Roadtripping to Yellowknife
I’m pretty used to road trips and love driving, especially driving Jack. Usually though, our road trips are a bit limited due to time and distance and the requirement that Im at work on a Monday morning so our trips are mostly limited to between 2-5 hours max from where I live.
When planning this trip to North America though, I had toyed with the idea of road tripping to Yellowknife, which is in the Canadian Northwest Territories. I figured while I was up this was I should probably see if I could catch the Aurora Borelias, a bucket list item for sure.
Yellowknife is the capital city of the Northwest Territories, and lies on the Great Slave Lake. It’s rumoured to be the best place to see the northern lights, which are visible up to 240 nights a year. It was interesting to learn that Canada has 11 Numbered Treaties across the whole country. Yellowknife is on Dene First Nations lands in Treaty 8 territory and Edmonton is on Papaschase First Nations lands in Treaty 6 territory.
Google told me Yellowknife was a mere 15 hour, 12 minute drive from Edmonton, where I’ve been based for the Canadian leg of my trip.
I’ve driven from Perth to Exmouth a few times, stopping overnight along the way wherever I choose to, so figured this would kind of be quite similar.
If it’s possible to say that the idea of a 15 hour road trip is exciting and a heck of a lot of fun, then hell yeah! I was excited. Not having my beloved usual ride over here, I hired an SUV, and was given a Nissan Qashqai on pickup. Its wasn’t quite what I had in mind when booking the hire online but you handle what you get, right?
The day before leaving, Mum and I hit the shops to buy the supplies I’d need in case the was a snow dump along the way, and I got stranded in the car on the side of the road. I’d need someway of making a hot drink, blankets and warm clothes to keep me warm, I’d already bought a pair of snow boots that I adored, grabbed a lot of water, and snacks to have along the way. I found some little but powerful rechargeable lights, cooking pot and a couple of survival bags that Id seen advertised on Instagram as the perfect thing to be stuck in the bush anywhere in.
I was ready.
Me n Bessie hitting the road, getting to know each other along the way. What could go wrong?
Given all the wildlife I was warned about, and the fact that the bears in particular have just woken up from hibernation so are pretty hungry, camping out along the way really wasn’t an option so I booked into a motel in High Level, which is pretty much the half way point between Edmonton and YK.
I had some bear bells to use if I went wandering off from the car, although I was warned not to do this, and I was ready to keep my eyes peeled for moose, bison, elk, bears and anything else that might want to dent the car or eat me.
The trouble with hotel bookings though, and even camp ground bookings so I’ve slowly learned, is that they give you a window of time to arrive within, otherwise you might be charged for and early or a late arrival. I’m just not used to that, and there was so much beauty to see along the way.
I stopped on the outskirts of Slave Lake, which is on the side of the Lesser Slave Lake and let the motel I’d booked know I was going to be a late arrival - I had 5 hours and some minutes-ish to go. and it was already after 3pm. No pressure huh.
Being used to a vehicle with a slightly bigger fuel capacity with a differently shaped fuel tank; yeah you know those ones that start out nice n wide and then get narrower and narrower the further down they go? I had one of those so wasn’t really sure exactly how it would roll. I stopped at each gas stop and topped up but had been warned that they may get fewer and further between.
Driving in Australia you kind of get used to that but… I didn’t realise Bessie had a ECO mode until I noticed the fuel tank indicator suddenly drop quite quickly. I was starting to get a little worried about whether I’d make it to the next gas station or not. I didn’t really want to be sleeping in the car in the middle of nowhere without any of my usual gear, or stuck in the middle of somewhere with no fuel or cell service. You can’t help but think of these things when you’re travelling solo. Oh and it was pretty darn cold with snow lining the highway for much of the journey. Putting her into ECO mode helped a lot.
The landscape was mostly flat, and there were rolling hills through some areas too. The roadside verges were well cut back and lined with poplar trees. Up this side of the world this in April they’re just coming out of winter into spring, so trees and plants are mostly bare except for the evergreen flora.
It was such a beautiful drive, and all so new to my eyes. I loved it. Its such a contrast to what I usually see.
On the second day travelling towards YK it was easy to see the devastation brought by massive bushfires all along the way through. While it lends the landscape a certain kind of beauty, I always feel a little guilty for seeing the beauty in the devastation and knowing that many hundreds of animals and plants have lost their lives during the fires. The contrast between snow and fire devastation was a bit incongruous yet also still very beautiful.
The further north you go the colder it gets obviously, and the more roadside verges start to pile up with snow. Snow melt also comes into play with huge puddles along much of the roadside.
From the fire and snow contrasts came the deep snow, brilliant white and glistening in the sunlight and under the blue sky.
Suddenly the landscape began to change. Rocky outcrops began to pop up amongst frozen streams and ponds. As stunning as it was on this day I could easily imagine how it would look in the peak of spring heading into summer, with the snow melted and vibrant greens, soft deep blues and rock pinks and reds colouring the scene.
A winter wonderland
…and then…I made it to Yellowknife…
It was a hell of a long drive one way but Im SO glad I did it. It was quite the experience and I loved every minute…. it was epic!!!
Would I do it again? Absolutely, in a heartbeat
Aurora Bayside Inn