Feds have unclear course for lighthouses

It was so foggy, even those who would normally have had a clear site of the old Nova Scotia lighthouse, didn’t see the telltale warning sign.

Instead, on a May night in 2005, the light-keepers vacant house burned to the ground.

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Considered suspicious — a fire that some suspect was started by those concerned the building would someday be developed — it instead set the Chebucto Head lighthouse on a perilous heading.

The federal government has now decided to pass over ownership of nearly 1,000 Canadian lighthouses, including the postcard backdrop of Peggys Cove in Nova Scotia.

While it’s believed the provincial government may take over that world-renowned site, it’s the less iconic beacons that may face the greatest peril, including the signal at Chebucto Head, leading to Halifax Harbour.

This, as federal officials defend their decision.

“This process is clearly not about turning off any lights,” says Daniel Breton, director of navigation services for the Canadian Coast Guard.

“It’s about the ownership and management of the lights.”

Krishna Sahay, of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), says it’s simply a continuation of a process started some time ago.

Officials point out that in many cases, modern steel structures can do the job just as well.

So now begins a two year debate over heritage status, who’s able to pay for upkeep and separating — as one official explained — the light from the lighthouse.

Just ten days before the light-keeper’s home at Chebucto Head burned, a group of residents took over a two-year lease. Some in the tiny community of 15 homes, at the core of Duncans Cove, wanted to fundraise to preserve the light. That could have meant opening it up to more visitors. Now, the gate stays locked.

Without the house the nearby beacon was stripped of an important asset, and with federal officials now listing it and others as surplus, their fate is in doubt.

“We just didn’t want it to get into private hands,” says Dominique Gusset, a member of the Chebucto Head Lighthouse Society.

Instead of rugged symbols of Maritime history, she worries about lighthouses being turned into private developments or seaside mansions.

Not that Gusset owns a schooner that needs course correction.

“It’s just a little rowboat,” she explains. “But there’s something comforting about being out on the water…and seeing the light.

“Even hearing that fog horn at night.”

Barry MacDonald, president of the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society, says notice has been served on almost every coastal beacon in Canada.

“It’s a cop-out by DFO,” he fumes, worrying the future of even the best-known watermarks in the country is now in question.

But the course of many of the lighthouses — though perhaps not the lights — may have been charted.

And it’s not away from jagged rocks.

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Exploring on two wheels

TORONTO - To coincide with Bike Month, which kicked off Monday, the Park Hyatt Toronto has relaunched its popular Bicycle Valet program.

Hotel guests can check out a Trek Cruiser bicycle to explore the city on two wheels. The service is complimentary, but a deposit is required, and bikes must be pre-booked through the concierge. Guests can use the equipment provided — bike, lock, helmet, basket, bottled water and a biking map — free for four hours. A gourmet picnic lunch can also be arranged for a fee.

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For a gret day of cycling in Toronto, the hotel recommends the Martin Goodman Trail, the Toronto Islands and the Don Valley River Trails.

The Bicycle Valet program is part of a worldwide Park Hyatt endeavour to encourage local exploration in eco-friendly ways. It debuted in Chicago in 2008 and was later rolled out at 25 Park Hyatt locations from Sydney to Tokyo to Buenos Aires. For more on the program and the hotel’s summer specials, see parktoronto.hyatt.com.


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South African safaris tempt World Cup crowd

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Lions and cheetah, check. Buffalo, check. Rhino, hippo and leopard. check. Penguins, check. South Africa has them all.

The country has nearly 600 national parks and reserves - plenty of opportunity for the hordes of visitors coming for Africa's first World Cup to do something besides watching football.

South Africa's best known game reserve is Kruger National Park, near one of the World Cup host cities, Nelspruit, in the north. Kruger boasts the Big Five - buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion and rhino. The reserve is the size of the state of Massachusetts, but it might still seem crowded with tourists during the June-July World Cup. Still, there are off-the-beaten track options that are just as exciting and probably more accessible, and don't involve malaria tablets.

