May 24, 2019
There is a dramatic difference in terrain once you leave Manning park and Princeton and head further East towards the Okanagon. Manning park was dense heavy forest and mountains but once out of Princeton and headed East the land became less mountainous and more like cowboy country. Sweeping hills with fir trees dotted about, bubbling creeks and quaint farms and picket fences line these back country roads. It was a pleasant drive for a few hours despite the fact the only radio station we could find was playing non-stop Country and Western but hey quite apt I thought. We were originally going to drop down to the small town of Osoyoos on the US border but there were a couple of forest fires that have been burning for a few days and we didn’t fancy driving down just to get turned away so we headed North to the town of Penticton at the Southern tip of the Okanagon lake.
It was the Monday when we arrived, Victoria day in Canada, a Bank holiday but the town seemed deserted. That said we quite liked Penticton. It has a small amount of charm and character and as well as being the start of the Okanagon wine region it is also part of the British Columbia ale trail and trust me they have some seriously nice ales and beers in this part of the world. We popped into the Canning Brewery to try a few samples and every beer was outstanding. Unfortunately being the designated driver I wasn’t able to sample as many as I would have liked to and we did take a look to see if we could find any cheap digs in town but there wasn’t anywhere that fitted with our budget. So with Buddy stocked up with several cans of the local produce and a bottle of Jim Beam just incase we drove off up the Western side of lake Okanagon and then turned off up a steep hill in search of the exotically named “Krump”. Krump was about 10 km up steep winding dust roads and sure enough at the top it leveled out and we were presented with a huge field for camping. It was a standard free camp area with a couple of pit toilets and not much else. The place seemed popular with the local ATV community as the four wheeled noise monsters were everywhere. With no decent views to be had or any treks to do nearby we used Krump as a one stop shop and moved on the following morning back down to Penticton to have a better look around.
After a day around the sleepy town of Penticton and stocked up with fresh supplies we camped up on a hill high above the town at another free site we had found using the Ioverlander app. It was a nice enough spot and we shared it with a couple from Germany and a couple from the small town of Nelson in BC that we have heard good things about. As always it was nice to meet new people and exchange travel stories and tips for where to go. At this point I must let you know a bit more about these free camp spots we are using. Most of them have been built by the province of British Columbia for the people. The sites aren’t maintained and rely on the people using them to keep them clean and tidy. You usually get a festival pit type toilet and picnic tables and a fire ring, all for free which is great. The downside is that most of these free sites we have used so far are in ridiculously hard to reach locations. Buddy is only 2 wheel drive and at times some of these sites are maybe 5-10 miles from normal roads. The sites are generally built on forest access roads. The kinds of places used by big logging trucks etc. As a result the terrain is challenging for a small van. Many a night we have bounced our way through pot holes, clung to the side of cliffs on narrow dirt tracks and slithered our way through muddy deep ruts. They are free and rewarding at times for the views you get and are away from the usual tourist spots but you really have to work hard to get to them.
The next morning we headed up the East side of the lake to check out the many vineyards and to see if we could find any free spots near the wineries so that we could park up and have a drink as it was Dani’s birthday. Unfortunately I guess the land round these parts is more valuable to use as vinyards than it is to give it up to camping so off we headed back around the Southern tip, through Penticton again and further up the West coast of the lake.
It is really nice round this part of British Columbia. The area at times doesn’t even feel like you are in Canada, it has a more European feel like say Spain or Italy. The terrain is totally different to anything else we have seen so far and I guess given the terrain and climate it is ideal for growing grapes and hops hence it feels a world apart from the Canada we have seen so far. We like it round here a lot it has a nice slow laid back feel around this lake. As we headed up the West side of the lake we stumbled across the small seaside resort of Peachland and stopped off for some fish and chips and to grab a box of wine. With our boozy supplies fully stocked up we decided to splash out and stay at an official BC campsite complete with showers……..well it was Dani’s birthday after all, the least I could get her was clean! The rest of the night was spent sharing drinks looking out over the lake, another pleasant day was had.
The following day was beautiful clear skies so we headed off on a short trek that looped round above the lake and back down again before heading off up the lake shore using the back roads as opposed to the main highway. There are some seriously nice houses round here. Every place we passed was unique and on a grand scale. As we crawled through the expensive suburbs we stumbled across a house with it’s garage open and a big sign above advertising free books. Free books? The garage was jam packed with shelves. Labels denoting the type of books on each shelf. Everything from biographies to technical manuals, novels to quantum physics, this little garage had it all. We didn’t once see the owner or anyone else for the matter but we did see several newspaper cuttings pinned to the wall, all of which were articles about the “book lady” who was saving all these books from being destroyed so that others could enjoy them. What a sweet little place this was. We picked out a few new novels to add to our ever growing camper van library and left and a couple of books we have both finished in return. It was a nice easy day and before we knew it sunset was closing in and we didn’t have anywhere sorted to sleep yet. We headed further up the west side of the lake, North from the town of Kelowna and found a small quiet lay-by to park up in for the night. We have heard that providing there isn’t any sign that specifies no overnight parking or camping then we are fine to use these small pull outs to park up for the night. Sure enough we were fine where we stayed and got a decent nights sleep. Tomorrow we are headed into Kelowna to stock up on fresh supplies and to try and find some cheap second hand mountain bikes and a bike rack for Buddy.
It really feels like a road trip now, we are used to living out of Buddy. We have our set routine every day. The airbed is deflated, we cook breakfast, washing up is always done immediately to help stem the interest from bears and the other wildlife. Everything from the front seats is piled into the back and off we head on another days adventure. Park up somewhere, cook tea, wash up, inflate the airbed……you get the picture. All our rubbish has to stay in the van with us until we next find a bin to put it in. Again to keep the bears at bay, once you have a routine you settle into it easily and it just becomes part of your day. It’s hard to think we have now been on the road for three weeks as it feels like we have hardly moved when I check the map but we have camped at about a dozen different locations already and met some amazingly friendly locals and travelers alike. What a place this is so far.
