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Published: August 19th 2012
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Note: have also updated the PEI blog.
Nova Scotia has a little of everything. It has beautiful sandy beaches, big lakes and rugged coastline. Our first night we spent at a campsite on the Bay of Fundy (which runs between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick). The tide here moves a great distance as well. We did a small hike along the clifftop to a viewing area which gave a stunning vista along the beach and out to sea. This area is not idea for swimming as the tidal movements are too strong but it is lovely to look at. Our next stop was partway down the western side. Here we visted a winery before heading out to do a good hike to Cape Split. The day was not great and the walk in was misty giving the bush a spooky feel. When we came out onto Cape Split the wind was blowing at a great rate of knots and the mist came and went. It was a wild spot and well worth the hike. On the way back the sun came out and we did a side trail down to a beach. The trail was very steep and in spots
had ropes for you to pull yourself up and climb down with. The beach was deserted - very rocky and the waves crashing onto shore very powerful. You could hear the water picking up the stones and rolling them around. Wasn't even prepared to stick my feet in for a paddle!
From there we continued down the western side of the province before heading inland to Keji National Park. This park is set around some nice big lakes and we spent a couple of days here and enjoyed a canoe out onto the lake to explore around the islands. It was a gorgeous day and when we stopped at a beach for a swim, the water was warm on top like a bath but icy underneath as the water was coloured like tea so the sun can only penetrate it so far.
From here we cut across the province and started heading up the eastern shore. We stopped in at a Provincial Park where we camped for the night. There was a boardwalk to the beach which was long and white and sandy and we enjoyed a paddle in the water before buying dinner at the beach canteen
and heading back to the beach to eat it.
Our next stop was Peggys Cove. This is a stunning spot and I could easily have spent a lot of time here but unfortunately there were no camping facilities. It is a tiny fishing village with a population of 36. It is wild and quaint and the weather was appalling when we went but it really just bought out the beauty of the area. There is a lighthouse out on the rocks and the sea crashes against them sending spray everywhere.
We continued up north on our way to catch the ferry to Newfoundland. We stopped at a Provincial Park called Battery where there was a lock from the sea to the lake which is still in use. The lock was first built in approx 1854. It has gone through a few upgrades since then and was fascinating to see in action. A lock is used to create a waterway between two bodies of water. They separate the channel with gates and when the boats pass through they have to wait for one set of gates to close and then the water level is adjusted in the lock to
match the direction in which they are going. This lock consisted of two sets of gates and also the road bridge which was swung out to accommodate larger vessels. There were also a lot of jellyfish in the lock area which were neat to watch.
From here we drove up to North Sydney and caught the ferry across to Newfoundland. We still have Cape Breton National Park and the Cabot Trail to do in Nova Scotia when we return so will update this blog further at a later date. There are meant to be about 25 hiking trails in this area so we are looking forward to it.
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We arrived back in Nova Scotia to bad weather. Tropical Storm Leslie was doing her thing (grateful she didn't quite make it to hurricane status) and it was very windy, wet and foggy. We headed directly to the Cabot Trail (they mark all their roading systems as trails) from the ferry. This is one of the big drawcards of Nova Scotia. Unfortunately due to low cloud, rain and fog we didn't see much of anything for the first two days. The first night we spent on one side
of the trail and National Park and the following day we drove the 100km or so round to the other side visiting a couple of waterfalls on the way. On the third day it dawned with blue skies and we managed to get out and see a bit of the coastline and do the most popular hiking trail in the park. We saw quite a bit of evidence of coyote activity while on this walk and it took us out to the coastline for great views. While the scenery was stunning throughout the area, it was unfortunate we had decided to do this after Newfoundland as it paled a bit in comparison. From here we hit the road back to New Brunswick and Fundy National Park.
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