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Trip to Canada: Nova Scotia and Newfoundland |
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During June 2001 we made yet another trip to Canada - this time to the "Far East" rather than the West, visiting the provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. |
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NATURE AND WILDLIFE |
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We visited the provinces' National Parks. We enjoyed canoeing the lakes in Kejimkujik (NS) - named for the "swollen parts" Micmac natives suffered on long canoe trips! We took the famous Cabot Trail round Cape Breton (NS). Here's a view of Western Brook Pond at Gros Morne (Nfld), where we saw our first bears - one when hiking, but it was friendly... At Terra Nova (Nfld) we went sea kayaking in the fjords. |
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This region is a great place for whale-watching. At Digby Neck in Nova Scotia we took a zodiac tour and got close enough to minke whales to discover they have appalling halitosis (no kidding - breath like bad drains!). Around the Newfoundland coast we saw pilot whales, dolphins and harbour porpoises. We had less luck seeing the acrobat of the North Atlantic, the humpback whale - until we visited the village of St Vincents on Newfoundland's Avalon peninsula. Here for a few weeks every year the humpbacks come within a few metres of the shore to hunt a tiny fish called capelin. We spent several hours on the beach watching a group of 30 whales put on an amazing display of spouting, breaching, tail-slapping, rolling and flipper-waving. Not easy to photograph, unfortunately! |
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We took a boat to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve off Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula to see thousands of nesting puffins (papegaaiduiker - fratercula arctica). Bas has an interesting souvenir of this trip - real puffin-shit on his Goretex jacket! It was rough sailing, but not as rough as our last encounter with the North Atlantic in a small boat, off the Irish coast. |
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At Newfoundland's Cape St Mary's Ecological Reserve you can see thousands of breeding pairs of northern gannets (jan van gent - morus bassanus), black kittiwakes (drieteenmeeuw - rissa tridactyla), razorbills (alk - alca torda) and murres (uria aalge and uria lomvia). These birds are highly pelagic (they spend their lives far out to sea), so usually you have to take a boat trip to see them - but not here! They nest on a sea stack just a few metres from the cliff. Other interesting water birds we saw on the trip included black guillemots (zwarte zeekoet - cepphus grylle), dovekies (alle alle), ospreys (visarend - pandion haliaetus), belted kingfisher (ceryle alcyon), shearwaters (pijlstormvogel - puffinus), leach's storm-petrels (vaal stormvogeltje - oceanodroma leucorhoa) and terns (stern - sterna). |
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We were just in time to catch the last of the icebergs along Newfoundland's "Iceberg Alley", and in Twillingate took a boat trip with some off-duty seal hunters to admire bergs up close. |
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Newfoundland's wildlife presents some challenges to the motorist. Collisions with moose and caribou are common. Moose in particular are involved in so many accidents that they have earned the alternative name of "Newfoundland speedbumps". Driving after dark is NOT recommended. You have been warned! |
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CULTURE |
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You are rarely out of sight of a lighthouse in this region. The people have always looked to the sea. Although Nova Scotia and Newfoundland have a long history of European settlement, their interiors are still mainly wilderness. Many coastal communities were not accessible by road until the late 20th century. The collapse of the cod fishery through over-fishing has been an economic disaster, especially for Newfoundland. |
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Both Nova Scotia and Newfoundland have strong musical traditions with Celtic and Acadian influences. We enjoyed the live entertainment in the pubs of St John's: our favourite Newfoundland bands include Great Big Sea, The Fables and The Irish Descendants. You can learn more about the Newfoundland music world by tuning into Radio Newfoundland. For a literary impressions of Newfoundland we suggest the novel "The Shipping News" by the American writer E. Annie Proulx, and the memoir "Baltimore's Mansion" by the Newfoundlander Wayne Johnston. |
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FOOD AND ACCOMMODATION |
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Here's Michelle about to attack a Nova Scotian lobster - note the stylish matching bib! We consumed enormous quantities of seafood, chowder (fish soup), fishcakes, fish and chips, and last but not least the local beers. Fortunately we were able to compensate with hiking, canoeing and kayaking! |
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The weather is unpredictable in this region, but we were lucky with the sunshine, so we camped most nights. For those who have never camped in Canada - National Park campsites are recommended. You get a huge site with parking, picnic table, and a highly effective fireplace/barbecue. We had good experiences with Bed and Breakfast: excellent value for money and charming hosts ranging from Mounties to Newfoundland nationalists! |
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