Those on a budget can make do with glimpsing animals for free on a drive from Cape Town to Cape Point. Others ready to break the bank can lodge at private game reserves and wake up to monkeys at the doorstep.

Three of the World Cup host cities, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Rustenburg, are near Pilanesburg, the fourth largest park in South Africa. It covers 55,000 hectares and has more than 7,000 animals, including 24 of the larger species.

You can take a room at Pilanesburg's luxurious Ivory Tree Game Lodge or Bakubung Bush Lodge, or the Tshukudu. Packages usually include lodging, meals and two safaris per day with guide.

Camping options or dormitory-style self-catering places for families can be booked at the Bosele Group Camp or Golden Leopard Resorts. Sites on the edges of the park allow campers or tents.

Mike Crowther, Pilanesburg park manager, said June is the best time to visit the reserve because the weather is cooler and drier, so the roads are easy to drive on, and because vegetation is not lush, enhancing any animal viewing.

But June is also winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and that means it is cold. Bring hats, gloves and lots of layers no matter where you go. If you take a late afternoon game drive, temperatures can plummet as the sun descends.

Johannesburg, Pretoria and Rustenburg are close enough for a day trip to Pilanesburg. Tourists can drive themselves, no bookings required, through the park on roads that are clearly marked, and you'll certainly see animals if you hit it early or late in the day. Nothing can beat seeing rhinos in the distance, elephants walking in front of your vehicle or giraffes eating leaves from the tops of trees.

"You can come in anytime of the week, anytime of the day and pay to get a permit and drive around," Crowther said. Though there are likely to be many visitors during the World Cup, Crowther said it's unlikely that they will have to cap the number of permits per day. Still, it's recommended you call ahead, or arrive early at any reserve.

If the drive and stay seem overwhelming, there's a more local Johannesburg option.

The Rhino and Lion Reserve is a 1,200-hectare reserve on the edge of the city, about a 45-minute drive from northern Johannesburg.

A fake elephant, giraffe and rhino greet you at the gate. The cost is only about $14 per person and you can drive yourself over the dirt roads or hire a guide. While there are no elephants here, you can see buffalo, rhino, ostrich, oryx, zebra and more in the open.

Feeding times for the lions, cheetahs and wild dogs are 1 p.m. Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Owner Ed Hern said the meat comes from local farms.

The feedings are quite popular, so it's best to go on a Wednesday, when it's less likely locals will be going.

There's also a reptile farm and an animal nursery where you can get a close look at baby rhinos, tigers, leopard, rare birds, pygmy hippos and lions. For a small fee, you can pet the lion cubs.

While there is game on a few reserves in the Western Cape, the focus there is more on the local flora known as fynbos, said Liesl Brink, spokeswoman for Cape Nature.

Still, during a few hours' drive from World Cup host city Cape Town through to Simon's Town and down to the Cape of Good Hope, you can see penguins - yes, penguins - and possibly some baboons and ostrich.

The baboons in the Cape of Good Hope nature reserve are accustomed to humans - almost too much so. They have been known to bother tourists and steal things from cars, so be sure to keep your windows and car doors closed.

For the most promising option to see game in southern South Africa, take an hour or so drive from host city Port Elizabeth or a seven-hour drive from Cape Town along the Garden Route to the Addo Elephant Park. Though the drive from Cape Town will take a day, it's stunning along the well-travelled Garden Route, which passes through the Tsitsikamma Forest where there have been rare sightings of elephants.

Addo is the only Big Five national park in the southern half of the country. It's known for its 300-strong elephant herd. But the park also has spotted hyenas, black rhino, kudu and ostrich. You can drive yourself or go on a two-hour guided tour.

A tip for those new to safaris: Ask other drivers, especially the guides, where they last saw elephant or lion or buffalo. The animals move around a lot, but if you have a general idea where they are, it's likely you'll spot some. Patience is the key. And upon that first close sighting, you'll understand what makes safaris so enthralling.

