KEY POINTS:
Those who have seen me play golf will not be surprised to know that I failed to score an eagle on the famous Banff Springs Golf Course - reputedly one of the 10 best courses in the world - which occupies a spectacular site high in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
But I did score several wapiti (aka elks) and a coyote on the course. And later I even got an eagle, a large bald one, sitting on a dead pine on the banks of the nearby Bow River.
In golf - as you probably know - an eagle is a score rarely achieved. But when it comes to wildlife spotting in the Rockies it's not hard to find amazing birds and beasts because they're all around.
On an evening stroll through downtown Banff, for instance, there were mule deer trimming the hedges, squirrels running between trees and ptarmigan nibbling the ground cover, and the Evening Wildlife Safari doesn't have to go further than the golf course.
Similarly, in Jasper, while walking to the shopping centre we passed a female wapiti grazing contentedly on the verge and saw several white-tailed deer crossing the road. That happens because the land in these towns and the 2.3 million hectares of surrounding park - making up the Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho national parks and the Mt Robson, Mt Assiniboine and Hamber regional parks - is owned by the Government and preserving nature takes priority.
When those deer started ambling across the four lanes of Jasper's main highway, there was no question that they had right of way and the cars and trucks had to come to a halt.
Centres like Jasper and Banff have been allowed to develop, to service the tourists who come to enjoy the magnificent scenery, wildlife and ski slopes, but they are subject to strict rules.
As a couple of our guides explained a little ruefully, you can only buy a house in one of those towns if you have a business or a job there; you can never own the land; it's only permissible to retire there if you've worked locally for at least 15 years; holiday homes are absolutely forbidden; the town limits are not allowed to expand; and you need to buy a permit to drive the park roads.
As a result, compared with somewhere like Queenstown, development in Banff or Jasper is tightly restricted, the wilderness comes right up to the edge of the towns, all the rubbish bins have to be bear-proof and wapiti rule the roads.
Those rules are obviously frustrating at times - one local complained bitterly about having to wait months to get a Parks Canada official to approve cutting down a tree left dangerous because of a frost crack - but they have preserved a vast area of relatively pristine mountain landscape.
We arrived and departed this area by rail, stepping off in Banff on the Rocky Mountaineer and leaving Jasper on The Skeena, but explored the area in between by bus - car would have been even better - because that allows you to stop and enjoy the many sights.
The highlights for us included:
Sulphur Mountain Gondola, just outside Banff, which whisked us to a height of 2281m, where a boardwalk led to viewing platforms with magnificent vistas of the surrounding mountains, the valleys carved by the gleaming Bow River and the town of Banff itself. We didn't get to see any of the bighorn sheep which often hang around the viewing area, but did have a pleasant meeting with a cheeky golden-mantled squirrel and enjoyed the rare pleasure of looking down on some soaring golden eagles.
Johnston's Canyon, where the ground was thick with snow and an amazing cantilevered walkway leads round the canyon wall to a series of waterfalls.
Lake Louise, with its classic panorama of a brilliant blue lake surrounded by snowcapped mountains, set off by the extraordinary Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise hotel, where porters dressed in Swiss-style outfits were clearing snow off the guests' cars.
Moraine Lake, created when an ancient rockslide blocked a glacier-fed river, its waters a milky turquoise colour, surrounded by more ice-clad mountains.
Takakkaw Falls - the name means "magnificent" and they are - at 384m, the second highest in Canada.
The Natural Bridge, a rock formation under which the Kicking Horse River thunders, reappearing in a series of cataracts.
The colourfully named Deadman's Flat, where a huge bull wapiti was escorting his herd of females across the river while a hail storm turned the ground white.
Emerald Lake, green of course, where I enjoyed the colourful reflection provided by a bright red canoe and listened to a nervous Irishwoman calling to her husband, "Oh, glory, we're too far out, we should turn back."
Payto Lake, providing another scene of classic beauty, with the added attraction of a frozen access path which had visitors sliding about as though they were on a skating rink.
The extraordinary Columbia Icefield, a vast sheet of ice 300m thick, which feeds eight separate glaciers. One is the Athabasca Glacier, which you can drive up on special all-terrain vehicles and wander round the bottom of a valley of ice.
Athabasca Falls, where the river fed by the glacier thunders its way through a narrow rocky cleft, before resuming its peaceful meandering to the sea.
Jasper Whitewater Rafting, also down the Athabasca River, which isn't really a whitewater experience but rather a relaxing float through a picturesque river valley.
Jasper Tramway, a gondola ride 2277m up Whistler's Mountain, offering breathtaking views of Mt Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, the Athabasca Valley and Jasper township. The name of Whistler comes from the whistling noise produced by the hoary marmot and, while we didn't see any, their tracks in the snow were all around.
There were so many glorious sights that by the end of our visit my wife and I had taken to exclaiming in mock horror, "Oh no, ABV," for another bloody vista. But in fact we never got tired of the Rockies' special combination of scenery and wildlife.
On our final morning in Jasper, we watched a young man cycling down the road, snowy mountains to the right and turquoise river to the left, with a takeaway coffee in one hand. He rounded a corner, saw a young male wapiti waiting on the verge and, this being the rutting season when male wapiti are very aggressive, swerved to the other side of the road and carried on his merry way with not a drop of coffee spilled. Where else in the world could that happen?
BANFF, CANADA
GETTING THERE
Air New Zealand flies non&45;stop Auckland to Vancouver. There are three flights a week, reduced to two a week in April, May, June, September and October. Pacific Economy class fares start at $2389 return, including all pre&45;payable taxes. See www.airnewzealand.co.nz, call 0800 737&
45;000 or visit an Air New Zealand Holidays Store.
PACKAGES
House of Travel has 12&45;night packages around Canada's Scenic Circle from $8449 per person, including twin&45;share accommodation and most meals. The price is valid for travel between June 15 and September 23.
The package includes return economy class Air New Zealand airfares to Vancouver, airport transfers in Vancouver, three nights' accommodation at Sandman Hotel and Suites, and the 10&45;day Spirit of the West independent tour.
The tour includes the Rocky Mountaineer two&45;day train trip from Vancouver to Banff in redleaf class; coach travel from Banff to Lake Louise and Jasper, including Banff Sulphur Mountain gondola pass, Banff Upper Hot Springs swim pass, evening wildlife tour in Banff, Ice Explorer ride on to the Athabasca Glacier and Jasper Tramway pass; two&45;day rail trip on the Skeena from Jasper to Prince Rupert travelling totem class; BC Ferry ride from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy via the Inside Passage; coach tour Port Hardy to Victoria; coach and ferry trip Victoria to Vancouver.
MORE INFORMATION
Contact House of Travel on 0800 838 747 or www.houseoftravel.co.nz. For information on British Columbia see www.hellobc.com.
In Travel next week, Jim Eagles continues his Canadian journey to the fishing port of Prince Rupert on board The Skeena.
* Jim Eagles travelled Canada's Scenic Circle with the help of Air New Zealand, House of Travel and Tourism British Columbia.
