The Cabot Trail - Smokey Mountain - Keltic Lodge

Today was the day when our driving ability was really going to be put to the test. We had to make the descent down Smokey Mountain! - not that easy with a weighty motorhome especially on tight "S" bends. We have since learnt that Kiwis and people from Nova Scotia do not speak the same language when it comes to describing driving conditions. It was a descent of about 335 metres over a length of 3.5 kms with one quite tight bend and a few wiggly bits! They would have a blue fit if they saw some of our hills. It was not as twisty or steep as the Hundalees are in places. We stopped at the Keltic Lodge prior to this descent as one of the people at church had said it was worth a visit. Located at the end of a high peninsular, alongside a fairly prestigious golf course, it was probably the most luxurious accommodation in Cape Breton with fabulous views. Shame we had the motorhome; could have stopped the night! Having completed nearly the full round trip we left the trail just above Baddeck where we had started out and cross over the Bras d'Or Lake, this time at the other end, on the ferry and stopped in Englishtown. This is the where Angus MacAskill died in 1863 at the age of 38. He was known as Giant MacAskill because of his height, 7ft 9ins, and his weight 475lb. We took a short walk down the road to the museum, if that is what you could call it. They had some relics of the past, some photos, along with his bed, chair and walking stick.

The Cabot Trail - Asby Bay - Neils Harbour

The owner in the camping ground at South Harbour told us about a lovely little church with a cemetery not far down the road. As the next day was Sunday she rung some of the locals to find out what time the service was. (She was Catholic so she didn't know!) Having done the laundry (Keith thinks I get withdrawal symptoms if I don't do it each day - anyway this was like a Mondays; sheets towels etc!!) we headed for the Aspy Bay United Church. True to her word it was a delightful little church built in 1878 and lovingly maintained. We were able to share in the ceremonial planting of a tree to remember those who have died. A fellow camper had recommended the seafood chowder at Neils Chowder House in Neils Harbour so we headed for there to partake of the views and the cuisine. Slopped into a polystyrene bowl with a get-it-yourself spoon, and serviced with a tea biscuit commonly known to us as a scone, it was hardly the Ritz but filled a hole before we moved on to Ingonish where we stopped at the National Park camping ground.

On Cabot Trail - Skyline Trail - 350 year old Maples

One of the most popular hikes on the Cabot Trail is the Skyline Trail which runs along the top of a ridge on French Mountain at a height of 455metres. We have since realised that in Nova Scotia language this equates to about Mount Everest! It was very hot so as suggested we took plenty of water as the trees offer very little protection. Many of the trees have been stunted by the strong winds and the winter snow. The track was flat and graveled making the going fairly easy. At the end of the track is a boardwalk leading out to the tip and descending in stages to level viewing platforms. We took the rough track on the return journey making the round trip about 9 kms. We were hot and sticky by the time we returned to the van but being self sufficient we were able to freshen up on the spot with a shower before having some lunch. Later in the day we took another short walk through the oldest surviving hardwood forest in Canada filled with maple trees dating back 350 years.

Inside Catholic church "L'eglise de St Pierre

Before leaving the camp today we took another trail that was to take us out to the lighthouse on the point. The bushwalk was lovely with the wild flowers and berries combined with the birdsong and the odd squirrel but somehow the lighthouse never came into sight. Obviously we had taken a wrong turning somewhere as the track was poorly marked. However it is not as if we haven't seen a lighthouse on this trip! On the road again we headed for the main township of Cheticamp which was about 8 kms further up the road. We have found that the local churches are often a good place to park a motorhome as they are fairly plentiful and have ample space. Cheticamp boasts a beautiful Catholic church "L'eglise de St Pierre" built in 1893, which has a lovely mural painted in the altar area and lots of gold leaf throughout. Cheticamp is also renown for it hooked rugs. The entrance to the Cape Breton Highlands National Park is just beyond this town and we stopped here in their campground for the night. It is well set out with lovely spacious sites and good facilities. Each evening a presentation is given on some aspect of the park. These are held in an outdoor theatre. Tonight's was on the different trees found within the park.