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Road 13 Vineyards' bold new direction

OKANAGAN, B.C. - Road 13 Vineyards’ Michael Bartier won’t ever be mistaken for Carlo Rossi. But you’d be right in saying that the Okanagan winemaker’s latest innovation started as “jug wine.”

Having finalized the components of three red wines from the 2008 vintage — the Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon — Bartier was compelled to blend them together.

“I dumped the samples into a jug, stirred it up and tasted it,” he explains.

Call it a eureka moment.

“You know that clichй that blended wines are better than the sum of their individual parts? That’s absolutely true in this instance,” Bartier says.

The talented vintner says the rich character of the blend floored him. It didn’t take him long to decide that instead of making different wines — three of the winery’s most popular, he adds — he’d make one larger volume blend.

“Pouring the wines into that jug was an irreversible path. How could I not do this?”

The newly released 2008 Rockpile is the final version of that spur-of-the-moment blend. Rockpile combines Syrah with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and tiny amounts of five other grape varieties including Zinfandel and Viognier.

It also inspired a sibling white blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc from the 2009 vintage called Stemwinder.

A total of 4,500 cases of Rockpile were made, which Bartier hopes should insure that the $25 red wine enjoys a longer shelf life than the 2,000 cases of each of the single-varietal wines.

“Those wines would get out there and be gone — just vanish,” he says. “People would always say to me, “We really love the Merlot or Syrah, can’t you just make more?”

In fact, Bartier says he had just seen Rockpile on the shelves of a private wine shop for the first time last Friday. Unfortunately the moment was tarnished for him.

“I took some flack,” he explains. The shop clerk fixed him with a steely gaze and said, “You know our top-selling wine here was Road 13 Merlot…”

“What can I say? It comes down to the fact we think it’s better wine,” says Bartier who has the complete support of Road 13 owners Pam and Mick Luckhurst.

“We’re a small winery. That means I get to do what I want to do and make the best wine we can possibly make. If we were a big winery, I’d be committed to making what sells.”

Road 13 wines are available in British Columbia and Alberta. The winery is looking for representation in other provinces.

Wine of the Week:

****+

Road 13 Vineyards 2008 Rockpile

Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

$24.99

This intriguing, multi-layered red blend puts the Okanagan Valley’s best face forward. It’s seamlessly integrated on the palate, which is bursting with rich, ripe, spicy flavours. The generous ripe berry fruit component gains interest and complexity from meaty and savoury notes, including a hint of that telltale sage that is a classic trait of wines from the southern Okanagan Valley (road13vineyards.com).

Christopher Waters is the editor of Sun Media's Vines Magazine. He can be reached at chris@vinesmag.com.

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"Pleasure garden" unveiled at London museum

Georgian London conjures up images of fine buildings, high art and an elegant gentry promenading along spacious tree-lined squares.

But for most of its citizens the crowded 18th century city was a dirty, violent place, where its rotten gin-soaked alleyways teemed with vermin, thieves and prostitutes.

To escape the squalor special open public places were built offering welcome respite from the noise and wretchedness of the narrow offal-strewn streets.

The elaborate recreation of a Georgian "Pleasure Garden" is one of the star attractions of five new galleries opened by the Museum of London on Friday.

The galleries, revamped over three years at a cost of 20 million pounds ($29 million), tell the story of the capital from the Great Fire in 1666, which destroyed four fifths of the city, to the modern day.

Some 7,000 treasures have been cherry-picked from its collection of more than 2 million artifacts to illustrate the city's rapid development.

Trade, crime, poverty, population growth, fashion and the heavy toll of war are all explored in the many interactive and high-tech displays.

In the gardens exhibit, visitors walk through a darkened room featuring real trees under star-lit skies. Mannequins adorned with original costumes, wigs, masks and hats of the period, glimmer under colored lighting.

