A great holiday on the horizon; SARAH BATLEY enjoys the wild outdoors during a trip to Canada.

IT took a trip across the Atlantic and a view of the sky from edge to edge for me to realise just how limited is our horizon.

In Manitoba, in the middle of Canada, the sky seems limitless, a vast dome that sweeps up above you and, more importantly, for miles and miles away at the side, whether it's day or night.

It's nowonder native Canadians dubbed it Big Sky, and looked in wonder at the deep dark starry heavens - and that's before the Northern Lights start dancing.

My sister, who's lived in Manitoba for seven years, has seen them plenty of times. She's almost got used to that vast sky as well.

Manitoba is the prairie province, from the US border to Hudson Bay, with lakes, mountains, and mile after mile of flat rich farm land, producing millions of tonnes of grain and other food for export.

The southern boundary is on the same latitude as the UK's Scilly Isles but its distance from the sea makes for summers of a humid 30C, and down mostly below - 20C in winter, when dry Arctic air is pulled in with a near six months worth of snow.

My sister spends her summer sunbathing on beaches alongside clear mountain lakes, and winters playing on one of the family's three Skidoos. Other relatives had visited, but it was my first chance to actually see the places they'd all described.

Not being fond of snow, I'd opted for a summer trip, flying to Winnipeg from Manchester via Chicago with Bmi - in future I'd go through Toronto to avoid the unfriendly and scary US customs.

At the airport we picked up our Thriftyhire Toyota Highlander hybrid SUV, ready to do battle with the truckers on the straight-as-an-arrow trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway One. With my sister as guide, we explored the area around her home town of Plumas.

At Portage la Prairie we dropped into the Forte la Reine pioneer museum (www.portagetouristbureau.ca) with a collection of reclaimed old houses charting local history, from a wooden shack and garrison through to larger farmsteads and township offices.

There's even a school and Ukrainian church, where you can still marry, plus a collection of farm equipment, from the earliest tractors and harvesters, and the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame - just don't call it rounders for boys.

Another day was spent at Minnedosa lake beach playing frisbee, sunbathing and swimming before exploring more history, this time on one of the trails across Canada used by old explorers.

The day ended with a BBQ - everywhere there are fire pits and piles of logs, so all you have to do is bring cooking utensils, food and drink.

Another day we explored Riding Mountain National Park, home to wild deer, moose, bison and black bears. The towns around Clear Lake have excellent restaurants, while the lakeside is perfect for sunbathing.

You can camp out, take GPS guided camper van tours, hire canoes or rowboats, or take a paddle boat trip aboard the Martese (www.pc.gc.ca).

A hunt to find rare slipper orchids at Alonsa (www.mts.net) failed, but instead introduced us to Margaret Bruce beach on the shores of Lake Manitoba. Nearby at Bluff Creek is Medicine Rock, a traditional gathering where First Nations people give offerings.

Worth seeing too is Brandon (www.tourism.brandon.com), Manitoba's second largest city, with plenty of shops, a Commonwealth Air Training Plan museum, art gallery, Dragoons museum and Riverbank Discovery Centre, where we took a gentle stroll along the Assiniboine river.

Then off to Winnipeg, where we stayed at the Inn at the Forks, a sparkling new hotel, restaurant and spa at the heart of the city's tourist area, where the Assiniboine and Red rivers meet. A guided waterbus tour is a great way to see the city.

The hotel gave easy walking access to the Forks, a site celebrating the city's history from First Nation people to European settlers (www.theforks.com).

A must see was the Oodena Celebration Circle, with its fabulous sundial and astral guide.

Stand there at night and see different star formations highlighted.

There's a childhood museum, water tours, shopping centre and Forks market, with a mix of restaurants and cafes selling everything from Thai through to Ukranian and South American cuisine reflecting the city's rich ethnic mix. The Esplanade Reil takes you across to the French quarter.

We also popped into Winnipeg Art Gallery, which has the world's largest collection of contemporary Inuit art. Later we used our Manitoba pass to visit the city museum, which takes you on a guided walk through the province's history. There's also a planetarium with shows revealing that Big Sky in all its glory, without waiting for nightfall.

Plus lots more about those tantalising Northern Lights I'm now longing to return to experience the lights for myself, though as the top viewing times are in winter from Churchill in northern Manitoba, I may have to brave the snow - and perhaps even grab a Skidoo ride as well.

"My sister spends her summers sun-bathing on beaches alongside clear mountain lakes, and winters playing on a Skidoo

CAPTION(S):

Sunbathing on the shores of Clear Lake.; There's a light touch to the impressive city of Winnipeg where there is much to see and do, as Sarah Batley discovered.