Nova Scotia!

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Nova Scotia - Text
So the ferry ride was relatively uneventful we arrived in Nova Scotia and drove north for 3 hours towards Cape Breton Island. The drive was beautiful a place called Wacocomagh, which was very close to The Cabot Trail. We managed to get a campsite on the top of the highest point in the campsite, and we got a seniors discount…we’re not complaining, and we also got a heads up that we might be able to see bald eagles. The view was very pretty it showed the valley below with a mix of trees, the lake, and the city lights. We met a fellow named Jerry (and his dog Quigley) from Peterborough who was driving and hiking around Nova Scotiatold us that he’d tried to see the bald eagles but, no luck. We cooked dinner, which was pasta and fresh corn on the cob then hit the sack. The next morning Pen and I packed up and headed down to the site where the eagles were reported to be seen regularly….and there he was! There was an eagle sitting in an old tree. He was reasonably far away, but we still got a few photo’s. They are big birds!

After that we drove to the start of a hike, and had a breakfast fry up of eggs, toast and veggie sausages. Pen liked the breakfast, but not the veggie sausages so much. Then we did Penny’s first hike since she hurt her leg. The hike was beautiful with an old wooden bridge, rocks with roots crawling all over them, and a trail that followed a meandering stream. We got to the top and there was a massive waterfall to reward us for our efforts. It was about 6kms round trip and Penny seemed to manage it fine, which was encouraging for both of us! After that it was off to our next campsite where Pen built a fantastic fire, we made a great Mexican Macaroni dinner, and paid 2 bucks for wireless internet which we got to use in front of the fire! Great night. So after yesterdays result on the hike, both with Pen’s leg and scenery we decided to tackle another hike, this one was about 10kms, and was said to offer the opportunity to see moose and bear. Whoo hoo! It’s the one thing that Penny had been dying to see, moose…not bear, but had yet to see. So although we weren’t getting our hopes up too much, we were hoping that we might get a chance.

Guess what? We hiked along for a few hours, got some great views…then we saw a young couple ahead of us shushing us. They pointed to a brown patch in the trees, and it was moving! Moose! Moose, we have moose! So I stealthily snuck around the trail to a smaller side trail where I stood waiting for the moose to wander into site. Which it, did…about 10 feet from me. As I froze, held my breath and wondered if it was considering charging me, it turned towards me, raised it’s head and stared right at me. I have to admit this was one of the coolest moments of my life, it just turned around and kept chewing to the sound of my camera clicking 100 photo’s a minute! After Pen and I took about 300 photo’s of the moose, we moved along and came across 2 more moose standing in a small field chewing away on vegetation. Too good an opportunity to miss we got out the tripods and took another 300 photos of moose. We were both absolutely thrilled. We headed back to the car very happy campers indeed. We continued on around the Cabot Trail, which lonely planet described as one of the most beautiful drives in the world. I can’t disagree. Miles of coast with cliffs lined with evergreens, rocky outcrops, mountains, and plenty of wildlife to look out for. What a drive! We were leaving the next day for Newfoundland which we were both very much looking forward to, so we drove to New Sydney where we were catching the ferry, and found a wee dirt road which we though might turn up a wee wild campsite. We followed the road, and I’ll tell ya, it’s just as well we have 4 wheel drive. The road got bumpier, and bumpier, and we ended up going through puddles the size of small ponds before we found a small quarry which we set up camp in. Then it was dinner, glass of wine, some practice on the Ukulele and bed in the back of the truck. What a great day, in fact probably the best up to till this point. Penny drove us out of the campsite, and had fun with a bit of 4x4ing and then we headed to McDonalds for a wee breakfast to treat ourselves and jumped on the ferry with no real issues. Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island was beautiful, if only we had more time to explore the rest of the province! There’s always next time.

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