Photo courtesy of Sam and Esther Lintern
Aussies experience BC

Australian couple tours province amidst global pandemic

Jun 8, 2020 | 4:29 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Towards the end of 2018, the Linterns arrived in Canada.

Recently married, Sam and Esther made a brief stop in Los Angeles – after flying from their home of Perth, Australia –before making their way to Vancouver on a Working Holiday Visa, which allowed the pair to essentially fund their trip through jobs they worked while in Canada.

“After we got married, we wanted to venture out from our comfortable bubble with our family, house, and work. We decided to come to Canada, just as something different,” said Esther. “We have a Working Holiday visa, and that is almost finished, we’re at 18 months in now. We figured we better start travelling Canada, or British Columbia at least, with all of the travelling restrictions so that we could see some of Canada so when we go back home it’s not like we didn’t see any of it.”

The plan was to work in Vancouver before embarking on a coast to coast trip before heading back home to the Land Down Under.

But then… COVID-19.

Photo courtesy of Sam and Esther Lintern

Having already been in Canada for a year, and still with time left on their Working Holiday, the Linterns opted to change their original plans and instead decided to tour through British Columbia.

And see it they have, beginning in Vancouver – where they lived for much of their stay in Canada – they’ve made their way along the Fraser River, continuing northward from Prince George. This past weekend, they stumbled upon the Huble Homestead, about 40 minutes north of the Northern Capital. Once they complete their journey to the northern tip of the province, they plan to venture back down and continue their travels westward to Prince Rupert, all while camping out of their vehicle.

“It’s been challenging to know what to do and to know what’s going to be open and where we could go (with the pandemic),” explained Sam. “We didn’t know if the gas stations and supermarkets were going to be open, but we decided to do the trip anyway. So far, everything’s been open. All of the campsites and parks opened up just in time for us to arrive.”

And while restrictions have kept them in BC, they’ve found that the Canadians they have met along the way aren’t too much different from Aussies.

“It’s interesting. We’ve spoken about it a lot and compared to your average Australian, I feel that we’re on par with being polite and saying sorry a lot. Stereotype-wise, Canadians do say a lot of “sorry” and “eh”, I’m starting to get there,” Esther joked on her picking up of Canadian slang.

With two months remaining on their Working Holiday Visa, the Linterns will be looking forward to returning home to Perth with fingers crossed that the state of the pandemic continues to improve.