream and carried on through a somewhat swampy section (found out later we could’ve canoed up the stream). One section of the path was submerged in ankle deep water, with small logs floating on the “path”. This made for some interesting hot stepping with a canoe on my head, but all good fun.

Once in Hidden Lake I was relieved that my portaging was done for the day, but it did make for some interesting times. With the cold beers not getting any colder and a time restriction with our borrowed truck the next day, we didn’t paddle too far into the massive Hidden Lake. We cruised past a few other campers on a fairly big island, and found a secluded spot to claim as our own.

With the gear uploaded and the canoe safely stored on dry land we cracked a beer and savoured the moment. Ah, the serenity.

With the fire lit (primarily to keep any bugs away) and our tent up, we sat back for a while and then I cracked out my newly purchased wood saw to get some firewood supplies sorted. While I cut firewood, Nicole skinned and prepared the Black Bear I bagged on the way in. Okay, a slight exaggeration, but she did cook couscous and fry up the marinated beef and veges we brought in with us.

Thank god Yellowknife has a supermarket

Where were you when it happened?

While living in Auckland and flatting at Ngaruahoe Street, I was at St Lukes shopping mall with a couple of my flat mates (maybe Rach, Rob and Footy) when we were informed by a shop assistant that Lady Di, the Princess of Wales was dead. Dead. Oh my god, what a shock. While not a big royal fan, I’ll always remember where I was and exactly what I was doing when I heard the news. Funny isn’t it.

A few years later, and after visiting New York and taking a great photo of the Twin Towers from the street below them, I was staying with a mate (Darren) in Toronto when Darren’s flat mate came running down the stairs to wake me up – from my sleeping spot on the couch – to turn on the TV, and watch the unbelievable sight being played on the TV. The planes crashing into the Twin Towers. Wow, that was freaky. I’d been standing right below those buildings only five days earlier. And now I was stuck in Toronto as the airport was closed. It’s okay, I made it to London (England) a few weeks later.

And now, here I am living in Yellowknife. I was at work, on the phone trying to pay a bill and on hold, so I clicked on a New Zealand news website – breaking news, Michael Jackson Dead. Holy moly. Although not a big MJ fan it was obviously big news. And I’ll admit that as a kid in the early 80s I did dance around the lounge to Billy Jean and MJ’s early hits.

As a “tribute” (mainly as a piss take) I dusted off my short black trousers, donned my whitist socks and rocked up to work the next day. RIP MJ.

Off to work in my MJ tribute outfit

Go

Well, as is usually the case, Nicole beat me to it once again…..

I had a fun time being part of CBC’s Go show, but Nicole has already summed it up.

I meet Jenny (the other “competitor”) when I arrived for the show, and after a brief chat the producer said “That’s the last time you guys are allowed to be nice to each other”. Jenny was a real good sort, and we were given a brief run down of how the show was structured – at which point I was told that there was no way that I would win!

It was a great show and it’s been surprising how many people heard it – Nicole was talking to a consultant in Vancouver who’d heard the show and connected the dots.

So that’s my most recent claim to fame, and maybe immigration heard the show because after initially being told that my work permit was not going to be extended, I then found out yesterday that it is. Does this mean I might become a Yellowlifer? I doubt it, but at least we can save some money before I get deported back to New Zealand!

How a Boat Safety test turns into a game of Ultimate Frisbee

I’m sure they said the Boat Safety test was “next” week.  Either the ten other guys on the course and the instructor were wrong, or me.

Those idiots!

After a rushed dinner and some last minute study, I speedily biked the 8.5kms out to the Folk on the Rocks site to sit my Boat Safety test. As I was running 5 minutes late I was surprised to not see any sign of life out there. Until that is, I phoned the course instructor…. so I now had a rare “free” night on my hands, ooh, the options, so many options.

A bike ride seemed like a good idea, so I took the long way home with a few detours and ended up in Old Town where I watched a few innings of a ball game and then cruised over to check out some ultimate frisbee. As a keen disk thrower I was intrigued to watch a game of ultimate frisbee because I’d often heard about it (and thought I’d enjoy it), but never actually seen it before.

After watching for about 5 minutes and working out the basics of the game, I was invited to join in. I sped around on my bike, and ran to join the game before they resumed with the next “throw-off” (I don’t know if that’s what it’s called, but essentially, that’s what it is).

It was only the week before that I’d played my debut ball game, and as much as I enjoyed it I was then saying to Nicole how much I missed playing touch rugby. Although I played touch as part of rugby training in Vancouver, it never compared to the real thing where I last played it in Wellington.

But now I was the closest I’d been to being in my element since renting that kick arse Chrysler 300 to drive from Vancouver to Calgary last November.

Unfortunately I’ll have to pass up Ultimate Frisbee this week so I can take the Boat Safety test.