Valerie Blow (left), leads visitors along the boardwalk at the Osoyoos Desert Centre. (Richard McGuire file photo)

The Osoyoos Desert Centre was picked as a top eco-adventure destination recently by the Flight Network travel website.

The Desert Centre, located on 67 acres just north of Osoyoos, was named number seven in the Wildlife/Wilderness category among 24 of Canada’s Best Eco-Adventures.

“A desert in Canada? Yep, you read that right!” says the article in Flight Network’s blog.

It goes on to explain that not all deserts are sandy, and that experts at the Desert Centre will teach visitors about habitat restoration and endangered ecosystems.

The article named other eco-adventures throughout Canada.

“I was delighted,” said Lee McFadyen, president of the Osoyoos Desert Society’s board of directors. “It’s lovely to get that kind of recognition.”

McFadyen said the Desert Centre, which is open from April to October, draws visitors from everywhere.

“They come from literally all over the world,” she said. “Anywhere tourists come from, visiting Osoyoos and area, they come to the Desert Centre. And our locals bring their guests and they come back themselves too.”

McFadyen says the roughly 10,000 visitors each year enjoy the displays in the aging buildings, but the real enjoyment comes when they step out onto the boardwalk.

“You get the feel of what being in this special ecosystem is like,” she said. “You may not see the wildlife that you want to, but particularly on the night tours, there’s that feeling of days slowly falling into night and the change that occurs… It’s so quiet, so restful.”

McFadyen thinks many people aren’t aware before they visit Osoyoos that this kind of environment exists in Canada.

“Canada is always seen as cold and snowy,” she said. “You don’t really expect that it’s going to be 40 degrees and dry for so many days. And the kind of plants that you see and the smell of those plants.”

The Desert Centre is busiest in July and August when many people take summer vacations, but it can also be busy in June and September, she said.

“The spring is beautiful and September is beautiful,” said McFadyen. “Even into October it can be lovely. The very special times to me are the earlier morning and the evening tours. It’s something quite magical to hear the birds slowly disappear and then hear the crickets come out and see the light slowly fade.”

The recognition comes as the Desert Centre, currently closed, is entering its winter months and some animals go into hibernation and many birds migrate south.

Coyotes are still there, said McFadyen, and the Nuttall’s cottontail is also there year round, though this little bunny spends more time underground in winter.

Meanwhile, the spadefoot toad burrows deep into the mud and snakes slither into rocky crevices to the west to hibernate. Bears tend to hibernate, but they do come out when temperatures are right, she said.

Deer can also be seen year round, browsing especially in the bushy growth on the west side.

Among the birds, juncos, nuthatches, chickadees, quails, crows and flickers tend to stay the winter, while sparrows and bluebirds will migrate south, McFadyen said.

The Flight Network’s ranking covers six locations under a Cultural heading and six under Adventure Sports. The Wildlife/Wilderness category covers 12 locations, of which the Osoyoos Desert Centre is seventh.

The No. 1 in Wildlife/Wilderness is Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve in Ontario. However, nine of the 12 locations named in this category are in British Columbia.

The story can be read at www.flightnetwork.com/blog/canadas-absolute-best-24-eco-adventure-tours-2017/.

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times