Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Canada: Part 6

Oh Nova Scotia! On arrival, I headed straight for Halifax to get my bearings and make a plan to discover the province. I had almost two weeks of exploration time. Originally, I thought this was going to be plenty of time. However, Nova Scotia is bigger than it appears and with mixing in beach time I wish I had had more time.

I spent half a day in Halifax. I walked around Point Pleasant Park in the early morning and then went downtown to the waterfront boardwalk to see the docks, shops, and boats. It's a beautiful spot.
 

I stopped in to the visitor center and got advice on places to go and things to do. Per usual, I chose to stick to the coastline and circle the mainland and Cape Breton Island. So, from Halifax I drove southwest to the South Shore region. I stopped to take a short hike and have a picnic lunch at Peggy's Cove Conservation Area.

Just down the road is the picturesque Peggy's Cove. I encourage you to search the internet for more photos of Peggy's Cove and the lighthouse. I didn't spend much time here or take many photos because the tiny little fishing village was teaming with tourists. It was a Sunday afternoon after all, but I still wasn't prepared for such mayhem.

I continued down to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lunenburg for the evening. I had fish and chips and homemade ice cream along the waterfront. Then, I took the short drive out to Blue Rocks to watch the sailboats as they returned to the harbor.

In the morning, it was quite a drive to get to Kejimkujik National Park (Seaside), but once I got there I spent the rest of the day there. White sand, clear blue water, seals sunbathing on the rocks, carnivorous pitcher plants... I had a great day in nature.

I followed up my day at the seaside with a day at the main park (inland). At Kejimkujik National Park, I went for a few shorter hikes through a copse of 300-year-old hemlocks, a wetland and bog, and finally, after the thunderstorms passed, to the shore of Kejimkujik Lake for an afternoon swim.

I had experienced the Bay of Fundy from the "other side" (in New Brunswick), but now it was time to see it through the eyes of Nova Scotia. I drove from Digby down the Digby Neck and took the short ferry to Long Island. I had just enough time left in the day to hike to Balanced Rock. It's amazing what power water has at sculpting the land.

The Bay of Fundy is a fantastic place for whale watching. The high tides provide a good feeding ground for whales. So, the next morning I got up with hopes that I could find an empty spot on a whale-watching excursion. First thing, I went to Zodiac Whale Adventures and inquired about trips for the day. There were a couple openings for the 9am trip and one opening left for the 12:30pm trip. Since the weather was rather foggy, I opted for the later trip hoping that the fog would burn off by departure time. We were allotted time for a three-hour tour (cue Gilligan's Island theme song). Just as we set off the fog started to clear and then as the tour was ending it started to come back in again. I'm not sure how I got so lucky, but the timing was perfect. We managed to see one Minke whale and three Humpback whales. We followed the Humpbacks for a little over an hour; watching them surface every 7 minutes or so. Each would come up to take 2 or 3 breaths and then dive down again revealing their flukes. It was so cool!
Minke Whale

As if I hadn't already had enough excitement for one day, I ended the day with a 16km hike to Cape Split. It was not the smartest decision to start this hike at 6pm, but it was well worth the effort I put in and I was back to the trailhead before it was totally dark.

I spent the next day enjoying the drive along the eastern shore, chilling at the beach and watching the surfers. By the end of the day I had crossed the bridge to Cape Breton Island.

There is a reason Cape Breton Island is so popular with travelers. I started by following the world-famous Cabot Trail north along the east coast. The views from Cape Smokey were breathtaking!

By midday, I had reached Cape Breton Highlands National Park. I explored the Ingonish Beach area and hiked out the Middle Head trail.

Next, I took on the challenge of Franey Mountain. The hike wasn't easy; it was a consistent climb to the top. The reward was 360° views of the mountains and ocean.

Next, I drove north, past the historic site for John Cabot's landing in 1497, to the very end of the road and the village of Meat Cove.

