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#meaning all dolphins ARE whales but i digress
aurosoul · 2 years
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I feel like I’m at the stage where I need to start advertising this more but I have a webcomic!!!
it’s about cetacean sapience - the idea that dolphins and whales have the capacity for conscious thought and language. the link above goes to Webtoons, but you can also read it on Tumblr and on DeviantArt!
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(3D model and animation by The7thSea)
ps: reblogs appreciated to spread the word!! 🐬💙
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encyclopika · 4 years
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Animal Crossing Fish - Explained #36
Brought to you by a marine biologist who is very grateful for her friends <3...
Fish I’ve Covered: Click Here
Today’s fish, the Anchovy, was suggested by @pandoramusicbox09​ a good friend of mine. :) The anchovy is a tiny fish that also relies on its friends for survival, living in huge, absolutely massive schools where they help each other dodge predators and filter feed:
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The anchovy is a little fish you can catch anytime off the beach in Animal Crossing, New Horizons. It’s actually a brand new fish to the franchise! Now, even though they’re small, this post will be long just because I have a bunch of stuff to show you, so...yeah, pictures galore! Buckle up!
Figuring out what species this is was easy - it’s the Japanese Anchovy,  Engraulis japonicus:
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Anchovies are really small fish within the Order Clupeiformes, which includes all of the herring and anchovy species. The group is made up of small fish that are primarily filter feeders, meaning that they strain the water for plankton, typically fish eggs and larvae and other zooplankton, or animals that float in the water with little say in where they’re going. Baleen whales do this by straining water through their baleen, but fish have other ways of capturing these tiny morsels of food. Now, this relates to the anchovy’s weird-looking face. 
Anchovies have a big mouth for a little fish and that allows them to open up wide and capture as much water as possible, like so:
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^Look at that guy go.
Once they open their mouths, water passing from the mouth through the gills forces plankton to get stuck in the anchovy’s gill rakers. Clupeids like herring and anchovies have special gill rakers that can catch these tiny particles...so I realize we probably haven’t spoken yet about the structure of gills. Look here:
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Picture from this paper. These gills are from some other anchovy, but the point remains. The pinkish red part of the gills to the right are the breathing apparatus. Those filaments are packed with capillaries under a very thin membrane that allows oxygen to pass directly into the bloodstream from the water. Cool, right? On the other side are the gill rakers, typically only on the first gill arch in any given species. And gill rakers differ in shape and number depending on species, and in Clupeids, like our friend the anchovy, they are modified to help strain out plankton. Once the anchovy closes its mouth, it can swallow all the yum-yums caught on the gill rakers. 
Being plankton-eaters and being so small, you can imagine they are pretty low on the food chain and you’d be right. In fact, anchovies, along with herring and other similarly-sized fish are known as “bait fish” and they feed everything from sharks to birds to dolphins to humans, too. Supporting the whole ocean ecosystem takes numbers, and baby, anchovies got ‘em. Look at this:
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^Not an oil slick. Actually just a school of anchovies. The fact that they’re uncommon in ACNH makes no sense. You should be catching them literally all the time, but I digress. Fish schooling is nothing new, but why do they do it? It’s ultimately for protection. Each fish is equipped with highly in-tune senses geared towards the fish next to them so they all seem to function on a hive mind; as they feel the guy next to them twitch, they know to twitch, too. All those eyes also help to spot predators who are very attracted to this aggregation. Predators aren’t stupid, though. It’s really hard to catch one fish in a giant amorphous blob, so smarter predators, like the tuna and dolphins, will force a group of anchovies off the main school and focus on tricking the fish to condense more and more until they are more manageable. This is called a “bait ball” and not only have I painted this amazing phenomenon myself, but ACNH has also included it in the museum:
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And the four pier fish in the tank with them actually go and attack the bait ball as part of their swimming animation and of course the anchovies respond in kind. Go watch it...it made this marine biologist jump for joy.
And there you have it. Fascinating stuff, no?
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mausmane · 4 years
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The Mountain
Fish. Small streaks of red, blue, orange, or sometimes just silver. Darting through the oceans, seas, our rivers and our ponds and lakes.. No not ours. Our mother earths. These creatures have been part of the blood that makes the earths heart beat for so many millennia, it's hard to understand why a 7 year old child wouldn't stop and watch even the smallest of minnows in complete awe, incomprehension, we can't fathom the wonders the sea has had for just it to see, the titanic battles that have been waged, the colors and beauty, the endless struggle of life and death. The sea, the rivers and lakes. They hold the core of our earths bounties, before even plants sprouted there was predator and there was prey, there was the circle of life.
