Waving farewell to Halifax, we made our way towards Cape Breton Island - known for the Cabot Trail, famous Louisbourg fortress and breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean and the wildlife that inhabit this wonderful area!
Staying in a cosy B&B, we dumped our stuff and headed out to check out the town. Trying to find the tourist info centre was very easy - as a 40 foot fiddle stood there - in recognition of the Fiddlers association of Nova Scotia, very impressive (and it played a cool little tune as well!)
Next morning we woke early to a wonderful home cooked brekky - waffles, eggs, bacon, cinnamon scrolls - the works!!!! B & B's ROCK!!!
With the weather fairly ordinary (across the East coast - due to a Hurricane that was just offshore - heading north from Bermuda), it rained most of the day - heavily, we decided to give the Cabot Trail a try tomorrow - so we made our way south towards Louisbourg fortress - this one actually played a part in the wars, unlike the previous two - the citadel and the martello tower.
The French and English engaged in major battles for this fortress, due to its position on the coast (and with easy access to the St.Lawrence river), as well as having a nice harbour to fish salmon all year long (didn't freeze over - surprisingly!)
The fortress was destroyed in the late 1800's, but rebuilt in 1925, with Parks Canada overseeing the reconstruction - recruiting French and English historians etc to ensure every detail was correct (only 1/5 of the original city was rebuilt, whilst 1/4 of the wall was reconstructed). A very impressive fort, with magnificent views all around!
Locals portrayed characters from the early 1800's, engaging with tourists as they passed - quite comical. We also tasted some of the bread, that is still baked the same way (in the oven out there, using traditional methods - great to snack on as you toured around the large area!)
After a long time touring around the fortress, and the weather still a bit "wet", we headed north west to the Two Rivers Wildlife Park, which played host to all wildlife that lived on Cape Breton Island (we mainly went to the Park for a giggle - and to try see a moose - we weren't expecting too much, as it was in the middle of nowhere and was $5 entry each.......)
With the rain pouring down and the first 3 enclosures having very wet, sleepy animals, our mood dimmed - especially as the moose exhibit was so large, we would have no chance of seeing it - sticking to its name "ELUSIVE MOOSE!"
Hearing a few giggles of excitement ahead, we made our way past the sleeping skunk, arriving at an enclosure that housed two black bears, a very lagrge male and a smaller female - on heat! The bears enjoyed having people around - we were very lucky, as the female decided to climb the nearest tree to us, giving us a wonderful look at her - and also making us think - "can she fall out of the enclosure?" After watching a young girl hand feed the bears (not game enough, sorry), she told us the moose could be seen not to far from where we were. Rushing forward, we were shocked to see the moose, sitting less than 4 feet from us, allowing us to get very close and take some wonderful photos. Not long after (1-2 minutes), the moose took off, father, mother and baby, into the thickness of the scrub, out of sight for the rest of the time we were at the park (around 3 hours!!! it was fun!!!!)
Lots of other animals were represented - cougar, lynx, bobcat, beaver, porcupine, skunk, bald eagle, red deer, white tailed deer and an emu...........yep, an EMU......what the????
Staying in a cosy B&B, we dumped our stuff and headed out to check out the town. Trying to find the tourist info centre was very easy - as a 40 foot fiddle stood there - in recognition of the Fiddlers association of Nova Scotia, very impressive (and it played a cool little tune as well!)
Next morning we woke early to a wonderful home cooked brekky - waffles, eggs, bacon, cinnamon scrolls - the works!!!! B & B's ROCK!!!
With the weather fairly ordinary (across the East coast - due to a Hurricane that was just offshore - heading north from Bermuda), it rained most of the day - heavily, we decided to give the Cabot Trail a try tomorrow - so we made our way south towards Louisbourg fortress - this one actually played a part in the wars, unlike the previous two - the citadel and the martello tower.
The French and English engaged in major battles for this fortress, due to its position on the coast (and with easy access to the St.Lawrence river), as well as having a nice harbour to fish salmon all year long (didn't freeze over - surprisingly!)
The fortress was destroyed in the late 1800's, but rebuilt in 1925, with Parks Canada overseeing the reconstruction - recruiting French and English historians etc to ensure every detail was correct (only 1/5 of the original city was rebuilt, whilst 1/4 of the wall was reconstructed). A very impressive fort, with magnificent views all around!
Locals portrayed characters from the early 1800's, engaging with tourists as they passed - quite comical. We also tasted some of the bread, that is still baked the same way (in the oven out there, using traditional methods - great to snack on as you toured around the large area!)
After a long time touring around the fortress, and the weather still a bit "wet", we headed north west to the Two Rivers Wildlife Park, which played host to all wildlife that lived on Cape Breton Island (we mainly went to the Park for a giggle - and to try see a moose - we weren't expecting too much, as it was in the middle of nowhere and was $5 entry each.......)
With the rain pouring down and the first 3 enclosures having very wet, sleepy animals, our mood dimmed - especially as the moose exhibit was so large, we would have no chance of seeing it - sticking to its name "ELUSIVE MOOSE!"
Hearing a few giggles of excitement ahead, we made our way past the sleeping skunk, arriving at an enclosure that housed two black bears, a very lagrge male and a smaller female - on heat! The bears enjoyed having people around - we were very lucky, as the female decided to climb the nearest tree to us, giving us a wonderful look at her - and also making us think - "can she fall out of the enclosure?" After watching a young girl hand feed the bears (not game enough, sorry), she told us the moose could be seen not to far from where we were. Rushing forward, we were shocked to see the moose, sitting less than 4 feet from us, allowing us to get very close and take some wonderful photos. Not long after (1-2 minutes), the moose took off, father, mother and baby, into the thickness of the scrub, out of sight for the rest of the time we were at the park (around 3 hours!!! it was fun!!!!)
Lots of other animals were represented - cougar, lynx, bobcat, beaver, porcupine, skunk, bald eagle, red deer, white tailed deer and an emu...........yep, an EMU......what the????
A fantastic time was had - no we pray for better weather for the Carbot trail - keep your fingers crossed for us!!!!
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