Canadian Maritime Provinces continued

11 August –

We left Lunenburg the UNESCO Historical town and headed around the coast and then on a highway to the Peggy Cove exit. We had a camp site booked in this area but decided to drive down to Peggy Cove. This is a quaint fishing village sited on a rocky outcrop on the Atlantic coast.

The large smooth granite rocks, which the village is built on, were formed by a glacier in the last ice age. This is a very popular tourist destination so there was a large carpark from where you can walk the whole area. There is a tiny harbour with old wharf buildings and cottages all around.

A large lighthouse dominates the headland. Everywhere you looked was a postcard scene. We sat at the harbour and had a hot dog for lunch before heading back to the carpark via the local church. About sixty people stay here all year. It is easy to imagine what a winter Atlantic storm must be like in this exposed spot. Back at the camp for laundry and haircuts.

12 August –

The mornings here are misty, as we drove from Peggy’s Cove along the coast and then inland to bypass Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia. After a shop we stopped at a provincial park at Porters Lake. Really just a relocation day.

13 August –

We were now on the East Coast region and followed the beautiful coastline for a short drive to a private camp at Murphy’s Cove. This camp is run by the 6^th generation of Murphy’s and is situated on a great peninsular with its own small harbour.

After exploring this camp we walked along a rocky shoreline. The water in Nova Scotia is incredibly clear. After dinner we went down to a communal camp fire by the wharf hosted by the Murphy’s before returning to “Ernie” to skype the kids  Best skyping quality so far.

14 August –

Nova Scotia has been in drought conditions with forest fires, but to the relief of the locals the drought broke in the night with a drizzle which turned into torrential rain. We headed north inland in heavy rain, across to the Northumberland Straits, and decided to line up for the ferry to Prince Edward Island (PEI). Our original plan was to catch the morning ferry the next day. There is only one ferry running at the moment, strange as it is peak season. (Must run to the NZ Interisland model) We had been warned that there was limited space for RVs so we had a nervous 3 hour wait before we were eventually boarded.

It is only a 75 minute trip but the ferry was chocka with many RVs left waiting for the next crossing in 3 ½ hours’ time. The ferry has 3 car decks. The first lot of cars drive on and fill the deck. The entire deck is then lowered down to the next level. The same thing happens again but this deck is then raised a level. Then all the high sided vehicles are loaded. Very clever!!  Just off the ferry we found a provincial park for the night. We got quite cold on the ferry so we have put the heater on tonight for the first time this trip.

15 August –

The rain cleared and we walked down to the beach before leaving on the coastal scenic road. The Cape Bear lighthouse marked the eastern most point of our trip this year. The road went thru farming country and wherever there was an inlet or river mouth there was a fishing village. All very picturesque. We stopped at St Mary’s bay at a provincial park on a sloping site. The Confederation Cycle Trail was built on the abandoned PEI rail network and covers most of the island. We biked from the park to Georgetown about 8 kms away. Unfortunately the rain had made the trail very muddy so we got a bit wet and dirty. We managed to dry everything off when we got back. A nice ride though.

16 August –

After a walk around a river trail we set off north across to the coast on the Gulf of St Laurence and stopped at a community camp at St Peters. It was a very nice camp so we decided to stay two nights. After lunch we rode the Confederation Cycle trail along the coast of the bay to Morrell a distance of 11 kms. It was a beautiful ride and after an ice-cream we returned to camp. The weather was sunny and mild so we bought some wood and had a good fire. The forecast for tomorrow is bad with heavy rain.

17 August –

The forecast was right. The rain started in the night and got heavier after our pancake breakfast. We hoped to do laundry and bike or walk to St Peters village but ended up staying in “Ernie” all day! I did some cleaning and some minor repairs, we read and played scrabble and watched a movie. This was the first “inside day” this trip.