A film backdrop recreates the drama of the gardens where the mingling social classes were served light refreshments and watched acrobats and exotic street entertainers. The evening would often climax with a firework display.

Curator Alex Werner said their popularity in London lead to similar gardens opening across Europe and America.

They were often named "Vauxhall" after London's most famous garden situated close to the banks of the River Thames in the southwest of the city.

The underbelly of the city was never very far away, however, Werner explained.

"In the gardens, lords and ladies rubbed shoulders with merchants, shopkeepers and prostitutes," he said.

British historian Dan Cruickshank believes there were up to 62,500 "harlots" working in the capital in the 1700s.

In his book, "The secret history of Georgian London: how the wages of sin shaped the capital," published last year, he says there were more prostitutes than anywhere in Europe, totaling one in five of the female population.

Other walk-through exhibits include the complete interior of a cramped wooden cell salvaged from the site an 18th century debtors' prison and a reconstructed Victorian street scene that boasts original 19th century shop fronts.

(Editing by Patricia Reaney)

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Hooray for Hollywood

Q: What’s Hollywood doing when it comes to improving traffic flow? My husband and I visited nearly 10 years ago and couldn’t believe the congestion. In addition, we missed nearly half the attractions we wanted to visit due to sky-high parking fees or difficulty finding the right turn-off to the site.

— K. Do, Toronto

A: Hollywood has had its fair share of traffic woes. But if you decide to visit again, you’ll be in for a surprise. California’s Tinseltown has beefed up its public transit network. Locals refer to the The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) as the Metro or MTA (metro.net). You’ll find bus, light rail and subway services in this mix.

In addition, there are several other municipal transit services available. For example, in Los Angeles County you’ll find LADOT (ladottransit.com/), and Long Beach Transit (lbtransit.com/), among others. In Santa Monica it’s the Big Blue Bus (bigbluebus.com).

When I was in Hollywood, I communted to several landmarks. I checked out The Grove, a shopping and entertainment complex, Universal Studios and headed down to Venice Beach all via public transit. Locals transit riders are quite helpful in pointing you in the right direction and the concierge at your hotel can also provide tips. To download maps, visit metro.net/around/maps/.

Many venues such as Universal Studios — universalstudioshollywood.com/visitor_info_transportation.html — also have directions on their websites.

Q: Last November we spent two weeks in Cuba and were almost eaten alive by sand fleas. We would like to prevent this on our next visit. Are these bugs worse in some areas or a certain season?

— N. Kolman, Toronto

A: While you can get sand flea bites anytime, these nasty critters are especially active in early morning — when you might be out for a beach stroll — and as the sun starts setting.

I just returned from Cuba and thankfully had little problem with bugs. But I used mosquito repellant.

To prevent bites when sand fleas are present, try using a beach chair or sitting on a towel instead of perching directly on the sand.

If you do get bitten, products such as Afterbite, Calamine lotion, and an antihistamine cream or pill such as Benadryl can help soothe affected areas. Avoid scratching if possible. And if you are staying at an all-inclusive property, the resort doctor can usually assist.

Lastly, remember when travelling to Cuba, you will need medical travel insurance. This new entry policy kicked in May 1 but I’m not sure if it is strictly enforced at this time. Better to be safe than sorry though.

Q: I was going to book a flight with Spirit Airlines but heard they charge to use the toilets on board. How is that possible?

— T. Pelinsky, Toronto

A: Spirit Airlines is the largest ultra low cost carrier (ULCC) in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. The Florida-based carrier is always looking for ways to keep fares low but has no plans to charge for using the toilets.

Instead, to raise revenue, the company is putting advertising on the washroom mirrors of its fleet of Airbus A319s and A321s.

Says Michael Pewther, sales director of Spirit Airlines’ Mile High Media: “The airline will not charge for things that are necessary during a flight, such as using the lavatory. We are thrilled to provide unsurpassed value for our advertising partners such as Fresh & Go to help cover our lavatory costs and we can pass these savings along to our customers by way of the ultra low fares they have come to know and love.”

