A quick trip north had us in Yellowknife, NWT for a day before heading to Fort Simpson (aerial shot above) for two where we’d take a float plane ride to Virginia Falls in Nahanni National Park.
Yellowknife is a bustling city with a population of approximately 19,000. We were only there for the day so we couldn’t dawdle. Just our luck, the best fish restaurant in the WORLD—yes that’s right, the WORLD—a little joint called Bullocks, was closed for lunch on Mondays…drat.
Bad planning on our part. You don’t just go to Bullocks for the fish, you go for the experience.
Oh well, we’ve always had good pho at the Vietnamese Noodle House…our decision was made for us.
Next stop, Nico’s Market–a new food store owned by local restaurateur, Chef Pierre LePage. The store carries everything you need to make a gourmet meal: from cookware to stemware, to ingredients like dried hibiscus flowers, culinary lavender, foie gras and escargot, not to mention an impressive olive oil and vinegar selection, a large produce section, a bakery and deli.
On our way to the airport we stopped in at Buffalo Air, subject of the Ice Pilots TV series and home to the rather colourful Joe McBryan and his busy crew.
I love the opening quote on the Ice Pilots website where Joe says, “If you really want to experience flight in this life then you have to strap a DC-3 to your ass.”
We boarded Air Tindi’s Caravan (9 passengers) and flew off into the wild blue yonder heading west to Fort Simpson, population 1200 +/- where we would stay for the next two days while using the Mackenzie Rest Inn as our base.
The B and B is a gem of a building overlooking the Mackenzie River. Reg Bellefontaine, the owner, spent almost 10 years renovating the house which at one time had been the RCMP station. Reg is as paradoxical a figure as you can imagine. A big beefy man, roughened by hard work and harsh weather, with as distinct an Eastern Canadian accent as you can get, is as professional and courteous as any owner I’ve met including the ones at some of the fancy frou-frou establishments I’ve ever stayed in. This man should win awards. And seeing him in an apron in the morning whipping up a batch of pancakes…I can’t even explain it. I couldn’t even take a picture. I’m sorry. Reg…you are so awesome.
The only way into Nahanni Park is by helicopter or float plane—or foot, if you’re really crazy/adventurous. We were being flown in by pilot Ted Grant, owner of Simpson Air and the Nahanni Mountain Lodge located at Little Doctor Lake where we landed first.
I didn’t know a lot about this park up until lately and I have to say what I saw took my breath away. Nahanni National Park is located in the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories and borders the Yukon Territory and was among the world’s first four natural heritage locations to be inscribed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1978. (Thank you Wikipedia).
It is huge, diverse, breathtaking and home to several spectacular natural wonders including Virginia Falls, the Ram Plateau, ancient coral sea beds, the Cirque of the Unclimables, Hell’s Gate and Funeral Range. You don’t get names like this just for lookin’ pretty, no sir. Nahanni National Park is an adventure-seeker’s dream.
