One Epic Year In Canada with Charlie H.
Hi there! My name is Charlie, I’m 23 from Western Australia and I am near approaching the 1-year anniversary of my Working Holiday in Canada.
As with most people who end up working in the Rockies, I have a passion for hiking and backcountry camping; looking out for the occasional bear or elk that might run by (has happened multiple times). I also like pushing myself to try out crazy activities like sky diving and white water rafting, even going the extra step and going down rivers by myself in nothing but a blow up donut.
Although it’s easy to trace how far I’ve come in terms of my confidence travelling solo, I do owe much of the credit to the starting’s and support that Global Work and Travel provided for me. They set me up with everything I needed, made sure I knew no question was ‘too dumb’, and helped me get to the work opportunities I found myself most attributed to (with of course my goal working in the Rockies).
Ever since May 2022 I’ve been settled in Yoho and Banff national park doing various work opportunities involving hospitality and leisure, being able to embark on incredible journeys to new places and meeting incredible likeminded travelers. It feels like only yesterday that I started this journey but to think its nearly been a year is unbelievable. There’s been so much that I’ve accomplished like buying my own van and driving the Yukon, seeing the northern lights, floating down rivers in donuts, witnessing grizzly bears walking past my car, driving through bison herds, the list is endless!
And that’s not even scratching the surface of my winter season that I just finished. Going Heli skiing as a staff perk is incredible and spending each weekend skiing at Lake Louise was and is continuing to be such a blessing (currently searching for a lynx that was spotted on the hill but no luck yet). And I will say, not that anyone asked me to, but I dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow and went skiing on the hill for the day and the public reception was so funny! It was definitely the most outlandish thing I’ve done but I love that that is what travelling does to you and how you can have the most unique and wild adventures with little to no planning!
Truly the best decision was to travel, and I have no regrets leaving Australia (even though I do miss it sometimes. I’m sure there are many more adventures to come, especially with my new gig at a somewhat famous lake in Banff national park slinging out Canoe’s (I won’t name it but a big clue is that it’s neighbors with Lake Louise). Can’t wait to get started and wish all my fellow travelers the best with their own adventures!