NEWFOUNDLAND TO NOVA SCOTIA.
Day 165 – We were not looking forward to leaving Newfoundland. It’s been an amazing experience. If there’s one thing we’ve learned with this RV traveling, it would that the weather controls everything. This certainly held true in Newfoundland & Labrador! We picked a decent day to travel by ferry to Nova Scotia. That was done in advance because you have to make reservations. We lucked out that the conditions were good on our travel day. When we crossed over from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland last May, it was very cold, windy & foggy. This time we could see outside the windows, and weather conditions were much better.
42 miles, (9:55), 43046-43088
We departed Grand Codroy Campground, heading south on the TCH, at 9:05 a.m. It had rained heavily all night & the rain continued during the morning. It was 54 degrees with light rain and almost no wind when we arrived at the ferry terminal at Port aux Basques at 9:35. Passengers are required to check in & pick up their tickets no later than two hours before ferry departure. We did that & got in line. First they loaded the containers carried by the trailer/trucks on the ferry, then they methodically loaded the cars, pick-up trucks, tour buses, and large trucks & trailers with their cargo. They calculate in advance how long & how tall each vehicle is – there are two levels on the ferry. And somehow they manage to fit everyone in nicely. This time the RV’s, campers, vans & trailers went inside towards the end, backed up by more large trucks & cargo trailers. They were not as full as they were in May. And in the summer season, they can fill up a week in advance. We put the kitties in their bedroom with food & water. Then we went upstairs to one of the passenger decks. (People are required to leave their vehicles & are not allowed to return to them until the ferry is docked at the destination port. Pets can be, for a fee, boarded in cages, but our girls would be much more stressed out being in cages next to other animals, rather than being in familiar surroundings.) Upstairs, we found comfortable seating by a window, and although we didn’t know it at the time, the other tables in this area were also filled with Rvers.
Click on any picture below to see a slideshow.
The ferry departed 5 minutes early at 11:40 a.m. It was sad watching Newfoundland get smaller as we left Port aux Basques. We remembered when we were traveling over from Nova Scotia on May 20 & as we approached the ferry terminal there & caught our first glimpses of Newfoundland in the dense fog. The rocks. The mountains (at that time with snow on them). The islands. The colorful little fishing shacks on the shore. We were just in awe. And that was NOTHING compared to what we saw later. Now, in October, the trees that had no leaves on them in May, were either green or had some fall colors & the snow was gone. Newfoundland was still beautiful, no doubt, but the atmospheric stark beauty of winter was replaced with a lively, colorful view. We will come back again.
The ferry trip was long, but this time we didn’t bring our lunch but ate in the restaurant on board for lunch. This helped to pass the time. The food was quite good, surprisingly. We each had a Vegetarian Black Bean Burger with Sweet Potato Fries & Curry Mayo. We also had the Apple Crumble for dessert. The dessert was okay; the meal was great. After lunch there was entertainment in the lounge – two men with a guitar & an accordian & a lady singing with them, old Newfoundland songs. The crowd joined in, particularly the people from the bus tour. We’ve gotten used to the Newfie songs & like the music; we even know some of the words. A little more time in Newfoundland & we would’ve been honorary Newfies.
The weather got better with the rain stopping and the sun coming out. The water was basically calm with a few swells. The area where we were sitting was at the other side of the lounge & conversation, which we could not help but overhear, was 6 ½ hours of retired couples talking about their RV adventures. We did not join is as we consider ourselves to be new at this lifestyle, but we were happy to hear that many of the campgrounds they’d been to were places we’d liked also. Many of their trips were jumping from one relative to another, visiting each, (we’re talking 2nd cousins, etc., ANY relative), and staying at places in between. We just don’t have that many relatives we can visit, nor can we park our RV at their homes. Still, it was interesting, and while the wives knitted & the husbands told tall tales, we snickered quietly while pretending to read our books as we listened. LOL.
As we approached Nova Scotia, it was interesting to see land again. It was not as mountainous or rocky, but still very pretty. There were several cruise ships – they are SO big. The kitties were glad to be done with the ferry ride; we were glad to see them, too. In Nova Scotia, it was much more populated. This is something we will have to get used to again. It was almost a shock – and seriously, this area of Nova Scotia is not that populated! We arrived at the North Sydney ferry terminal at 5:55 p.m. (Atlantic Standard Time – we’d left behind Newfoundland’s time which was ½ hour later). It was partly cloudy and 60 degrees. We noticed immediately that fall colors were better here than in NF, maybe even a little past peak.
North Sydney, NS
Sunset, North Sydney, NS
The sun was setting as we arrived at the North Sydney/Cabot Trail KOA Campground in New Harris, Nova Scotia. It was 6:30 p.m. & 55 degrees, We had stayed at this same campground on the way to the ferry when we were going to NF in May. We were assigned site #B6, with full hook-ups, overlooking the water. This is the same campsite we had in May, excellent. We enjoyed the bagpipe music which the campground was playing as the sun set.
Site B6, North Sydney/Cabot Trail KOA, New Harris, NS
Fall colors! North Sydney/Cabot Trail KOA, New Harris, NS
Red Fox, North Sydney/Cabot Trail KOA, New Harris, NS
North Sydney/Cabot Trail KOA Campground: To see the information posted about this campground from our previous visit in May 2019, please visit Sunday, May 19, 2019 Everything remains the same except it was slightly cheaper for this visit – $47.59 Canadian currency. And yes, we would absolutely stay here again.