Recently my mother was doing a tour up the east coast of the US in her small RV and I made my way out to join for the Nova Scotia portion. Turned into a nice family adventure.

I flew Munich, Montreal, Halifax from which we imminently headed north to Green Oaks for some tidal bore rafting. With mud coming out of my ears we continued further north for a night in Stellarton. After that made up to Troy where I biked a section of the Celtic Coastal Bike Trail. The scenery was surprisingly similar to where I grew up with in Wisconsin, county roads through greed wooded hills. Fortnightly things did change the further north we got.

Passing through small villages on the way to Cape Brenton National is when the coastal biome took more hold. We were lucky enough to get a backpacking permit to go out the 6.5km to Fishing cove. There being able to share the view of the beach and sounds of the waves with family was well worth the hike.

After that the trip toned down and we slowly made our way back to Halifax stopping in small towns along the way. Did a headlands hike in Ingonish which was beautiful. Also walked the Halifax boardwalk and saw some interesting boats. The trip ended with by me traveling back to Halifax, Toronto, Munich.

Pics:

view of fishing cove

relaxing on fishing cove beach

tent setup in fising cove site 8

Ingonish headwaters hike

illusive mother

selfie in the “mts”

open road, Cape Brenton National Park

unknown cove, Cape Brenton National Park

shades RV dash

Tidal bore rafting

Outfitter: Tidal Bore Adventures
Location: Green Oaks
Video to get the idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKqOCWlAt34
Memory:

Tidal bore rafting as I found out on my four hour tour is not paddling down a river with the occasional rapid. Instead, inflatable boats with outboard motors fully on attack 2 meter tall tidal waves in an orchestrated dance where multiple outfitters share the turbulent waters to bring tourists thrills.

What makes the whole thing possible is the particular geography of the Fundy Bay. As the tides comes in the water is funneled into narrower and shallower area resulting in a 7+ meter water level shift with the tides. That in turn brings a large initial set of waves, the tidal bore, followed by shifting areas of standing waves.

My experience started with playing around mud sliding waiting for the bore. Then with mud coming out of my ears we boated out to meet the bore. I was expecting some decent sized waves but we had a full on jet of water. You quickly learn to close your mouth instead of screaming for the taste of muddy salt water. It was a blast. Another younger guy and I soon became tasked with keeping other members on board and hauling them back aboard when the waters took them off which was also fun. Overall a must do if you pass through Nova Scotia.

Pics:

boats going out to meet the tidal bore

me sporting a lifejacket

RV Life

Model: Chinook Concourse
Memory:

As a person who’s comfortable in a small bivy stealth camping RV camping was quite a change. I very much enjoyed the extra space and always having a temperate place to play cards, cook pancakes, or take a nap. This being my mom and her small RVs maiden voyage together it was fun to learn how to accommodate two people together. The Chinook made touring Nova Scotia a breeze and I hope to visit for more trips in the future, perhaps the west coast or up to Alaska.

Pics:

RV on the open road

making bacon in the RV

so much room for activities