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Inn to Inn Paddling Around Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia.

 
  
 
Hand on my heart, before travelling to Nova Scotia I do not think I could have put my finger on the map to show exactly where it is. I knew it was on Canada’s eastern seaboard and I knew that on one of its shores in the Bay of Fundy, it has the highest tidal range in the world at 56 feet. But that is it and having spent two weeks there travelling around, what a great place to go sea kayaking and canoeing.
                        
We flew direct to Halifax, Nova Scotia in six hours, and with only a four hour time difference there was no jet lag. We arrived during a monsoon-like rain storm, even the dual carriageway into the city was paddleable and we both thought ‘Oh no what have we let ourselves in for?’ Fortunately for us that was the only rain we saw and for the two weeks we were there we had wall to wall sunshine.
 

After an evening sampling some of the beer and food in Halifax we were picked up bang on time the following day by the outfitter. We had organised to sea kayak a route round Mahone Bay, stopping every night in a different bed and breakfast. Our starting point would be the World Heritage Site of Lunenburg, then travelling from Inn to Inn we would make landfall at various points along the way. It is a great way to travel as you can travel light, our gear being moved onto the next stop by the outfitters, leaving us just to potter along during the day taking our time to have a good look round the area. There was time to fish, sit and read, take photos and swim. Mahone Bay is situated on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia and paddling is not remote at all as there are always boats moving about and small pockets of habitation to pass. Camping is a possibility but we thought that by staying in the villages, not only could we get washed and fed we could meet and chat with local people and at the same time sample the local food and drink.

 

Lunenburg was very interesting to walk around in the evening; established in 1753 as the first British Colonial settlement in Nova Scotia outside of Halifax. With more than 250 years in fishing, ship-building and marine related industries, Lunenburg has many architectural delights from the late 1700s and early 1800s.
 
The first day of paddling was around the Aspotogan Peninsula; for gross navigation all we had to do was to keep the mainland on our left and keep paddling for the day. This sounds simple enough but navigation was made interesting as the area was a convoluted mass of islands, inlets and bays. Picking the wrong route would require us to back track and add distance and time to the journey.
 
It was a great day the sky was clear blue, the sun was hot on our backs and there was plenty of wildlife to add interest. With Western Europe being the next landfall out to the east we occasionally encountered a lazy Atlantic swell. All day we paddled alongside beautiful golden seaweed and found sandy secluded beaches and interesting light houses, we watched cormorants drying their wings and encountered seals.
 

The next day we paddled to Mahone Bay, which is a postcard-perfect maritime town and is considered by many as one of the most beautiful towns in Canada. The navigation was a lot easier as there was not the concentration of islands as in the previous day, and the close intimacy had changed to open views across the bay. There were longer crossings to islands which made for a change in paddling strategy. It was an easy day paddle so we spent time stopping to look at the beautiful flowers, lazing in the sun and swimming. On arrival at Mahone Bay we beached the kayak and carried our day gear to the B&B to find our bags were waiting for us in our room. Mahone Bay has a charming main street that hosts an assortment of art galleries, speciality shops, restaurants and comfortable small inns; we decided on an inn for food and beer.

 

After a hearty breakfast and a lively discussion with our fellow travellers we sauntered down to the kayak to resume our journey. The wind was blowing a four which made for a lively day; we used some of the islands for shelter and navigated to keep the wind on our backs on the longer crossings. We were more into the bay now and we saw more boat traffic of various sizes but they were mainly at some distance away until we reached the environs of Chester.
The Village of Chester is an historic seaside resort noted for sailing, stately summer homes, studios & galleries. We were heading for the Mecklenburgh Inn and again we found our bags up in the room. If ever you are in the area please stay at this B&B; it is furnished with an eclectic mix of materials, there were home made biscuits and tea on arrival, Susie, the owner is a sailor and a cordon bleu chef and she let us wash and dry some of our clothing overnight.
The last day’s paddle of the trip was a conglomerate of the last few days as we had narrow intimate channels to navigate along with long crossings between islands. Luckily the wind had veered and was at our backs again. We passed small fishing villages, saw Bald Eagles and were accompanied on the last few kilometres by a pod of harbour dolphins.

Sitting on the sandy beach in the sun waiting for the outfitter, we had time to reflect on the fours days travel. The paddling had begun in easy, more sheltered water, and then progressed to greater distances with more exposed stretches around the headlands and islands of the bay. It was an unusually exciting adventure, combining days with the ocean and its wildlife and nights with fine dining, the friendliness of small inns, and blissful comfort. The weather in early September was still great, but the main tourist season was over and we had been privileged to have had the area to ourselves. We had sampled some great beer and seafood and chatted with some interesting people.

Dave Halsall & Sue Crawford www.singingpaddles.com