The following day, I continued to explore Cape Breton Highlands National Park. The highlight was the wonderful Skyline Trail. I got there rather early, so the walk out to the view was very enjoyable. By the time I got back to my car, the parking lot was overflowing proving that this trail is a must-do.

I left Cape Breton Island and drove west, back toward the Bay of Fundy, to see some incredible geological sites. The first was Five Islands Provincial Park. Here, I came upon some of the coolest rocks I've ever seen. Additionally, at low tide there was an expansive mudflat.

Second, I drove out around Cape Chignecto, then to Eatonville, and on to Joggins Fossil Cliffs UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. These cliffs reveal the most complete fossil record of life during Earth's "Coal Age" 300 million years ago.

My time in Nova Scotia was coming to an end as well as my time in Canada. With what I had left, I spent a couple more days at the beaches on the Northumberland Strait in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Then, I drove back through Quebec and Ontario to the area north of Toronto on Lake Huron.

I took the tour of Cabot Head lighthouse and wandered the harbor in Tobermory. In the evening, I made the easy hike to Indian Head Cove and the Grotto in Bruce Peninsula National Park. I climbed down through the rocks into the Grotto and stayed to watch the sunset.

That night, I was blessed with clear skies and I watched a little bit of the Perseid meteor shower. In the morning, I hiked to Georgian Bay and walked along the shore taking in the dramatic contrast between the white/gray rocks and the crystal-clear, blue water. It was incredibly peaceful.

I really wanted to be on the water one more time, so I left Bruce Peninsula by ferry and crossed Lake Huron to Manitoulin Island. One more lighthouse before driving back to the border.

What can I say about Canada? I had high expectations going in to the summer and those expectations were met. I traveled from coast to coast (and back again), seeing some of the best Canada has to offer. The World Cup brought me here, but the country and its people kept me exploring. There is still so much more to see and I'm pretty certain, in the future, I will go back for more.

Click here to see more photos of my Canadian Road Trip.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Canada: Part 5

I began my tour of the Atlantic, Canadian provinces in New Brunswick. The beach was calling my name so I headed to Kouchibouguac National Park. I got the beach and I also got a few jellyfish.

One of the biggest tourist attractions in New Brunswick is the world-famous Bay of Fundy. It is known for having the highest tides in the world; the change in the ocean’s elevation from high tide to low tide can be up to 50 vertical feet or more. I stayed in Moncton for the evening which gave me the opportunity to watch the tidal bore come up the Petticodiac River.

To see more of this phenomenon firsthand, I went to Hopewell Rocks. I arrived in the morning just after high tide. And returned a little over 6 hours later during low tide. Amazing!

The great thing about low tide is that you get the opportunity to explore the ocean floor.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to walk through the mud. So soothing on the feet!

While I was waiting for the tides to change, I drove up the road and took some time to explore Fundy National Park.

The icing on the cake... a strip of beach all to myself and a beautiful sunset in Cap Pele.

I left the mainland for Prince Edward Island. I knew I was in for a treat from the very beginning. The Confederation Bridge which connects New Brunswick to PEI is impressive to say the least. What an engineering feat!

I was looking forward to the coastal scenery and some more sun and sand. And that's exactly what I got. From the bridge, I drove to the western section of the island and then to North Cape.

On my way east, I drove past fishing village after fishing village; each more charming than the next.

The next day, I went to PEI National Park, Cavendish.

The beach was wonderful, but extremely crowded. Not my cup of tea. So, I left midday and drove through Anne of Green Gables country.

PEI National Park, Brackley-Dalvay was less crowded and proved to be very enjoyable as dusk set in.

The last area of PEI National Park for me to explore was Greenwich. I woke up early enough to be the first person on the Dunes Trail. It was really peaceful and serene.

Prince Edward Island was a dream! Thanks to the daily dose of sunshine, my tan and my mood were the best they'd been in a while. My time was limited, so reluctantly I moved on. This time, I opted to take the original mode of transportation to/from the island. For my departure, I boarded the ferry to Nova Scotia.

Click here to see more photos of my Canadian Road Trip.