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Published: September 5th 2016
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Sydney to Truro, to Maitland Nova Scotia, 30 August 2016 After leaving Louisbourg, we drove to Sydney after having lunch in the town of Louisbourg not far from where we stayed the previous night.
Sydney is the largest community in Cape Breton, and heart of the Industrial Cape Breton region. Sydney is the main port and largest community on Cape Breton Island, in Nova Scotia. It also serves as the hub of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (population approx. 100,000), which includes nearby communities such as North Sydney and Glace Bay. The Sydney area has a rich coal mining and industrial history, the remnants of which can be found throughout the region.
We stopped mainly to see the world's largest fiddle is located on the waterfront by the Joan Harriss Cruise Ship Pavilion.
Along the waterfront was Wentworth Park, a 5 minute walk south from the downtown core and has a new boardwalk to the cruise ship terminal.
The Sydney marine terminal as well as Charlotte Street had an abundance of arts and crafts stores selling traditional Cape Breton souvenirs. We also spotted the Sydney casino.
We then hit the highway and crossed onto the mainland at Aulds Cove on the Canso Causeway on the way from Port Hawkesbury. From there we stayed on the freeway until we arrived in Truro.
TRURO and MAITLAND On arriving in Truro, we asked where the best place for dinner was close by and ended up in a place called Frank and Ginos offering a good selection on the menu. The paraphernalia on the walls were old photos and paintings and old wooden kitchenware. It was quaint.
After breakfast the next day we visited Victoria Park in Truro, an area which the locals use extensively. Whether you’re looking for a place to relax or a place to play, Victoria Park had so much to offer. The Victoria Park Pool is a centrepiece of this stunning recreational area. This 1,000-acre, very special place in Truro came into being in 1887. It had wooded trails, swimming pool, picnic areas, waterfalls, ball field, playground, outdoor stage and more. During winter months, people enjoy walking, snowshoeing, skating and cross-country skiing in The Park.
We walked along the creek bed
which was beautiful as was the waterfall. It was great to have a walk before hitting the trail again!!!
Truro being on the coast has influence by the massive tides of the Bay of Fundy. These tides reach up to 16.5metres which occurs nowhere else in the world. Truro had an interpretive centre at the mouth of the Salmon River where we found out that our timing wasn’t good for the high tide. We were advised that 20 minutes further west at Maitland, the tidal bore phenomenon could be viewed later that Truro so we drove there.
The Fundy Tidal Interpretive Centre in South Maitland was where we “got up close and personal” watching the tide come in, colliding with the water from the Shudenacadie River from an observation deck. It was really interesting to watch the water level rise 3 metres in 25 minutes. There were waves coming into the mouth of the river from the Bay because the water was coming in so fast. We watched the Fundy tide temporarily reverse the flow of the river which happens twice a day. There were even zodiacs taking tourists to ride the waves. We
stayed there for about an hour.
We then drove along the coast of Cobequid Bay into Minas Basin.
We stopped at Burlington along the Avon River at a little restaurant which had a fantastic menu of organic and locally grown food. There were a number of rooms for accommodation and the restaurant offered a package deal which included cooking lessons. It was a really friendly place to stop with lovely food.
We were now heading for the Annapolis Valley which was one of the wine industry regions in Nova Scotia.
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