Something hit me when I recently took a visit to the aquarium, to see just a small portion concentrated into a single building of what life is like under our earths waves. It's wondrous, spectacular, to think such creatures that are so completely alien yet immeasurably beautiful can exist and yet they do, and the idea that so many of these live so far below the surface that one would wonder what would we do if we didn't know these were here at all? How disgusting would it be if we couldn't even conceptualize these wonderful creatures even ever existing? Would we care, would we even care? Is ignorance truly bliss or is it just a defense mechanism to keep real emotion from getting in? From knowing it's there?
The meaning of life, no, not the meaning as it may be literally.. Or the many philosophical approaches to what life 'means.' Life is just a word. What life means is what it is, what composes that life. Life has no solid or rigid mechanical definition, and every attempt to put some kind of written label on it and what it is is a criminal offense. Semantic sacrilege to the true beauty that lies in us all. What's better then straining our lobes on what life means is futile, we should more often approach what life means... to us. To us as human beings. As one of if not the only entity shoved into a genetic costume that can understand comprehend and appreciate... And even take for granted... the true beauty of the oh so not constant environment that we live in is. We as a species are so blessed, we have the capability of understanding but we often forget the truth of its marvel. It becomes the everyday, the usual. But when you sit down and think about it... It's endless, it's amazing, it's life, and life as a grand scheme IS and always has been constant, it continues to exist and I for sure believe that it will continue to exist, even after we're gone... Our vessels dead and buried. Dust for the wind and food for the worms.
You know I digress, what has a mountain to do with fish and the sea? Well here it is, in my mind I've for so long seen one thing standing in the way. 'The mountain.’ A tall, looming mountain. And on this mountain lurks every one of your demons, and every attack from your fellow man you never got over. And at the very top of this mountain lies the prize, the reason you have for living. The key. The meaning. The purpose. The wonders you dream about and below it all the nightmares you harbor. The mountain isn't evil, the mountain itself is the series of obstacles created in my mind. But the thing is i didn'tstart at the mountain. Where I started life is obscure, but once i was aware of the mountain itself you first i needed to swim. Swim with the fish, know the fish, I started in the deepest blackest abyss of the deepest sea.
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The sound of the sub handling the inhuman pressure put on it wakes you up. It's 11 am, though it doesn't really matter because at this depth there's nothing but blackness outside. I’m in a small submarine, the hulls cracked and there's just one window, just one, just one to the outside world. The world outside holds amazing wonders, but I don't recognize them.. Just as the creatures outside seeing in occasionally, don't recognize me. My sub is the most alien thing here, even though from my minds eye everything else is alien, this is earth yet... I don't recognize these entities, these creatures. And I’m pretty sure many of them don't even recognize themselves. 'Where am I’ I ask myself. Glaring outside to see a large fish with a rope, or a string, or something hanging off it's forehead with a dot at the end and the glow it gives off is phenomenal... I stare at it with the same amazement it's very prey does before they're snapped up never to see the cold dark depths again. Snapping out of it when an unexpected and sudden movement erupts and I find the strange creature has swam off, to live it's life by complete instinct, and I’ll never see this fish again perhaps, that was it. But there's many more like it... Sitting down at the subs only chair, thinking... I see, this is the start of the journey...
At the bottom of the ocean, that's where you start. Or at least I did. When I felt I began maturing into an adult, I kept fear of this ominous world I was maturing into...
More and more it became apparent to me that at the time, that little window I would sometimes look out was so incredibly packed with out of this world organisms... things I would never imagine ever existing unless I saw them Myself. Swimming in the dark. Some of them were just absolutely terrifying, some immense beyond all comprehension. I’d look at this camaraderie of mismatched misfits with scales and tails and sometimes things there is no word to describe... this is the world I know but not really at all, the place not my home but the closest thing I had to one but... It was so alien and felt so out of place... It's one giant abstract painting that moves and breathes. Yet to the others here, this is home, the deep dark sea, and to them.. I’m the thing everyone stops and gapes at. 