Cape Bretton Island - The Cabot Trail

We have heard varying reports on the "Cabot Trail". Some say it is very hilly and winding and not easy to negotiate with a trailer and others have said it's fine as long as you are not in a rush. It is hard to know how to compare this to our roads in NZ where we aren't accustomed to having long straight four lane highways. There is only one way of finding out I guess. After studying the map and the location of the camping grounds we have divided the trail into five spending a night at each. The first section today was a total of 80 kms that took us from Baddeck to Cheticamp Island where we stopped at a camping ground just above a lovely sandy beach. The road was a reasonable with not much traffic on it. The only draw back was most of it had no passing lines and there where not many places where you could pull over to let the traffic past. We all know how frustrating it can be being stuck behind some jolly tourist meandering along in their motorhome! We took a walk along one of the trails which took us out over the cliff top where we could see all the gulls and black shags nesting - you could small it as well! As it was a fairly hot night we took a walk along the beach after tea just as the sun was setting.

Alexander Graeme Bell - Inventor of the Telephone

Most people are probably unaware that Alexander Graeme Bell spent a large part of his life in Baddeck, Nova Scotia and is buried along with his wife Mabel at Bienn Breagh, the very large castle-like home that he built so he didn't have to spend all his time in Washington. The home, while not open to the public, is still used by members of his family. The town boasts a large museum containing many of his original inventions donated by his family. Amongst these are a hydrofoil and an aeroplane, not forgetting of course the telephone. One of his passions was photography which has meant that an impressive visual record has been kept of his exploits, inventions and his family life. He was also interested in assisting the deaf to be able to hear. It was through this means that he met his wife as he was employed to help her, as she had become deaf at the age of 5 when she contracted scarlet fever. The town has the info centre; a large court house built around 1841 and of course a selection of gift stores. Just about everybody sells "Crocs", those plastic shoes that come in all different colours, and over here, a selection of styles. The temperature was fairly warm so we made use of the heated pool when we returned to the camp. - Just enough to take the chill off while still being refreshing.

Highland Village of Iona

Having studied the brochures on the surrounding attractions we decided that today we would go and see the Highland Village at Iona. This town is situated on the edge of Bras d'Or Lake and the access road leading to it is serviced by a cable ferry that traverses the 100 metre distance between one side and the other. It spends all day just going back and forth non stop, sometimes with only one car on. The village dates back to the stone houses, or black houses as they were known, built by the first settlers from the Scottish Highlands in the early 1800s. Measuring about 30 x 12ft they housed the family as well as the cattle all under one roof. As these families prospered the stone houses were replaced with a log cabin and later by a wooden house with 4 - 5 rooms. A number of the buildings in the village were originals that had been transported to the site by barge. The church, complete with steeple, fell into this category. The staff all wear period costume (along the lines of Ferrymead) and give small demonstrations. We witnessed a ceilidh, where they sung in Gaelic, and played the fiddle and bagpipes while the girls did step-dancing. The whole village is quite well done but didn't seem to be inundated with visitors. We have a camp site in Baddeck for the next two nights as there are a number of attractions worth seeing in this area. The weather today was about as hot as the NZ dollar appears to be - had to use the air- con for the first time tonight!

Antigonish at Sunset

It was such a beautiful evening that we took a walk around the lakeside before tea. It would appear that the town has a fairly strong Catholic influence as the hospital is St Martha's and a number of the shops specialised in religious accessories. From Antigonish (pronounced aunta-gun-ish or aunti-gun-ish) we took the motorway travelling east toward Cape Breton. We stopped at Whycocomagh for the night at a camping ground just off the main highway. We wandered around the few stores, all situated on the edge of the highway, but most were just convenience stores that sold food and groceries for travellers on the move, petrol and a secondhand book store. It was interesting to note that 2 sold home baking; muffins, biscuits, loaf and such like. We tried to but a paper but this was obviously a hot commodity and nobody had one left.

Pictou - the home of first Highland Scottish Immigrants

We awoke to overcast weather which deteriorated as the day progressed. The rain started to fall just as we were leaving a small winery we had visited on the outskirts of Tatamagouche and it steadily increased in intensity as we headed in the direction of Pictou. It abated long enough at the campground at Pictou to get the power and water connected, and the laundry done but shortly after it started again. It was overcast as we headed to church this morning but the sun was out by the time the service ended. We left the motorhome in the church car park and walked down to the wharf to visit the replica of the first immigrant ship to bring the first 200 Scottish Highlander to Pictou in 1773. Thus began the wave of Scottish migration that has had such an impact on the development of the province of Nova Scotia (New Scotland). The conditions aboard must have been terrible as the journey took about 10 weeks. It didn't smell that flash when we went down into the hold (keeping in mind that this was a replica) so one can only imagine the stench back then. The town is strewn with tartan and Scottish music. We took the motorway for the next 83 kms and ended up at our next destination, Antigonish. Fortunately for us the Highland Games had just finished today otherwise we may have been looking else where for a campsite. The town and district has a population of 18,836, and St Francis Xavier University students adding another 5000.

