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Author Topic: Nova Scotia, Maine coastal trip  (Read 9895 times)

SeanBK

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Nova Scotia, Maine coastal trip
« on: March 06, 2008, 10:48:02 am »

Planning a driving trip to Nova Scotia, Maine, Mass and a little bit cutting thru' Vermont @ last week of of May. Any thoughts, suggestions like Peggy's Cove & other fishing quaint sites. Not going for whale watching or urban Halifax. Mainly fishing villages photos...  
    Thanks.
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wolfnowl

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Nova Scotia, Maine coastal trip
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2008, 12:23:49 pm »

It's been a long time since I've been east... there are a couple of good shoreline areas not too far from Halifax.  This place is interesting as well, on the south shore, not too far from Lunenburg: http://www.ovenspark.com/

The shoreline is all bedrock.  There USED to be a sandy shoreline until someone discovered gold in the sand a couple of centuries ago.  Then every last grain was shoveled or vacuumed up and carted away by train.  The unique feature of the area is the shoreline caves.  

Lunenburg was too touristy for me, but there are other villages and towns along the shore that aren't.  Wolfville is one of them.  It's about 100 km from Halifax, or 350 km from Yarmouth.  The whole Annapolis Valley area is pretty.  If you're touring Maine you might want to consider the ferry across from Bar Harbour, ME to Yarmouth, NS.

Peggy's Cove is of course iconic, but you have to get there early to avoid the tourists.  Then there's Cape Breton - which is a separate world unto itself.

Mike.
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astanley

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Nova Scotia, Maine coastal trip
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2008, 01:19:13 pm »

Quote
Planning a driving trip to Nova Scotia, Maine, Mass and a little bit cutting thru' Vermont @ last week of of May. Any thoughts, suggestions like Peggy's Cove & other fishing quaint sites. Not going for whale watching or urban Halifax. Mainly fishing villages photos...   
    Thanks.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=179585\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Cranberry Isles, ME.  Pick one of the Islands; Bear Island for the great lighthouse, Big Cranberry for the marsh, Little Cranberry (Islesford) for the fishing co-op, Sutton for the osprey nests...

If you're serious about going down through Acadia (an absolute must, but then, I'm from there), drop me a PM.  Lots of "secret" spots that I've cultivated in nearly 30 years of spending my summer and winter vacations up there.

Cheers,

-Andrew
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framah

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Nova Scotia, Maine coastal trip
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2008, 03:37:44 pm »

Forget the big island up here in Maine where the main part of Acadia NP is. Head further Down East to Schoodic  Point. It is just as pretty and ALOT fewer touristos.
Then you can keep traveling up the coast and on in to Canada.

As for the ferry from Bar Harbor, it isn't running at all until May 30 and then it is only  Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs.
Thus, you are better off cruising up the coast and crossing over in Calais.  You might be able to get the ferry back.

I'm only 20 miles from  Mt. Desert Island. It's really nice and you would still like it  but there is more up the coast to see especially the small villages. Corea is my favorite. It's out by Schoodic Point.
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Richard Marcellus

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« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2008, 08:44:32 pm »

I did a driving trip covering the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick and part of Maine, last summer with my family. The Schoodic area of Acadia NP was my favourite part of the trip. It is very pretty and even though we were there in August, it still wasn't very crowded. We stayed at Oceanside Meadows Inn (near Prospect Harbor) which was very nice and not far from the park.

Richard
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Steven Draper

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Nova Scotia, Maine coastal trip
« Reply #5 on: March 06, 2008, 09:12:12 pm »

Hi

I currently live in NS. There are some great opportunities along the east coast, however there are a lot more very interesting operations along the SW Fundy coast including digby neck where you will find one of the last weirs that is still fished.

Many of the small harbours are characterized by a lack of investment and real "hanging on" feel. There is a sense of the inevitable in many of them.

The coast is spectacular in places with a massive tidal range. Away from fishing there are some interesting little villages around too, can't help put a word in for Bear River with its stilted buildings over one of the worlds highest tidal rivers.

Steven
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PSA DC-9-30

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« Reply #6 on: March 07, 2008, 02:42:39 am »

I will be in Halifax this summer and was wondering about attractions in NS and on Cape Breton Island as well.
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astanley

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Nova Scotia, Maine coastal trip
« Reply #7 on: March 07, 2008, 01:24:06 pm »

Quote
Forget the big island up here in Maine where the main part of Acadia NP is. Head further Down East to Schoodic  Point. It is just as pretty and ALOT fewer touristos.
Then you can keep traveling up the coast and on in to Canada.

As for the ferry from Bar Harbor, it isn't running at all until May 30 and then it is only  Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs.
Thus, you are better off cruising up the coast and crossing over in Calais.  You might be able to get the ferry back.

I'm only 20 miles from  Mt. Desert Island. It's really nice and you would still like it  but there is more up the coast to see especially the small villages. Corea is my favorite. It's out by Schoodic Point.
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Schoodic is beautiful, for sure.  Lots of great places up that way, like Winter Harbor.

