Alice Pyne flew to Canada to go whale watching and tick off her last bucket list wish
Her final dream came true after her parents made a “terrifying” late-night decision to fly her abroad.
Alice Pyne, 16, flew to Canada to go whale watching and tick off her last bucket list wish.
The girl, who has a white blood cell cancer called Hodgkins lymphoma, made a pilgrimage to Vancouver and stood on the brow of a boat surrounded by orcas and humpbacks.
She said the trip was “the best holiday ever”.
Her parents, Vicky and Simon Pyne, took on the 11-hour flight abroad – after a sleepless night of worry – to allow Alice to complete her list of achievements.
Vicky Pyne said their consultant advised them not to travel abroad, but added: “If you are to go, go quickly.”
“We thought it was too risky, it was too far,” added Vicky Pyne.
However, an email message from Alice Pyne’s Vancouver friend Nicole convinced them to take the trip to see their daughter’s favorite animal despite the cost and impossibility of insurance.
Within hours of booking their flights, the family, including Alice Pyne’s sister Milly, were waiting for a jet at Manchester Airport.
They made the flight and drove across to Vancouver Island. The following day they met Nicole and her father Bill MacKay, who run MacKay Whale Watching.
Alice Pyne’s family stepped on to a boat and, after 45 minutes on the water, they were surrounded by 25 orca and humpback whales.
She said: “They were huge. I couldn’t believe I was there. This was something I’ve always wanted to do. I wanted to see them in the wild and I loved the way they moved in the water.”
They spent five hours on the water, allowing Alice Pyne, of Ulverston, Cumbria, time to watch the whales rolling and playing around their vessel, as well as watching sea lions and dolphins.
She said: “When I made my bucket list I never expected it to be published to the whole world – so I didn’t expect to tick off the last item – I didn’t even expect to get the majority of my wishes fulfilled.
“Words can’t really explain it but I’m so happy it is done.
“There was a point where I was on the back of the boat and a whale came up two metres away from me. It was about 25 foot long and just amazing.
“I always said you should take a few risks and there is no part of me that thinks this was a bit of a risk. What was the worst that could happen? More people should feel the same way.”
Alice Pyne told fans on her blog: “I don’t think about it all too much as they didn’t think I’d be here 18 months ago and I could waste the life I’ve got just thinking about it all.”
Her mother added: “A year ago we weren’t brave enough to make the trip – we wouldn’t have dreamed of it – but we knew it was now or never and we might have lived a long life of regret after Alice is gone if we didn’t grab the opportunity.”
Alice was recognized by fans of her blog at Manchester Airport, in a cafe at Telegraph Cove where they were taken on a millionaire’s yacht and invited on a helicopter ride across the rivers and waterfalls.
Alice Pyne’s bucket list, which went viral online and has now been viewed by around four million people, led to her meeting Prime Minister David Cameron in July, last year, to discuss how to help people suffering cancer.
She has campaigned tirelessly to raise awareness of the need for more bone marrow donors.
Alice Pyne has now battled her condition for five years and set up the charity Alice’s Escapes, this year, to provide holidays for seriously ill children.
ALICE’S BUCKET LIST:
DONE – To go whale watching
DONE – Visit Cadbury World
DONE – To go to my school leavers prom
DONE – To stay in the Chocolate room at Alton Towers
DONE – To swim with sharks
DONE ‘ish – To go to Kenya (got to go to Kent-ya)!
DONE – To enter Mabel in a Labrador show
DONE – Photo shoot with Milly, Clarissa, Sammie and Megs
DONE – To have a private cinema party for me and my BFFs
DONE – To design an Emma Bridgewater Mug to sell for charity
DONE- To stay in a caravan
DONE – To have a purple Apple ipad
DONE – To meet Take That
DONE – To have a nice picture taken with Mabel
DONE – To have my hair done
DONE – To have a back massage
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