In life, this is where I started.. Once I knew the dangers, once I knew the prize, no, had an idea what it was... My tattered sub started surfacing, slowly but surely, the deep depths I would bid farewell, goodbye, and as I looked out my window my I could just feel myself getting warmer as everything else around me got brighter. And as I slowly steadily rose I saw amazing things. I saw gigantic krill sifting whales, deadly sharks, but mostly everything began becoming.. Familiar! Soon I saw the most colorful fish I have ever seen! Tons of them, all shapes and sizes.. At this point the little sub window held wonders not nightmares. Still alien but oh so beautiful, and the variety! Some had tails, some had long capable looking tails kind of like that of a snake, only flattened into a paddle. At one point a majestic red and white looking wonder came up to the window and looked right back at me. The little window... Became not a dreaded sight that I would seek to avoid, but a portal to the wondrous world I was missing for so long! For a brief period of time my mind lapsed as I laid in a sunny meadow I remember oh so vaguely, just laying there listening to the water lap against the rock formations lining the nearby riverbed. I remember this place but it was so long ago, so blurry. Before being plunged, God knows how I don't remember, into the dark place I laid dormant for so long thereafter. But this was just the start, I was still trapped in that metal hull that kept me ‘safe’. Trapped like a salt-soaked sardine. The small cot I laid on unwashed for years and the leg on my only table broke long ago so i sacrificed my only chair so it wouldn’t tip over. But the world I was missing! If only this existed on my side of the glass. If only I could swim and live among them as a merman might! But alas this world was only the beginning.
Soon, water broke. The splash of waves, the intense rocking that subsided only slightly after a violent outburst stirred me awake. I could feel the buildup in my eyes, I remember as a child my mother would call it sleepy sand. The little crusty gold nuggets hanging off the corners that were just oh so satisfying to wipe away. For the first time, I started to climb the rusted ladder I never saw much use for. As I popped the Hatch... My mind caught on fire! The smell of salt was almost choking at first, but so soothing. This is amazing.. Unbelievable. Around my decrepit vessel were curious dolphins, nudging up against the cold hull in wonder of this foreign object invading their home. I doubt they cared too much, they were very playful and one even lept over the forward stern of my craft in a dazzling display. I kept looking around, paralyzed, and then I saw it... The blazing sun. I had hints it was there as I was ascending, but I could never really grasp it's true beauty until I laid eyes on it myself. The Golden Cradle. I had to go to it, this was my reason. The sun, the shining source of all life, the almighty circle. But there It was... The Mountain laid before me just past the beaches. And at that time is when I resolved myself to conquer it. From afar I could see them though.. The wretched goblins, the slimy trolls, the flash of a black poltergeist or two at some corner or another... Every one of my demons lived here, every one of the black parasites that oh so often made me their unwilling home. I became fixated. In my hand I imagined the sword I would need to fight, and in the other the pick I needed to climb. I'm going to war. No regrets, no turning back. The fear was there but the drive was greater.. I felt my battle cry echo and reverberate through my entire being, and I began my climb.
The climb was excruciating, even at the start. I could tell I wasn't the only one here, and some of those demons and obstacles didn't come from me.. Every second I felt myself in conflict, and the bitter cold soon became apparent as I climbed higher. Scars began forming, left on me from every trial I did and will continue to face and as I climbed, the blizzard began. I was wearing my skin like armor, and sometimes it just wasn't enough... Often I found myself needing to rest in the bitter cold, looking around.. Digesting what I had accomplished, and keeping my minds eye on the peak of this mountain. I remember seeking shelter in a cold cave, the bitter wind was gone but the stagnant freeze was still resting on my shoulders and nipping at my wounds. I could see the ocean from up here, and the little dot that was once my cage and only means of survival floating where I left it. It seemed so far away now... But they just keep coming. The demons that lurk here, the bitter cold and winds, the blinding blizzard. Not even mentioning the climb itself, which was a battle in its own.. Through the course of all this I knew I was being watched.. I knew somebody, somewhere believed in me. I could feel the drive to keep going and never freeze.. But sometimes I could feel the unwanted feelings of, despair. But, I had an angel right behind me the whole way. That steady flow of warmth on the back of my neck that was just enough to keep going. The prize, the goal, the meaning. It's up there.
The higher I climbed the mountain, the harder the trials seemed to get. The ice slowed me down but I would never stop. Never stop. And as I continued day in and day out climbing, understanding, comprehending everything that had come before, the mountain seemed to be taller, so I moved just a little faster.