The Confederation Bridge

We were awoken during the night with the sound of torrential rain coming through the open vents. By morning it had not abated so our plans to explore Charlottetown got shelved as we figured to we would have to park the motorhome on the outskirts of town and walk. We were pleased to find that despite our friendly camping ground owner not saying he had WiFi we were able to make use of his connection so felt some kind of divine retribution had taken place. The purpose of returning to Nova Scotia via this route was so we could cross the Confederation Bridge. This is the longest bridge in the world at 12.9 kms. It took 3 years to build and links P.E.I. with New Brunswick. At it highest peak it is 60 metres above sea level, allowing ships to pass underneath. We had been wondering how one paid for the ferry trip earlier as everybody kept saying you pay on the way back. Our point was we weren't returning on the ferry. All came to light when we crossed the bridge. You only pay as you leave P.E.I. Fortunately for us it is cheaper to leave via the bridge as it is only $42.50 compared with about $80 on the ferry. On the bridge it is a standard $42.50 plus $6.25 per additional axle. (The ferry links Woods Island Nova Scotia with the lower eastern shore of P.E.I. In other words the ferry is at one end and the bridge is at the other.) Because of the weather we were not able to get the view we had hoped for but it cleared for a time while we were stopped at the Visitor's Centre in New Brunswick and we were able to get some pictures. We continued down the coast of New Brunswick and crossed over into Nova Scotia following the coastline until we found a small campground on the water's edge at Malagouche.

Charlottetown - Prince Edward Island Capital

The next morning we headed towards Charlottetown with the intention of stopping there for the night so we could have a look around. Charlottetown is the Provincial Capital of P.E.I and has a population of approximately 32,000 and the islands major airport. We found a camp about 5 mins out of the town on an arterial highway that by passes the city, overlooking the harbour. The owner here received our least friendly award for our trip to date, plus at C$44.00 he was also the dearest. Guess you just can't win them all! We went out to one of the local malls and Keith made a sizeable contribution to their economy in the menswear department. We had intended eating out but apart from the Cheers Bar which appeared closed and the usual Subway, KFC, McDonalds there wasn't much on offer so we ended up cooking our own.

Lobster meal at St Annes

We had heard about the famous Lobster Suppers held in the basement of a nearby Catholic church so of course we had to sample the local delicacy. Clam chowder, mussels, scallops and lobster with strawberry shortcake and apple pie. Not bad but in NZ we are spoilt for choice as far as seafood goes. On our way back to the camp we stopped of at the local Women's Institute Hall for a Ceilidh (pronounced Kay-Lee) performed by two brothers and two sisters with a small input from Mum. Boy could they step-dance as well as play the fiddle, piano, guitar and drums. Even won the prize for those the greatest distance from home. So ended a full day.

Anne of Green Gables

Our camp site from the previous night was not ideal as it had been a mammoth effort to negotiate the surrounding flora so we decided to move to another camp just around the corner. This later proved to be a good choice as the WiFi worked well and the site was readily accessed even in the dark. We made our way to Avonlea, The Village of Anne of Green Gables and while it is set up exclusively as a tourist venture it is quite well done and worth the visit. Our joint Scottish heritage prevented us from making anything more than a modest investment into the P.E.I tourism economy. We caught a trolley that does a circuit around Cavendish for the princely sum of $3, allowing you to get on and off when ever you please at no extra cost. This gave us a little more insight into the local surroundings.

Along the North Coast of PEI

Today we headed across country in an easterly direction, stopping along the way to lunch in another National Park (you have to pay to enter them all here) and to follow a short trail up to a bubbling pond. It was quite hot and the air was thick with thirsty mosquitoes and buzzing things that flew. A number of lovely beaches lie along the coastline within the park. We found a large camp ground, possibly the largest we have come across to date, having 521 sites but with a lousy WiFi connection despite the lady insisting that it was possible to get a reception from anywhere in the camp. We took a wander down the road and found an information centre where we picked up some info on possible activities for tomorrow. On the way back we came across the home where Lucy Maud Montgomery spent her childhood. She was the writer of Anne of Green Gables. This part of the island is known as Anne's Land and tomorrow we are going to Green Gables to check it out. We have been told it is very touristy but still quite well done and worth a look.

