Nova Scotia

Now I'm going to be careful about how I relate the two areas of Nova Scotia that we travelled, because the people who live in Cape Breton (formerly Breton Island) like to distinguish that they are from Cape Breton - a part of Nova Scotia - not Nova Scotian. Confused? It's kind of like Adelaidians saying that they are South Australians which happens to be a part of Australia. Hair splitting? Maybe - but the inhabitants of Cape Breton sure have plenty to be proud of. For that reason the blog will divide here to showcase Nova Scotia in separate parts.

We raced off of Prince Edward Island as the opportunity allowed and decided to push on to a free campsite at a place called Havre Bouchere. The place was alongside a shack owned by the in-laws of another teacher at my school in Thunder Bay.

We arrived quite late in the evening - just on dusk, which means prime mosquito time! We were all eaten alive again as we set up and got dinner underway. The wind was strong and gusty too which was a concern that later became a problem. During the night a wind gust blew our canopy onto the roff with a loud bang and Jill and I needed to take it down as it rained on us. All in all it was not a good night for the adults.

The scenery was great though and the kids loved the beach nearby.

Free campsite at Havre Bouchere.

After staying for one night we headed off for Halifax, capital of Nova Scotia. Jill had big travel plans for us when we reached there but in the end we didn't get to see much.

Lighthouse at Peggy's Cove.

What we did see at Peggy's Cove was very nice though and that is probably why we didn't get much beyond there. That was certainly the most touristy place that we had visited at that time.

I think also that the pace of travel was telling on everyone (except Jill) at that time so we just needed to slow the pace and enjoy where we were instead of trying to see everything that was there to see.

Sitting on a rock next to Peggy's Cove lighthouse.

We drove a little in Halifax to look around but again the urge to explore had died a little and we felt the squeeze of time on us as the ferry for New Foundland was booked and we still had Cape Breton to see. A stop in some of the parks in Halifax showed us just how important this place was to the British when they feared French invasion and later the Canadians fearing uboat attacks in the 2nd world war.

Ash is "blown away" at the fort overlooking Halifax harbour.

This whole area of Nova Scotia has been a military stronghold for hundreds of years and many of the old forts and ammunition sites are still standing. On our last day in Halifax as we waited for repairs to our camper trailer, we visited another park where an old tower in the Point Pleasant Park. The tower was partly closed but the nice gurad there allowed us to go to the top to see the views - I think it was Jill's legs that helped convince him to be nice.

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Coming down the stairs of the tower.

My postergirl - who could say no to those legs?!

We criss-crossed the island a couple of times going from Havre Bouchere to Halifax and back again which was rather unfortunate as there wasn't much to see from the highways. This part of Nova Scotia was okay but not particularly exciting  - apart from Jill's legs - did I mention those?