In Nova Scotia, you never more than 60 kilometres away from the Atlantic Ocean. Fittingly the province’s slogan is – Your Ocean Playground.
There are more than 13,000 kilometres of coastline in this beautiful Maritime province.
Whenever I am in Annapolis Valley, N.S. I head straight for the nearest shoreline. Maybe it’s because I have lived in landlocked Alberta for over 10 years now but I miss being close the ocean. Here are a few of the spots I visited over two weeks.
Baxters Harbour
When I was in Grade 11, we moved 15 kilometres north to Baxters Harbour on the Bay of Fundy. Our house was roughly one kilometre away from the shore.
The harbour was named after Dr. William Baxter and his son John Baxter who lived there in the early nineteenth century. There’s a scattering of houses on the shore. The road is rough as most are in Nova Scotia. A new nordic spa and wellness just opened down the road from my parent’s place. I hope to check it out one day.
Kingsport
My aunt and uncle on my mom’s side live close to Kingsport, another small fishing village on the shores of the Minas Basin in the Annapolis Valley. There’s a wharf, boat launch and beach.
The tide was out so one day I took a lovely walk on the shore where I was met with some paddle boarders.
Black Rock
A wooden Black Rock Lighthouse was built in 1848 and replaced by a 10.4 metre tall white fibreglass tower in 1967. I decided to take a road trip with my dad during my visit.
It was partially last minute so I didn’t download the map so I had to go from memory from the morning. We came to a junction where I couldn’t remember if I had to go straight or turn left.
My dad said go straight and it will come to x,y,z. Now this was after the big flash flooding and heavy rains. I should have downloaded the map. The road was a nightmare – deep potholes filled with water and just all around a disaster. I thought I was going to lose the muffler on the rental or get stuck.
Digby
I have two friends from university who were from Digby. Of course I run into their old high school teacher while walking along the wharf.
We talked to some fisherman on the wharf. They were catching mackerel. You don’t need a fishing licence to fish off wharfs in Nova Scotia. There’s a daily limit of 20 fish per day. One guy fishes every day and donates his fish to some seniors in his community. I reeled in one fish and threw it back into the bay.
Blomidon Provincial Park
Last September when I visited mom and dad, I took them for a drive to Blomidon. It was hard not to think about this when I walked along the shore one day.
Blomidon Provincial Park is renowned for its spectacular views, high cliffs, a variety of habitats and natural features. The foggy day added to the character of views.
Next time I head to Nova Scotia, I am going to carve out some time to drive around the entire coastline of the province.
Have you been to Nova Scotia or the Annapolis Valley? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.