Misery, I remember meeting misery a little towards the top. Misery was my brother, and I love him like one because he never abandoned me. It sounds.... Self-depreciating yes, but I know my brother just like I know myself, and as much as I appreciate that someone never left me.. I hated him. The feeling that everything under in his arsenal would be used to stop me and freeze me forever. The feelings I don't deserve but what I’m served at the tip of a rusty arrowhead. That I was just a leaf being carried at the whim of an icey storm. That devil that always whispered in my ear 'they're all lies, nothings here for you. Lay down and sleep'. The creature that slithered in and out of my mind body and soul and just took hold and drove me into a dark corner that even I in all the hell I've seen couldn't bear whenever it did. I stood facing him, my greatest foe, the black sheep in my barnyard that was just oh so much better when he decided to sleep every once in a while. Misery, MISERY! I'll put you under my boot heal and smash you into the ground! I never have to be alone, I never have to lay down. I don't need to bear the weight with a smile, or a frown. Misery, Misery!
I don't remember much of our battle. I hadn't vanquished the phantom just yet but he had retreated into the darkness. It was a near stalemate, but I came out alive and continued to climb faster then ever before! My body bloody and bruised, but me and my invisible ally that kept pushing me kept me going. Never give up!
This was it, all my foes before me lie vanquished or crippled, or hiding in the shadows that birthed them. Nothing can stop me except misery, who I felt soon quick on my heals.. Seeking nothing better then to put me in the ground once and for all so that the rest of me, my shell, may be incorporated into the unholy machine that drives the gears of ‘hell’. The cold was incredible, the frozen tundra that rose from the ground is almost over.. The sun, the Golden cradle lying at the top of the mountain.. I was going to return to the warm place I vaguely remember from so long ago. I was going to grab the one thing I ever wanted the only reason I need for living, I was going to fuse with the sun and march on with it and it with me and wake up the world from their slumber. We would become one, and melt every last bit of ice that was left and let the warm rain wash away the blood-soaked landscapes that forgot the warmth of its rays. So close, so close, I was almost there.. But I kept fighting, making progress, I kept on marching, climbing.. I felt my whole body seemingly expand but visibly it hadn't one bit, I kept climbing, I felt it... And I know it felt me...
My minds open... the last summit... What I saw there was, beyond that in which any living being can put into words... I stared, mouth gaping. What happens next? Just a few steps.. Yet I'm paralyzed. On my ankle, I feel the frosty needles of Misery, back again! I look back down and he's staring back at me, crazed, insanity burns in his face as his last chance to bring me down into the abyss and the best one at that he's ever had at doing so pulses through him... It's hard to say what happens next, but before I can turn back and walk just a few feet.. I have to vanquish him. Once, and for all.
Brother, I loved you, and all you did was tear at me bit by bit. All you ever did was destroy, now, it's time to face me as I've never been before, and I WILL not stop here. It will not end here... What happened next, I can't quite remember yet... 
-to be continued-
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iainwrites · 6 years
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suteko said: So do you know the backstory of our businessman villian? From what my hubby who is a long time DC reader says…he is alot more than a scumbag human rich guy. Expect some really interesting twists
Thank you so much for getting the gears in my brain turning.  “Interesting twists”, is it?  Here are some interesting twists that can now occur thanks to the inclusion of one Morgan Edge.
Predictions and possibilities after the cut.
1: Intergang.  A criminal enterprise (with all that that entails) spanning a good chunk of the world, which Edge was once the leader of.  They have employed notable badasses and weirdos like Kyle Abbot (a I-shit-you-not werewolf), Whisper A’Daire (a I’m-not-fucking-with-you snake woman/naga), Tobias Whale (who will be showing up in Black Lighting), and a man named Torque who had his head turned 180 degrees, yet still lives and uses special equipment to see all around him.  Yeah.  If Intergang exists, expect some prime weirdness.  Interesting thing about Intergang: they’re also known for some high tech weaponry, which is given to them by...
2: Darkseid.  Yeah.  THE prime big bad in DC (most of the time).  Ruler of Apocalypse and its denizens, holder of the Anti-life Equation, possibly the source of all evil (depending on whether Grant Morrison is a writer for the show and please God let this happen).  Interesting thing about Darkseid: In the Superman/Batman comes run, Supergirl was abducted by him, and turned into one of his Furies (think his highly trained and insane female brute squad).  It didn’t last long, but it was a big moment.  And thinking on it, a lowly human was the one to make Darkseid blink and release her.  Hmm... who in Kara’s life would go straight to the wall to save her and threaten the living embodiment of Evil...  The only problem with this is that the DC-movie verse is going to be including Darkseid and his side of the New Gods (to be discussed), which may mean the TV shows won’t be able to play with that property.   Another interesting thing about Darkseid: he’s a member (sort of)...