18 August –

The rain cleared in the night and we left St Peters and headed west along the north coast. More great farming country (wheat, corn and potatoes) and fishing villages. At Green Gables we visited “Anne of Green Gables” house. Further along the coast we stopped at Cabot Beach State Park which looks out on the Gulf of St Lawrence.

We walked the beach and the lovely little fishing port. The soil here is red and so the sand and cliffs are the same colour.  More rain came and went allowing us to have dinner outside before an electrical storm forced us inside.

19 August –

It was a lovely clear morning and, to our surprise, an Airforce cargo plane flew over us and dropped wind direction streamers. These were followed by 3 groups of 5 parachutists who performed many manoeuvres with smoke and huge flags. It turned out that it was all for a kids camp next door but the campers all enjoyed the free show. Before leaving we walked the beach around into the harbour. It really feels like the end of summer in this part of the world. It was only a short drive south to our last provincial park in PEI at Linkletter Beach.

Our plan was to stay two nights here and then cross the bridge back onto the mainland and start our very long journey back towards the west coast of the USA. We can see the bridge across the water. We have a very strange couple next to us. She made bread from scratch including using a mixer and a small oven. Their camper is tiny. Where they keep everything is a mystery.  He seems to be fascinated by camp fire wood and proceeded to bring many boxes of it out of every storage place in the camper, including the wardrobe, and then sort it all into more boxes which he labelled. Had trouble reading our books with all this strange activity happening next door.

20 August –

We rode our bikes back to the town of Summerside along the road and a cycleway. After a look around this fishing harbour town we found a great restaurant/pub and had lunch. (Chowder for me and Haddock for Val) Back at camp the guy next door took all the wood out of the boxes again and chopped it up!!  There was a lovely sunset over the bay.

21 August –

Today marked a different part of our trip as we were now heading back across this part of Canada and south and west across the USA to meet Claire and Phoebe in Phoenix in a months’ time. Our plan was to cover at least 350 kms today and get close to the Canada/USA border tonight.

It was a short drive to the Confederation Bridge which links Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick. The bridge is 13 kms long. There is no charge to go onto PEI so the ferry trip a week ago was free but leaving PEI we had to pay a toll fee for the bridge ($46CA). Our plan is to use the main roads and we made good speed along the “2”. We continued after lunch and eventually stopped at a private camp 9 kms from the border (400km trip). The “Maritime Provinces” that we have visited in Canada have been great and completely different from the other Canadian provinces we have been in previous years. We will remember them for the great little villages with white wooden churches, working fishing harbours, tranquil bays and coves, farms and the feeling of peace and isolation.

Canadian Maritime Provinces

2 August –

We drove off Mount Desert Island and Acadia NP heading north up the scenic coast road. It was a lovely drive with many views of the coast and passed blueberry farms. We drove up the USA side of Fundy Bay and stopped at a state park at Cobscook Bay where we had an isolated site in the trees. It was a short walk to the bay where we started to get a sense of the huge tides in this area. We will see more of this in the next few days. Collected some firewood for a good fire.

3 August –

We continued up Fundy Bay and at the top crossed the USA/Canada border into New Brunswick with a ½ hour wait at customs. There was a change in time zone from Eastern Seaboard to Atlantic Time which we did not expect. At the visitors centre we picked up maps and information for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.  We found a Provincial Park at New River Beach and were allocated a sloping site with power. There was a lovely beach with golden sand looking a bit like Kaiteriteri. If you think the tide goes out at Kaiteri you should see this place. Max tides in the Able Tasman are 5m, this place 12m. The whole bay just empties!! It was a nice walk along the beach but we were not tempted for a swim. The temperature is now quite cool as we have passed the 45^th parallel. The locals were not put off however.  Time was spent this afternoon planning our trip through this part of Canada.

4 August –

It was very foggy when we drove on up the Bay of Fundy and thru the city of St Johns where we stopped to shop. Alcohol is only sold at the state liquour stores and was quite expensive. Still a man has to do what a man has to do! We continued on to a nice private camp right on the beach at St Martins. Again we see evidence of the huge tides. The weather is cool and windy and it rained off and on.