Travelling the west coast of PEI

We spent our first night on PEI in a little harbour town called Montague; very picturesque and, as we found the next day, an interesting museum set up in the old post office. We followed the coastal route for part of the way and then travelled across country to the town of St Peter on the northern coast. Noted for its rich culture and history St Peters bay contains traces left by PEI's first peoples; aboriginals, French, Acadian, Scottish, Irish, and English. We drove out to the point where the Provincial Park includes a lovely new Interpretation Centre and several trails. We took the one that cross a swamp on a board walk leading to some impressive sand dunes.

Ferry to Prince Edward Island

On Sunday we attended a 10.30am service at the United Church at Scotsburn which happened to be an address by a 16 year old boy who has formed a foundation to help provide water wells in Africa. Following this we made our way down to the wharf to catch the ferry across to Prince Edward Island (PEI). Unfortunately they didn't have enough space for our motor home so we had to wait for the next one an hour and three quarters later. This was no hardship as we put on the kettle and had a cuppa and a read on the bed while we waited. The crossing takes 75 minutes. You drive in one end and off the other upon arrival. Three young girls from a family travelling across provided music in the form of a medley of Celtic melodies on a guitar, a pipe whistle and a violin.

From Elm trees to Statues

We moved on to the town of Truro where we stopped at the big Atlantic Superstore to by groceries and to see the sights in the town centre. These turned out to be a bit of a none- event as the place was deserted. We did spot these huge carvings along the street. Apparently they were large elm trees that got a blight and started to die. The town was reluctant to chop them out so they cut them down to an appropriate height and fashioned them into these carvings. The town has 30 or so carved images

The tidal spectacular - 30 feet in 30 minutes

Having heard all about the spectacular tidal changes we decided we had better go and see it with our own eyes. Along with about 30 others we went to the lookout point to watch the tide coming in at 11.20am. It didn't happen until 11.45am but none the less we saw the wave approaching as the incoming tide rushes over the top of the natural flow of the river. Within the space of about 30 mins the entire channel was filled and the water level rose about 30 feet.

Bay of Fundy

We celebrated our wedding anniversary in Berwick where we went to a local café for a meal of BBQ spare ribs followed by coconut cream pie; fabulous food, great service and cheap into the bargain. Today we moved on north east and stopped in Maitland which is located at the head of an inlet off Cobequid Bay in the Bay of Fundy. This entire bay experiences a tidal variation of up to 60ft difference between low and high tide as can be seen in this picture.

Eastwards to Annapolis Royal

After leaving Kejimkujik National Park we headed toward the coast and found a camping ground in a place called Annapolis Royal. It was an interesting little town steeped in history but now with only about 400 permanent residents. We took a walking tour through the town after visiting their public gardens. The enclosed picture shows deGannes-Crosby House which was built in 1708 by Major Lewis deGannes de Falaise, a French Officer posted to Port Royal in 1696. It later became the home of Lieutenant-Governor of Annapolis Royal, Major Alexander Cosby, hence the name. This house is the oldest documented wooden structure in Nova Scotia. At 9.30pm we, and 30 others, took a graveyard tour, on foot complete with lantern, through the local graveyard where the guy from the historical society explained the history of some of the tombstones and their association with the town. Dressed in the appropriate attire and with a wealth of local knowledge he made it an interesting evening. This graveyard contains the oldest English epitaph in Canada, 1720, recording the tomb of Bathiah Douglass.

Venturing into Kejimkujik National Park

A fellow camper confirmed our thoughts that the Kejimkujik National Park was worth stopping at and was a great place to camp. We headed inland for about an hour or two and found the park which covers an area of about 200sq km and is the home to lots of birds, deer, turtles and bears to name a few. We spent 2 nights in the park. The next morning we took a (12km round trip) hike through the bush down to the Merrymakedge beach. On the way back we stopped at Jack's Landing and hired a real Canadian Canoe and took a paddle for an hour or so up the river. The stillness and quietness was only broken by the noise of the paddle in the water and the song of the birds. At night we once more dined "chez nous" on delicious rhubarb and strawberry pie!

