Into the big country

by CHRIS ROSIE

If there are any perceptions about Canada, they are likely to revolve around "big" - the sheer size of the country, the vastness of uninhabited regions, the awesome Rockies, lakes so wide that the opposite shore is beyond sight, climatic excesses.

Yet the charm of Canada often lies in the little things. Take for instance La Sucrerie Blouin on the Ile d'Orleans.

Getting to this traditional sugar shack on the shore of the St Lawrence is easy enough, initially. Access to Ile d'Orleans is by bridge after a 15-minute drive from Quebec City.

The island is about 60km around and was declared a historic area in 1970 to keep out the tourist industry and to maintain its rural heritage. So they don't make it easy to get to the sugar shack. Off the island's road, it is reached by a narrow, rough track that is so steep, visitors can be forgiven for wondering if they will have to push the tour wagon back up the hill. During winter, transport is provided by a 1937 snowmobile.

Waiting at the water's edge in the sugar bush far from the madding crowd is a little restaurant and dance hall. But there is more than a restaurant. In the adjacent sugar house and among the surrounding trees, at their most glorious as autumn leaves its colourful mark, visitors are shown how maple syrup is made. La Sucrerie Blouin maintains the old traditions in collecting the sap from maple trees and boiling it over a wood stove to evaporate the 97 percent water content, transforming the maple sap into syrup.

Back in the restaurant enjoy "toffee on snow." Pour dollops of hot syrup on a block of white ice, insert an iceblock stick into the syrup, twirl and, voila it's toffee on a stick.

There is a smallness about the whole operation that seems incongruous in vast Canada.

Similarly, take Chez Marie. This place is likely to be found only by accident – or though the good services of a knowledgeable tour guide. Again we are talking small and tradition. On the old Beaupre Coast along the St Lawrence River east of Quebec City, this homely little cafe makes a feature of its maple products but its special attraction has to do with age. The stone dwelling dates back to 1652 and the freshly baked bread has come directly from a 150-year-old oven standing separate from the main cafe. Oh, those sumptuous maple-sugar bread slices! Like the Ile d'Orleans sugar shack, Marie's Place is a tiny gem in such a vast land.

For a third example of small is beautiful, try Toronto. Small, in a city of around three million people? Well yes. Specifically it's a small company making the most of the potential of Toronto and its surroundings.

This is the Helicopter Company – one four-seater machine with the company co-founders, its president and vice-president, doing the flying.

They offer packages that go from a short up-and-down flight, which is as much about the helicopter experience as it is about catching a glimpse of downtown Toronto, to flights that transport visitors to the wilderness, far enough from Toronto's doorstep to reinforce that perception of size.

A 20-minute flight can at one moment have passengers eyeball-to-eyeball with diners in Toronto's dominant landmark the CN Tower - big brother to Auckland's Skytower. The next moment they can savour the reds, yellows and brown below as the city landscape blends into the foliage of the autumn-touched countryside.

And the Helicopter Company offers a bonus. A flight with its president at the controls is undoubtedly added value. Once a fund manager, often a business consultant, and now a pilot, Julia Henderson brings an enthusiasm to extolling both the features of Toronto and the joys of the helicopter experience that is impossible to resist.

It is just a little operation but unquestionably a big experience.

Chris Rosie travelled courtesy of Canadian Airlines and the Canadian Tourism Commission.

La Sucrerie Blouin

2967 Avenue Royale, St-Jean, Ile d'Orleans, Quebec

Average meal cost from $C 10 ($NZ 13) to $C 15 ($NZ 19.50) plus drinks.

Chez Marie

8706 Avenue Royale, Chateau-Richer, Quebec


The Helicopter Company

Toronto City Centre Airport

Ph 1 416 203 3280

Packages from $C 40 ($52) to $C 2200 ($2860)