last year in September I joined a video contest about Nova Scotia and have won the great prize. And in just a few weeks from now my wife Nicole and me, will start our “Nova Scotia Dream Vacation”. Currently we are on the final planning’s. The first drafts were already made last year as we found the proper time for our journey.
A new experience for us to plan the whole trip in advance, commonly we just book the flights, rent a car and make a reservation for accommodation for the first nights. Afterwards we will see where we end up and at any place where we feel comfortable we will stay for a while.
But now we had to plan the entire route as our sponsor the „Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage“ would like to pay off all things in advance to make it something really special to us.Our route starts as usually in Halifax where we will stay for two days before the road leads us through and around and nearly the entire province of Nova Scotia. Some spots we will miss, because we have seen them already, some in lack of time and some we will stop by although we have been there before because of their beauty.
Starting the route from Halifax we make a southerly drive via Herring Cove, Peggy’s Cove, Mahone Bay, Lunenburg to Liverpool. On these locations we only make short photo stops. But at Peggy’s Cove we would love to visit the preservation area to make our first exercises in hiking for the upcoming hikes and trails in the next weeks.
Next planned stop is the Kejimkujik Seaside Adjunct where we will have our first hikes in real and over night in Shelbourne.
Afterwards we will drive the scenic costal road leading us via Barrington Woolen Mill, Cape Sable Island, Shag Harbour, Cape Forchu, Yarmouth, Sandfort and Gilbert Cove with a photo stop on each venue finally to Digby.
Besides Balancing Rock, Brier Island a whale watching we will visit the Point Prime Lighthouse.
Leaving Digby via Bear River we will spent the next days at the Kejimkujik National Park.
After Keji the route leads us to Cape Blomindon, Cape Split and Halls Harbour. Grand Pré, Five Island Park, Cape d’Or and Cape Chignecto are the next hiking stops.
A drive to the Confederation Bridge and a visit of the Joggins Fossil Cliffs are the next steps before we end up in Oxford.
The next photo stops are the Balmoral Grist Mill and the Sutherland Steam Mill, at the Jost Vineyard we will try to taste some of the wines that Nova Scotia offers.
Anchors Above Zipline will be a fun with two ziplines, one at 335 meters long and 73 meters high and the other one a bit steeper with a length of 274 meters and a height of 57 meters. With the Big Island Merigomish and Cape George the day will end a bit more in rest and peace.
Then we will attend the 2010 Pumpkin Regatta in Windsor (as visitors only) followed by long drive north to Cape Breton Island where we will stay the rest of our vacation.
A bit of culture by visiting the Celtic Colours Festival and meetings with some more friends who live in Nova Scotia to enjoy Thanksgiving.
Another highlight on our tour will be sky trekking the Cabot Trail, a private charter flight around the Cape Breton Highlands and the shores of the ocean.
For the rest of the vacation we will now hike nearly every day to enjoy the magic of nature and the scenic Cabot Trail following the trails of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park on various places from the east to the west coast.
Alas every vacation will come to an end. A whole day drives, back to Halifax, to catch our return flight to Frankfurt where our Nova Scotia Dream vacation will definitely end. On our tour you can join us and follow us on our blog where will post from time to time to share our moments and adventures with you. Our articles will be published at the Nova Scotia Blogs.