3: The New Gods.  Who we’re kind of already met, with the Black Racer in The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.  He’s kind of an avatar of Death.  Not the only one, mind you.  Because that would be too easy.  But I digress.  The New Gods are pretty much as they sound: super powered higher beings, including such notables as Scott Free, the master escape artist (and his wife, Big Barda, who is... big.  And badass.), Metron, information king, the Female Furies, the previously mentioned all-woman squad of death, and numerous others.  If Supergirl is going to be the “space/alien” show of the DCCW franchise, these guys are going to be no brainers.  But they aren’t who I’m excited for.
4: For this one, I’m focusing solely on the 2006/2007 comic event 52.  What happened in those 52 issues is so damn ripe for the picking, especially since Supergirl has opened the door for Intergang using Morgan Edge.  In one of its storylines, Intergang is being investigated by The Question, DC’s super paranoid, super badass, no-faced-man who don’t quit until he finds the answer and Renee Montoya.  Now, Maggie on the show is a bit of an amalgamation of Renee and Maggie (both of whom are lesbians and we shall not talk of how that ship ended up) from the comics, so it may not work out so well to bring her in.  Renee has a solid history to draw from in the comics, however, so if the show wants to introduce another strong lesbian character to the show, they have one ready to go.  Importantly, we also meet Kate Kane, aka the modern day Batwoman, who has a history (yeah, that kind of history) with Renee.  Kate is notably known for being a badass and having very, VERY red hair.  And dear Rao, have I wanted Alex to suit up and this would be the perfect route for the show to take her down if they wanted her to go from DEO agent to superhero.  This could also give us the opportunity to introduce other members of the Bat-clan to the show, even if its not Batman himself.  Side interesting facts about 52: it included a side plot about a cult focused on Krypton-ese ideologies (convenient) and also focused on Ralph Dibney (who has just shown up in The Flash) being broken down, coming back together and proving that he can plan a long game like nobodies business.
Oh.  And there’s a space dolphin religion and Lobo side plot that would kill me dead if they included it in any way, shape, or form.
All this, and more that I haven’t even considered, just because Supergirl included Morgan Edge.  We could be in for some really weird and amazing stuff.
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kieratakesatrip · 6 years
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Hawaii!
Okay well, I guess I should tell you guys about Hawaii. IT WAS AMAZING. I love everything about hawaii; the ocean, the surfing, the culture, EVERYTHING. I may or may not move to Hawaii. It’s a great place. I don’t think it’s possible to be sad there. Anyways, I woke up, ate breakfast, and went through customs. Then I had a bit of downtime so I got ready for the day. Put on LOADS of sunscreen (my dermatologist loves me). Then when it was time to go, headed down to the gangway and got off the ship. First things first, we headed to Waikiki for an hour of shopping (priorities, am I right?). As soon as I got there, I headed to a ukulele store called Ukulele House with a random guy in my program named Ishan. Nice guy. From Calcutta. I digress. So I negotiated with the mother, and we came to an agreement. She bought me a ukulele that was WAY out of my price range and in return I had to give her my old ukulele. My first love, my baby, the fruit of my womb, the one that got away. BUT I’m very happy with my new uke. She’s BEAUTIFUL. So all is well. So after the ukulele store, we met up with my friends Carolyn and Kelsey and headed to Billabong cause they were having a sale. Me, being my mother’s daughter, took a bit longer than everyone else, but ended up getting 2 new bathingsuits and a rash guard. Before heading back to the bus, I ended up playing ukulele and singing a song for some old timers who were all sitting in a circle playing uke. I sang Ho Hey by The Lumineers. Got back on the bus and headed to the marina. When we got to the marina, we were met by a cultural specialist who taught us about the Hawaiian culture and language which of course, was beautiful. I love Hawaiian culture. I don’t remember everything he taught us. But I do remember that he broke down words like Aloha and mahalo. Apparently the “ha” means “life giving breath.” So that’s pretty neat. *cue neature reference* So we all got onto the catamaran and headed out to sea. They gave us (half) sandwiches and we stopped over a reef and anchored. I was the first one in the water and last one out. The reef was beautiful and there were sooooo many sea turtles. I also ended up finding both a GoPro and an iPhone on the sea floor 30 feet down. So I had to swim down and grab those. I returned them to their rightful owners, but the phone was definitely busted. I didn’t even really hang out with anyone in particular that day. It was kinda just a day for me. It was nice. After getting back on the catamaran, we sailed out further and found some dolphins and even a POD OF WHALES. Then it was back to the ship, and we sailed off into the night. All in all, a solid day.
