DRIVING IN CANADA

Hiring a car or motorhome is a popular way to explore the sights of Canada. Self drive holidays are good value, and provide the opportunity to explore at your own relaxed pace. Canada's freeways link the major cities and provide easy access to many of Canada's National Parks.

Towering mountains, evergreen forests, salt- and fresh-water fishing, natural beaches, wilderness parks, bison herds, chances to pan for gold, as well as the urban sophistication of large cities or the slower pace of villages and towns - all are at your beck and call.

The three routes suggested here should interest everyone. They take in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec, and Alberta and British Columbia. Each has its own appeal and each is easily reached from several large Canadian cities.

Route 1 - Atlantic Canada

Start at Halifax, Nova Scotia for your maritime adventure. The view from the Halifax Citadel is outstanding and the Historic Properties precinct on the harbourfront is a favorite of tourists and local residents. Take time to cruise on the 'Bluenose II', Canada's most famous tall ship, in Halifax's outstanding natural harbour. From Halifax, any direction you go will impress you. The beautiful Annapolis Valley is a fruit-growing region which will take you to the Evangeline Drive, home to two facinating 17th century forts and the centre of Nova Scotia's Acadian community. The Atlantic Coastal Drive takes you through picturesque fishing and shipbuilding villages to the famous Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island. The Cabot Trail hugs ocean shorelines and winds through forested highlands, leading to Canada's most impressive National Historic Site, the Fortress at Louisbourg. Head over the Prince Edward Island to sample their sweet Malpeque oysters, and visit Green Gables, the setting for the famous "Anne of Green Gables" series. Take the ferry across to New Brunswick for several more superb drives, the Acadian Heritage Coastal Drive, through the Miramichi River Valley (famous for its Atlantic salmon fishing) to the Saint John River Valley Drive. This winds through rolling farmland, across the world's longest covered bridge, and through the 'City of Stately Elms' and provincial capital - Fredericton, and on to the Fundy Shore. As you head back to Halifax take the Fundy Shore Drive which visits the resort town of St. Andrew (dating from United Empire Loyalist days), the lovely Isles of Fundy - Campobello, Deer and Grand Manan, quaint fishing villages, oddities of nature such as the 'flowerpot rocks' at Hopewell Cape, and gives you the opportunity to enjoy the fresh taste of ocean air at Fundy National Park.

Route 2 - Ontario-Quebec

Start your Ontario/Quebec drive in Canada's largest city of Toronto. Take the outside elevator to the top of the CN Tower, the tallest building in the world. Lose yourself at Casa Loma, Toronto's famous 98 room castle. Visit the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, the outstanding Metro Toronto Zoo and Ontario Science Centre. Niagara Falls are only a 90 minute drive away. Then head east to historic Kingston, home to Old Fort Henry, a massive stone fortress where soldiers, in bright-red uniforms of another day, practice 19th century drill. Kingston is also a staging point for the beautiful Thousand Island cruises. From Kingston, head up to the Rideau River and the nation's capital, Ottawa. Parliament Hill is the No. 1 attraction, with its fine buildings, monuments, Changing of the Guard ceremony, Peace Tower and Sound and Light Shows. There are many fine National museums and galleries, including the outstanding Museum of Civilisation.

Just outside Ottawa, in Quebec Province, is the beautiful Gatineau Park with its nature trails and impressive lookouts. From Ottawa, it is a pleasant 2.5 hour drive through the Laurentian Mountains to Montreal, the second largest french-speaking city in the world. Montreal has hundreds of gourmet restaurants and irresistible shopping. It also has the vast Olympic Park, Biodome and Biosphere, a world-famous Botanical Gardens and several museums and churches filled with ancient treasures. Just 3 hours drive east along the St Lawrence River, is the jewel of french culture in North America, facinating Quebec City. History is everywhere, with Artillery Park, the Citadel and Place Royale recalling the founding of Quebec and, in turn, the beginnings of Canada. Quebec City is split-level, with the Upper Town sitting high on a cliff overlooking the St. Lawrence River and the cobblestone streets of Lower Town spread out along the river banks.

Route 3 - Alberta and British Columbia

A longer trip, but one to be remembered always, is a 1610 km tour of the Rocky Mountains from Calgary, Alberta. Leaving the modern city of Calgary, it is just a 90 minute drive to Banff, Canada's oldest national park, created around hot springs over one hundred years ago. It is also the best-known of Canada's national parks due to the popularity of the resorts of Banff and Lake Louise. Visitors from all over the world marvel at its ice-capped mountain peaks, green valleys, glaciers and clear lakes and rivers. Wildlife is abundant and there are 1200 km of walking trails in the park. On the way north to Jasper the spectacular Columbia Icefields Parkway will take you to the toe of the immense Athabaska Glacier. Jasper National Park is another mountain jewel.

From Jasper, drive west past Mount Robson, highest point in the Canadian Rockies. Heading south along the Yellowhead Highway, you will drive alongside the turbulent Thompson River in a trench of the Rocky Mountains, to Kamloops where you join the Trans Canada Highway. From Kamloops, you can drive a spectacular 425 km along the Fraser River to Vancouver.

Alternatively, you could head east back to Banff and Calgary from Kamloops. This route will take you past the beautiful Shuswap Lakes and Revelstoke National Park, a vast area of alpine meadows and sparkling lakes. Next is Glacier National Park, a rugged alpine area with jagged peaks, fast streams and over 100 glaciers. Past the town of Golden is yet another national park, Yoho, smaller than Banff or Jasper but just as facinating with its high peaks, glaciers, waterfalls and clear lakes. After Yoho, you are in Banff National Park and only a short distance from Calgary and the end of your drive.

These are just three of Canada's numerous self-drive routes of interest to car and RV travellers. To help you plan your own itinerary, detailed maps and provincial tourism literature is available free from Canada Travel Information, PO Box 365, Milsons Point, NSW 2061. Tel. (02)9954.3377. Fax (02)9959.4277.

Combined car hire & hotel packages are available from: Adventure World, Destination International, Drive-a-Rama, Explore Holidays, House of Holidays and Qantas Holidays