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!