South to Liverpool

From our stop in Glen Margaret we headed south mostly following the coast line passing through lots of little fishing villages with their lighthouse. In England it's cathedrals, in Nova Scotia it is lighthouses and lots of fairly large wooden churches. We stopped at Lunenburg to visit one of the tall ships participating in the tall ships festival which is a race from England, we think, and ending in Halifax. We walked the old town with its houses dating back to the early 17th Century (see enclosed picture). With night approaching we found a camping ground close to a beach with a lovely boardwalk out over the swamp with lots of birdlife.

Along the south coast

We awoke to rain but fortunately this abated. The motorhome is a rather large 26 feet model complete with a built in generator which allows us to free camp should we choose to, a separate bedroom, explair, and a nice shower and toilet. The weatheris much colder and wetter than we expected - only14 deg C today. Before departing Halifax we visited Walmart and purchased some warmer clothes, some plastic ponchos and another umbrella! A stop at the CAA gave us some maps and instructions to get to the supermarket, and then we headed south along the coast. We stopped off in a quaint little fishing town called Peggy's Cove which judging by the number of souvenir shops is quite a tourist mecca. A lighthouse is the main attraction. The whole coastline of Nova Scotia is dotted with fishing villages. We are currently at a nice camping ground at Glen Margaret for two days.

Halifax Nova Scotia calling

We had a 5am start to the day to get us to the airport in time to catch our flight to Halifax. The plane was delayed due to technical problems and with the hour's time difference it was nearly 3pm the time we arrived at our hotel. Prior to leaving home we had established that the Royal International Nova Scotia Tattoo was on while we were there. We were close enough to walk to the stadium and enjoy this spectacle that night. Before picking up our motorhome the next day we took a bus tour of Halifax. Perched high on the hill above the town is a fort were we witnessed the changing of the guards. We also visited the cemetary where the 200 plus bodied that were recovered from off the Titanic are buried. The film certainly helped to put the city on the map and despite the film being fictious in places there is a headstone for J. Dawson ( of Jack fame) and several other names that are mentioned. We picked up our motorhome just as the rain came down; found Walmart and did some shopping and decided to park in their parking lot for the night. Walmart allows people to do this as long as they leave during the day. The rain persisted!

Cruising Down the River

Yesterday we decided to take a bus tour of the city so we could view the sights of interest from a tourist's perspective. The city's architecture is made up of a number of replicas, on a smaller scale, of famous buildings throughtout the world. There is a Notre Dame Bascilica, a Chinatown and an Empire State Building. No building in the city can exceed the height of the city's Mount Royal which stands at approx 740ft. We saw the 1976 Olympic Stadium with its tower built at a 45 degree angle and standing 500 ft tall. This tower houses the swimming pool and has a cablecar running up the outside. The 2 pyramid style buildings that comprised the Athlete's Village are equally impressive.

Today we did our own thing and walked down to the wharf where we took a cruise up the St Lawrence waterway. The weather was a sunny 25 degrees althought we have learnt to carry an umbrella as there are often sudden downpours with thunder and lightning. The attached picture is of an old storage warehouse that has been converted to apartments. Four penthouses were added to the top and were for sale at 5 million a piece.

After the cruise we walked back into the centre of town and explored some of the shops and foodcourts that can be found in the 80 kms of underground retail outlets located on 4 different levels. We made a few modest purchases but didn't over indulge as nearly everything has approx 14% tax added to the price shown on the ticket; plus add another 20% for conversion to $NZ. We did however find a great $1 shop!

Jazzing it up in Montreal

As you can see by the title of this entry we have arrived in Montreal, along with thousands of others who are attending the "Festival International de Jazz" which is on here from the 28th June until 8th July. A quick glance at the programme highlights such names as Bob Dylan and Van Morrison. Our arrival here late yesterday afternoon coincided with the celebrations for Canada Day so we took the opportunity to walk down to the port and listen to the music and watch the fireworks display last evening.

Now backtracking some what. Our flight from Auckland to San Francisco was delayed due to difficulties with the lighting but still gave us plenty of time for our connection to Calgary. We spent the night in this lovely green city before our flight the next day here to the french speaking city of Montreal. We survived all the new security measures and provided one keeps ones patience and sense of humour it's not too bad.