Q: Once we leave our car at the hotel we’ll be staying at in Florida (it’s in Delray Beach) we really don’t want to take it out during our stay. Does the city have public transit?

— O. Kerr, Whitby

A: Downtown Delray is quite walkable with shops and restaurants lining the main strip along West and East Atlantic Avenue. The seaside town aso has a complimentary shuttle bus service called Downtown Roundabout. To access route information for the fleet of white buses and to download a map, see mydelraybeach.com. For phone inquiries, call 561-243-7000.

ilona@mycompass.ca

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Going wild in Alberta

LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA - A tiny stuffed owl was sitting on the front counter at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre when I walked in. At least I thought it was stuffed, until it blinked.

The receptionist grinned as if she’d seen this happen before, and introduced me to to Hoover, a short-eared owl.

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It was a hot July afternoon. I’d been on the road since early morning and had planned on just a quick look-round.

But when Hoover let me stroke his feathers — so soft they make silk feel rough — without even twitching, I was hooked, and stayed more than an hour.

The centre is in Coaldale, just east of Lethbridge. Co-founder Colin Weir, who grew up in Chatham, turned a flood-prone farm field into an award-winning facility that focuses on wildlife rescue, captive breeding and public education.

They house and/or help all sorts of birds. Some, like Spirit, a golden eagle that had been shot and blinded, become permanent residents. Others, like the seagull that got stuck in a restaurant dumpster, are cleaned of oil and grease and sent on their way.

Hoover wasn’t the only bird I got to handle. Next up was Mr. Bogle, a great horned owl who’d been at the centre 24 years. He looked fiercesome, but sat quietly on the arm of a little girl while her delighted mother took photos.

Every 90 minutes, weather permitting, there’s a live flying demonstration. The star of one I watched was Julius, a Harris’s hawk. A native of the U.S. southwest, it was purchased to do performances.

Released by his handler, Julius promptly flew to a perch on the other side the open field. But he was back in a flash when she dangled a piece of raw chicken.

The centre provides an unusual opportunity to see so many raptors up close. Along the “hawk walk,” majestic birds of prey such as bald eagles perch only a metre or two from visitors. Aviaries contain rescued birds that can’t be returned to the wild, among them great grey, snowy and saw whet owls. Visit burrowingowl.com for details.

Lethbridge was my last stop on a four-day visit to the part of southern Alberta marketed as the Canadian Badlands. It was originally called Fort Whoop-Up, where Americans traded bootleg whiskey to the aboriginals. Today it’s an attractive city of 85,000, whose attractions include:

— The century-old High Level Bridge, longest and tallest of its kind in the world, which spans the Old Man River valley. The bridge was an inspiration for celebrated Canadian architect Arthur Erickson, who designed the University of Lethbridge, overlooking the valley.

— Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden, a gift from Japanese Canadians, many of whom were interned in southern Alberta during the Second World War and decided to stay on after. Much of the garden was constructed in Japan, brought over in pieces and reassembled.

— Indian Battle Park, where the Bloods and the Cree fought what is regarded as the last great native battle in North America. Fort Whoop-Up National Historic Site is there.

— An open-pit mine, just south of Lethbridge, which does tours and sells jewelry made from a rare gemstone derived from the fossilized shells of ancient sea creatures called ammonites.

Lethbridge would make a good jumping-off point for such major attractions as Waterton Lakes National Park and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Fort MacLeod Museum of the Northwest Mounted Police, or, for Star Trek fans, the Vulcan Tourism & Trek Station.

For tourism information contact the Chinook Country Tourist Association at 1-800-661-1222 or chinookcountry.com, and the Canadian Badlands, canadianbadlands.com.

Accommodation tip: I had a spacious room, bang-up breakfast and plenty of peace and quiet at The Norland, just east of Lethbridge and handy to Alberta Birds of Prey. Visit thenorland.com.

denglishtravel@gmail.com

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