Category Archives: Railway Adventures across Canada

In three hours, our train journey travels 4,000 miles from the historic rail trails of Newfoundland into the heart of Canada and across to British Columbia. En route our videos explore historical and modern cities, rainforests, wildlife, culture and cuisine. (Photo: Matthew G. Wheeler)

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Québec City: The Battle for Canada

Posted on April 8, 2014 by On Top Of The World


Two miles of rolling lawns and broad shade trees commemorate a 15-minute battle on September 13th, 1759, in which Louis-Joseph Marquis de Montcalm lost half of North America to the British. The Plains of Abraham is just one significant historical site as we explore the only walled city north of Mexico. For its unique status, Old Québec City with its magnificent architecture was declared a United Nations World Heritage Site in 1985. For more information check out episode #35 in the Railways category.

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Gaspé, Québec: Forillon’s unique environment

Posted on March 20, 2014 by On Top Of The World


At the end of the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in Québec a rocky finger of land juts into the Gulf. Here, on the cliffs of Parc National Forillon, alpine plants are found unique only to this region, the Rocky Mountains and High Arctic. The Park is an ideal location for French and English naturalists to study the flora and explore the waters around the Gaspé Peninsula in search of marine specimens that might prove medicinal or act as early warning signals of environmental problems. For more information check out episode #34 in the Railways across Canada category.

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Québec: Ancient Rocks & Gannets of Gaspé

Posted on March 20, 2014 by On Top Of The World


The distinctive shape of the Percé Rock, a 375 million year old block of limestone that lies in the Gulf of St. Lawrence off the Gaspé Peninsula in Québec, was a navigational aid for sailors in the 1700’s. We sail around the rock and over to Bonaventure Island, a sanctuary for the world’s largest colony of Northern Gannets. Up close and personal, we discover that while the birds may be smelly and noisy, they have intriguing ways to locate their mates and chicks within the colony. Today, Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé is a National Park protecting the natural environment and the historic and geological heritage of both the rock and island. For more information check out episode #33 in the Railways across Canada category.

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Gaspé, Québec: The Prince of Miguasha

Posted on March 20, 2014 by On Top Of The World


An archaeological find at Miguasha along the Gaspé Peninsula in Québec has provided paleontologists with a vital link in the history of mankind. It is here that evidence of the evolution of an aquatic to a land vertebrate took place when the Prince of Miguasha, a fossilized fish, was discovered. We explore the eight kilometres of cliffs that have revealed many important fossils and learn how the discovery of the Prince led scientists to an understanding of the evolution of mammals and man. The Parc de Miguasha is now a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. For more information check out episode #32 in the Railways across Canada category.

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New Brunswick: Acadian Legacy

Posted on March 13, 2014 by On Top Of The World

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Mary’s Point Shorebird Reserve is testimony to how one person can make a difference. Mary Majka who died in February set out to protect the shorebirds that made this part of New Brunswick the staging area for their annual migration. The Maritime Provinces were once known as Acadia and the sounds of the birds gave the Acadian settlers of 1672 a name for the Marshes located at the head of the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. The Acadians created an ingenious method of dykes that allowed them to drain Tantramar, leach the salts out of the soil, and cultivate the land. At Fort Beauséjour in Sackville we discover the Acadians were a peaceful people who got caught up in the French/English conflicts and were eventually deported, some of them to New Orleans. The Acadian language and culture is brought to life at Le Pays de La Sagouine a gigantic stage for the works of author, Antonine Maillet. For more information check out episode 31 in the Railway Adventures category.

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Fundy and Hopewell Parks, New Brunswick

Posted on March 13, 2014 by On Top Of The World

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Dramatic tides have made the Bay of Fundy one of the marine wonders of the world. The tides surge up to 15 metres high at the mouth of the Petitcodiac River in New Brunswick. At low tide you can walk on the ocean floor and explore The Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park where top heavy rocks capped by balsam fir and dwarf black spruce resemble huge flowerpots and become small islands at high tide. Nearby, Fundy National Park is a showcase for the Bay’s dramatic tides and coastal terrain and for the variety of shrubs and waterfalls under the forest canopy which provide an excellent habitat for wildlife species. We set off in search of white tail deer. For more information check out episode 30 in the Railway Adventures category.

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Kouchibouguac, New Brunswick

Posted on March 13, 2014 by On Top Of The World

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We explore Kouchibouguac on the south east coast of New Brunswick, a national park established to protect the environmentally fragile areas of the Barrier Islands, Dune System and Salt Marshes.  For many years the beaches, shorelines and natural habitats lay relatively undiscovered. Now visitors enjoy the shallow tidewater lagoons with some of the warmest waters north of the Carolinas while the park continues its function as a sanctuary, a nesting area and nursery for birds and aquatic life.  For more information check out episode 29 in the Railway Adventures category.


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Manitoba: Legacy of a Lake

Posted on October 25, 2013 by On Top Of The World


Thousands of years ago, what is now the province of Manitoba in Canada was covered by the world’s largest fresh water glacial lake. When the waters of Lake Agassiz dried up it left a legacy of smaller lakes and a rich fertile soil which gave birth to the prairies. Manitoba has many faces. The location for the capital city, Winnipeg, was once an aboriginal meeting place that became a major centre for fur traders and explorers. We unearth eco-treasures including Oak Hammock Marsh, Spruce Woods, the Spirit Sands, and the delicate Arctic tundra. These explorations reveal a wealth of wildlife — birds, polar bears and beluga whales — that find sanctuary in the region. At an annual event in Gimli on Lake Winnipeg we celebrate the character of Icelandic pioneers who were left stranded at Willow Point in 1875. For more information check out episode 28 in the Railways across Canada category

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Alberta: History, Ecology and Responsibility

Posted on October 17, 2013 by On Top Of The World


Alberta is the hydrological centre of North America with rivers of waters from the Columbia Icefield flowing into three different oceans and illustrated by an excursion on the Athabasca Glacier and a trip on the Jasper Tramway for a stunning view over mountain ranges. Our explorations on the outskirts of Edmonton at the Ukrainian Heritage Village and Fort Edmonton Park provide insight to the lives of the early pioneers and the City’s early days as a Hudson’s Bay Company. Elk Island is one example where man’s attempts to control parkland has been redressed; and at Jasper National Park, in the Rocky Mountain eco-system, park wardens battle irresponsible travellers who put wildlife at risk. For more information: check out episode #27 in Railway Adventures across Canada.

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Alberta: Fresh Air Adventures

Posted on October 11, 2013 by On Top Of The World


Straddle that horse, climb that mountain and board that train for adventure of every kind in Alberta, Canada. In high cattle country we saddle up at a working ranch, explore the postcard country for which Canada is famous, do a little climbing amidst the breathtaking summits of the Rocky Mountains and then take a softer experience and enjoy the scenery from the comfort of a train. Finally, in the foothills of Alberta there is a wealth of aboriginal history at Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo Jump and a dinosaur stomping ground with extensive skeletal and fossilized remains – both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. For more information check out episode #26 in Railway Adventures across Canada.

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