5 August –

Val tried to change our password for our bank account and it all went wrong! They sent the new password to our NZ cell phone which we are not using. Could be a bit of a problem when we run out of money! We drove the coastal scenic route down into the Fundy National Park where we have 2 days booked. Down to the visitors centre for some information. There is not much to do here as most of the trails are at other parts of the park. There was a small fishing town (Alma) so we walked to the harbour where there is a pub on the wharf. Before dinner we returned to the pub for a beer. The first boat photo was taken about 3 hours before the second one. An indication of the tides!

 

6 August –

The forecast was not great so we set off for a walk up the Salmon River. The bush and the river were very much like NZ. There were some big pools in the river and the fishing would have been great! At one stage we crossed the river using a rope. Back at “Ernie”, Val did laundry and I had a clean-up. The sun came out and we read before heading inside as the forecast rain started. It did not last long however.

7 August –

It was a longer drive today around the Bay of Fundy. We stopped at the Hopewell Rocks for a look. These are a series of “flower pots” which stick out of the sea when the tide is in. It was low tide when we were there. They are formed by the wave action on the soft rock. The mud around here is brick coloured. Back on the road and across the New Brunswick/Nova Scotia border where we stopped at the visitor’s centre to check that we were not missing anything on our proposed route.  Nova Scotia is much bigger than we thought and we will only see some of it. We were taking the scenic coastal road which at times is very rough.

Our overnight stop was at Five Islands Provincial Park where we had a great site on top of a cliff with fantastic views. We walked the cliff path in both directions to several viewpoints. Dinner outside in a cool breeze with the sun setting across the bay.

8 August –

Back on the coastal roads for another long drive following the coast passed fishing villages and farms. The tide was out and we are still amazed at the huge expanses of red mud as far as the eye can see.

We stopped at a private camp at Grand Pré. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site which we knew nothing about. We joined a tour at the visitors centre and learned that the Acadians were French settlers who arrived in 1680. They were low land farmers and so built dikes, drained and farmed the land, and formed many villages, Grand Pré being the largest. In 1755 the English deported 10,000 of them because they would not sign unconditional allegiance to the English king. They were put on to ships and sent all around America, some to Louisiana, the Caribbean and many back to France.
The young guide was very good and passionate about the subject. Back in the visitor’s centre we watched a very clever audio visual which explained more of the Acadians history. All very fascinating and stuff we had no idea of. We got a phone call from Westpac and after some hard questions Val was given a new password. We have access to money again thank god!!

9 August –

We turned away from the Bay of Fundy. We have been following its coastline for a week. Last fact about this bay and its huge tides. When the bay empties with every tide, more water flows out than all the rivers in the world!! We drove south thru lowland farming and then cut thru the centre of this part of Nova Scotia on a great smooth road in the forests passed some beautiful lakes. Back on the south coast we stopped at a state park at Crescent Bay and got the last site. It was a nice walk thru a forest trail to the beach. There were lots of people there which looked very similar to a NZ beach complete with very cold water temperatures (15C). We paddled along the water’s edge and returned via a long boardwalk for an ice-cream.

10 August –

We continued on the coastal drive along the south coast with some lovely inlets and coves. Our camp was at Luneburg. This is another UNSECO World Heritage site. The fishing town is one of the best examples of an English colonial settlement around 1850.

The buildings do not seem as old as they are because they are of weatherboard construction. We biked over the other side of the harbour before wandering the old town. There were many tourists and the old atmosphere was somewhat spoiled by cars everywhere. We walked back down into the town later for a drink and dinner overlooking the harbour.

New England

17 July –

We went up to the camp restaurant for breakfast with Sue and Peter (Sue and Don’s friends) before a very short drive across the Connecticut/Rhode Island border to a huge family camp (791 sites) at Burlingame State Park. This was another camp with a nice swimming beach on a lake great for family holidays. After a couple of swims we sat in the shade and read.

