Superlatives abound...magnificent, grandoise...awe-inspiring - after the minute mountains Astralia has to offer, this is Cecil B de Mille on a grand scale. The mountains are dusted with snow and so craggy. Geographically, it is so very different to Glacier National Park (Montana), which was our last experience of things alpine. It seems the further north we go the bigger it all gets.

I'm on to my 17th roll of film already and I just know the time spent in Banff will result in an utterly obscene and self-indulgent display of piccie-taking. I plan to create an online gallery of image to display the best - probably only of interest to those from the southern hemisphere as all you northerners are used to all this...grandeur.

The Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier (Montana) were marvellous in their own right but somehow didn't manage to make you catch your breath in quite the same way.

Two more parks after this: Glac