Having grown up in Edinburgh and very much an ‘outdoorsy’ person, Hollie was often visiting the islands on the West Coast or visiting family in the Highlands. It was in Edinburgh that her love for travel began after travelling to Australia and Canada on a school exchange. If there was ever an opportunity to travel Hollie took it, from hitchhiking through Europe to building schools in Tanzania, it was not unusual for her to be abroad.
After graduating university she embarked on a worldwide trip. Starting in India, she visited Sri Lanka, Bali and Fiji. She settled to live in Australia before jetting off again to New Zealand and South America. The travel bug did not stop there and after a year in marketing she hired a van and drove through the States and Central America.
With a real passion for travel and the outdoors, Hollie joined Audley as a Canada specialist. With so much to see and do in Canada, it is the variety of the trips that she enjoys putting together. She has driven extensively in Western Canada, most recently going twice last year with her favourite places being The Rockies and Vancouver Island.
Start planning your trip to Canada with Hollie
As soon as I got to Québec City I fell in love with it. The cobbled streets are filled with boutique shops, cafés and restaurants which makes it a great place to wander around. I would recommend doing the walking tour so that you can be shown around this quaint and romantic city and learn about the history.
When I was visiting the different lakes in the Rockies, Moraine Lake really lived up to its reputation. I would recommend staying at Moraine Lake Lodge because not only is it located at one of the best lakes in Western Canada but the property itself is beautiful. The unique location provides you with the opportunity to really get away from it all and enjoy the breathtaking scenery and wildlife that surrounds the lodge.
This was my first experience of sea kayaking and it's one I will remember for a very long time. Within the first 10 minutes we were lucky enough to see a bald eagle sitting at the top of the tree, scanning the sea. It then flew down, skimmed the surface of the water and successfully caught a fish right in front of us. We then continued our kayak to Meares Island, where we saw a sea lion, seals and lots of sea stars. On Meares Island we walked through the rainforest and learnt about the ecology and local history.