18 July –

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the USA. After a shop we crossed a toll bridge into Newport, the town which has hosted many America Cups. The town was busy and we drove passed many of the beautiful imposing “summer houses” of the rich & famous New York families. We managed to find a park for “Ernie” and walked the “cliff trail” with the Atlantic Ocean beaches and rocky shore on one side and the opulent homes on the other.

It must have been a shock to the natives when the upstart Kiwis came and sailed in their backyard! We overnighted in a private camp in Newport.

19 July –

It was a slow drive over the Rhode Island/Massachusetts border, along Cape Cod Bay to the Nickerson State Park where we planned to spend 3 nights. We had a huge private site, 3 miles from the gates of the park. We lazed around and collected some firewood with which we had a fire and cooked raisin bread (our new sin!)

20 July – One of the reasons we have come to this park (apart from its proximity to all the good parts of Cape Cod) was a rail trail bike path which goes 11 miles in each direction from the park gate. We packed our lunch and rode a hilly bike path back out to the gate. The rail trail was very flat and smooth with many groups riding it. At one stage we diverted for a mile to the Cape Cod National Sea Shore visitor’s centre. This was the only time we saw the sea in the distance. We watched a video explaining that Cape Cod is a huge sand bar that erodes and is built up thus shifting over time. There was also a quilting exhibition. We continued on to the end of the trail. It was a bit disappointing as where were no views of the sea. The Cape Cod houses were interesting however, either entirely clad in shingles or white or pastel coloured wood. The hardest part was riding from the gate back to “Ernie” up the hilly path. We added up our trip and realized we had cycled 50kms.

After a rest we walked down to one of the kettle ponds near our camp site. These were formed in the ice age and have no inlet or outlet. The beach was sandy and the water was warm and crystal clear for our sore knees.

 

21 July –

There is a public transport bus from the gates of the park to Provincetown at the very tip of Cape Cod. We could not face the ride to the gates again so we took “Ernie” down the 3 miles to a carpark. The bus was late but very cheap ($1 each for the 30 mile trip). It called into all the small towns and harbours on the way taking 1 ¾ hours but it was all very fascinating. Provincetown is very much a tourist town with many boat excursions and the ferries to Boston leaving from there. We wandered the town with its cute buildings and churches now all converted to tourist shops.

We settled on Pepe’s restaurant right on the water and got a table on the deck where Val had Cod and I had Lobster. Very traditional! The house sav blanc was Oyster Bay, NZ wine gets everywhere!  Back in the town we both bought T-shirts before our quicker return trip. On the way back to “Ernie” we bought firewood and cooked cranskies over the fire for dinner. Before this we went back to the beach for a last swim.

22 July –

We chose the scenic drive thru the villages back off the Cape and eventually joined the major “I” roads around the west side of Boston. We have been to Boston before so we planned to bypass it this time. As it is again Friday (boy the time is flying!) we have booked a private camp to the west of Boston for the weekend. Heavy rain set in so we had dinner inside.

23 July –

As we are have power and a laundry, it is haircut and laundry day. This is a family camp and it is pirate weekend with many activities for the kids. The guys next door are having a bachelor camping weekend (stag do) but are very well behaved. More rain in the evening.

24 July –

Filled our propane tank before leaving. We crossed the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border and climbed slowly into the hills. We stopped at another huge State Park camp at a lake. There are many lakes in New Hampshire. This one had the now usual sandy swimming beach so we made use of it after lunch. After dinner we re-planned our trip to Arcadia National Park in Maine as we were trying to cover too greater distance. It has given us 2 extra days in New Hampshire and Maine.

25 July –

As we are at a slightly higher altitude so the temperature was cooler in the night. A mixture of country roads and an ‘I” road brought us thru some lovely towns including Tamworth, (not a guitar in site), passed some beautiful mountain lakes and into the ski areas of New Hampshire. We stopped at White Lake State Park, another great holiday destination for the locals with yet another great sandy beach and crystal clear swimming in luke warm water.