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allabroadau · 7 years
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Vancouver is a lovely city. There is so much to see and do in the city centre, all within a short walk or each other. I don’t feel the least little bit competitive about the wonders of Canada compared with the beauty of Australia, no, not one bit. Sure they have amazing scenery, an awesome (and, not to mention very hot) President, towering mountains and amazing wildlife – on land and in the sea. But really, who wants to live in country that fluctuates so wildly in it’s temperatures? But sorry, I digress, this is not a post pitting Canada against Australia.
Back to Vancouver. Yes, the city centre is beautiful. It’s clean, modern, interesting… but don’t just stick to the city centre – some of the really interesting parts of Vancouver are a short bus ride away.
Howe Sound, Vancouver
Stanley Gardens
They say Stanley Gardens is bigger than Central Park, I was dubious at first, because you know Central Park is huge! But as we drive through the gardens to the visitor centre I begin to get a sense of the scale of these gardens. They are huge! We stop at the information centre and check out the Indian totem poles, the views back to Vancouver city and the lighthouse.
The information centre is close to the waterfront and there is a little beach area for those that would like to sunbake (given Canada’s temperatures I generally wouldn’t recommend it, but each to their own).
Totems at Stanley Park, Vancouver
Stanley Park, Vancouver
There is far too much to see in one day in Stanley Park, let alone a couple of hours, so we stick to the totem poles and have to check out as much as we can of the rest of the gardens through the windows of our bus as we leave the park.
But if you’ve got more time there are a range of different gardens (including a Shakespeare Garden!), swimming pool, train rides, the list goes on.
Flyover Canada
The Flyover Canada was one of my favourite things to do in Canada! The experience lasted only 20 minutes, but it gave me such a great appreciation of the country I wished we had something similar here in Australia!
Tucked down on the waterfront at Canada Place, the flyover is a flight simulator that takes you on a ‘helicopter flight’ over Canada. And I mean right over Canada. The views are breathtaking and the feeling so real, the woman next to me – who had a real fear of heights, was gripping the arm rest between us!
So good is this experience that one of my tour group asked if we could go on it again as soon as we were finished – she was serious.
Howe Sound
When you’ve seen enough of Vancouver by land, you’ll want to check out the wildlife at sea. We headed out to Horseshoe Bay for a ride on an inflatable boat to check out the wonders of Howe Sound. Unfortunately the dolphins and whales were hiding the day we were there, but there were plenty of seals and bald eagles to keep us entertained.
Howe Sound is a series of Fiords, and it’s worth checking out the waterfalls, the lighthouse and the houses on the water’s edge! Seriously, if you have a guide get them to point out the “bat cave” for you!
Capilano Suspension Bridge
If you don’t like heights, you may want to give this one a miss. But even the people in our group who were scared, chose to walk across – and were glad they did.
As well as the 450 feet long 230 feet high suspension bridge, there is a series of treetop walks and a cantilevered cliff walk here all worth exploring. The original bridge was built in 1889 over the Capilano River. You can hear all about the history of the site and see wall murals depicting the early days before you reach the actual bridge.
Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to stop for photos as you cross the bridge, the views over the treetops and to the river below are quite spectacular.
Grouse Mountain
Even if it’s not ski season it’s worth taking the scenic Skyride up Grouse Mountain (see if you can spot the resident wolf on the way up!).
In winter this place must look something like a winter wonderland, alas, when we were there the snow had all but melted, but that meant the two live-in grizzly bears were out of hibernation! And that meant our one and only bear viewing in Canada.
The chalet includes a restaurant, shops and a theatre as well as beautiful views (on a clear day, of course!) across Stanley Park and downtown Vancouver.
*This trip was part of a tour I hosted with the travel company Two’s A Crowd.
Fast Facts
We stayed at Georgian Court Hotel and Blue Horizon Hotel (both are in Vancouver).
We were here for four nights.
Was it long enough? We could have spent more time exploring the city, but four days was a good amount of time to spend in the city.
Highlights: The Flyover Canada was amazing, I’d definitely do it again and think every country should have one! Capilano Suspension Bridge was fantastic, and even though we didn’t see any whales or dolphins Howe Sound was beautiful.
Join @AllabroadAU on Instagram for more travel inspiration.
[instashow]
Five (awesome) things to do in Vancouver Vancouver is a lovely city. There is so much to see and do in the city centre…
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