Trapsing around MDI is like going to any big NP in the summer.  It sucks, long lines and so many RV's driving around.

That's precisely why I stay out in the Cranberry Islands, or take a trip down to Great/Little Duck... much less crowded, and, if you know where to go, a view of MDI that you can't get from any other part of the island. Islesford and Bakers are my personal favorites, but I'm extremely biased.  Suttons can be nice, but the island (pretty much all private landowners, in fact I believe the road is officially private) can be a bit hostile to outsiders.  However, there are some great osprey shots waiting if you can scramble on the northern shore.  Islesford has the rarely hiked-to Marsh Head, where I misspent many a summer afternoon scrambling on the large granite boulders and generally screwing around.   Boating and wildlife shots abound - osprey, bald eagles, hawks, owls, you name it - all around looking for a bite to eat.  Bakers has the dancing rocks and other pink granite landscapes that are a real treat for the eyes.

Bar Harbor is a mess from mid June through early September.  Cruise ship season is the worst IMO.

Northeast Harbor, Southwest Harbor, Bass Harbor and Seal Harbor all have their charming aspects.  Bass and Southwest are a little more working class (even if Hinckley Yachts is based in SWH), while Northeast and Seal are a bit more upper crust (Martha keeps her boat in Seal Harbor, the only taupe-hulled boat I've seen in my life).  

I could fill pages.  I've spent a large amount of my life there, and am preparing to eventually relocate back home.  We've got the land, just have to add the house...

Cheers,

-Andrew
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araz

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Nova Scotia, Maine coastal trip
« Reply #8 on: March 07, 2008, 05:20:20 pm »

I was in Halifax just a few weeks ago for eagle photos around Kentville...  Drove around Peggy's Cove but I can't say I saw many "quaint fishing villages".  Got a good keeper of Peggy's Cove though: http://www.fredmiranda.com/hosting/showpho...&cat=500&page=1

I was at Cape Breton last summer, like someone said, that's a whole other place...  Well worth it!

Araz
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Eldor

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Nova Scotia, Maine coastal trip
« Reply #9 on: March 07, 2008, 06:39:21 pm »

Quote
I was in Halifax just a few weeks ago for eagle photos around Kentville...  Drove around Peggy's Cove but I can't say I saw many "quaint fishing villages".  Got a good keeper of Peggy's Cove though: http://www.fredmiranda.com/hosting/showpho...&cat=500&page=1

I was at Cape Breton last summer, like someone said, that's a whole other place...  Well worth it!

Araz
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Absolutely gorgeous shot, Araz!  Must have been taken with a fantastic camera too!  

But seriously, it's a great shot.

When are you going to come in and say hello?
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dave230862

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Nova Scotia, Maine coastal trip
« Reply #10 on: March 26, 2008, 08:51:48 pm »

Lunenburg is a pretty cool place and May will see you avoiding the majority of the tourism.  Be prepared for shooting in overcast as the weather can be pretty dull most of the year but warms up predictably in July and August.

I did some photography of Lunenburg at night and the waterfront is full of interesting lighting.

http://www.geocities.com/dave230862/lunenber.htm

The images are old and before I was profiling my monitor, so my apologies if any show up poorly.

Anyway....the Brigantine Inn is an inntersting spot to stay, should you need a spot with a comfortable room and a bar at the bottom of the stairs!

Cheers,

Dave Lawson
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Nova Scotia, Maine coastal trip
« Reply #11 on: March 27, 2008, 05:20:52 pm »

Bass Harbor is definitely worth visiting:

[attachment=5764:attachment]
« Last Edit: March 27, 2008, 05:23:06 pm by slobodan56 »
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nemophoto

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Nova Scotia, Maine coastal trip
« Reply #12 on: March 28, 2008, 08:49:56 pm »

People will probably howl at what I have to say, but. . .

My wife and I were in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island the beginning of May last year. I have to say that what I saw of Nova Scotia was, to put it kindly, massively disappointing. We took the coastal road all the way from Halifax to Cape Breton over the course of two days. It contained some of the most underwhelming scenery and villages I've ever seen. It's very poor, and the villages are far from scenic. I can't say anything about south of Halifax. Much of the interior is boggy woodland that is fairly heavily logged. If you go that route, the one interesting village we saw is Guysborough, which has a superb B&B/Inn -- DesBarres Manor Inn.

Cape Breton, on the other hand, especially the northern and western part of the Cabot trail, is quite beautiful. The part of Nova Scotia I found photographically interesting was the northern tip and toward Antigonish. (We also took the ferry to PE and when we returned, took the western "loop" back to Halifax.) Again, much more interesting and varied terrain.

Needless to say, we went early in the season (US customs even queried us extensively about go to NS that time of year.) However, I'm not one who necessarily loves things in full bloom. I love shooting in the dead of winter and fall. Overall it was an interesting trip, though not my favorite in my travels. Here are a few images from around Antigonish and Cape Breton I shot during the trip.
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