26 July –

Before leaving the State Park we walked a trail around the lake. Very much like West Coast scenery without the sand-flies. We continued on up the mountain, thru ski villages and into the White Mountains. We discovered a Camping World shop so renewed our Good Sam’s Discount camping card and bought a replacement water filler. We only needed the cap but had to buy the whole thing, pretty cheap though. We stopped in a forest park in the mountains and spent time fitting the new water filler and relaxing in the cool air.

27 July –

A very significant day as we crossed the New Hampshire/Maine border. We have now visited every state in the USA except two, Iowa (never on our route) and Hawaii (we might fly there one day).  We have spent at least 2 days in every state and a hell of a lot more in most. We climbed higher into the White Mountains then dropped down into the lower areas of Maine. There were very few towns and this area is very sparsely populated. Our overnight stop was at a private camp on a beautiful lake with the usual swimming beach which we made use of. You can even have camp sites with your own pier.

28 July –

We drove into the capital of Maine, Augusta, where we shopped and fueled up before heading to the Atlantic coast at Camden on Penobscot Bay and a state park.  In the afternoon we set off for a hike up Megunticook Mountain with great views of the ocean and Camden Harbour. This mountain is the highest on the east coast mainland but only 1385ft so crampons and ice axes were not needed. We walked a loop track back to the camp taking 2 ½ hours and none of it on the flat. A well needed blowout. Just as we sat down for dinner it started to rain so we raced inside. Later in the evening the ranger ejected the people opposite us out of the camp. They all appeared very drunk. We do not know who potted them or how they drove the huge motorhome. First time we had seen that!!

29 July –

It was an 80 mile drive north and east along the coast, across the bridge and onto Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park. We have now visited every National Park on the USA mainland except two. We called into the visitor’s centre and got some helpful information. We drove on thru the very busy tourist town of Bar Harbour and to the National Park camp. Unfortunately we could only book one night there and will shift tomorrow to a private camp. In 1917 John D Rockefeller, who had a summer home here, financed the building of carriage paths all around the island as he did not like the automobile.

These are now cycleways so we set out to explore some of them. We got a little lost so we covered more ground than we intended but it was a great ride. The day was overcast with a sea mist obscuring some of the views. As it was cool when we returned we had dinner inside.

30 July –

There are free buses all around the island so we packed up early(for us) and caught the bus just outside the camp back to Bar Harbour (the main town) and on to the start of a trail up the northern ridge of Cadillac Mountain (1530ft). It was a steady climb of 2 ½miles up to summit with spectacular views in all directions. There is a road to the top so it was very crowded and we were happy to continue on down the south ridge (3 ½ miles) back to “Ernie”. It was a great hike which gave us views of the whole of Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island. A very short drive brought us to our private camp at Hadleys Point where we have a nice shaded site with power for the next 3 nights.

31 July –

We caught the 10:30am bus back to Bar Harbour and a second bus down into the south west part of the island. There were many stops and the roads are very rough but it was an interesting ride thru many small villages and harbours.  We stayed on the bus and returned to South West Harbour, probably the next biggest town. We left the bus and wandered the very small town which had a great artists market with some nice local paintings.

At a small café we had lunch before getting back on the bus for our two trips back to the camp. These free buses are great! We picked up some firewood and had a camp fire with toasted raisin bread.

1 August –

Yet another bus trip into Bar Harbour before catching a second bus down the coast to an area we had not seen. We left the bus at Sand Beach and walked along the cliffs to Otter Cliffs. The rocky shore was very pretty with red rocks but I think we have been           spoiled by the spectacular coastline around Kaikoura.

The bus back to Bar Harbour for a wander around the shops and lunch at a restaurant before our last bus trip back to camp. We are now a bit sick of these buses although they provide a great service. We made use of the laundry and the internet to publish this blog.