A few weeks left to kayak one of Nova Scotia’s hidden adventures

NovaShores Adventures’ Cape Chignecto Kayak Adventure Tour explores the coastline of Nova Scotia’s largest provincial park and our latest UNESCO-designated site

HALIFAXtoday\ Steve Gow

Summer may be winding down but there is still time to take advantage of one of the province’s most exciting kayaking expeditions.

Hosted by well-established NovaShores Adventures, the Cape Chignecto Kayak Adventure Tour is a thrilling three-day tour that takes eager paddlers along the entire coastline of Nova Scotia’s largest provincial park.

“It’s a really beautiful tour. It’s my favourite of all the things that we do because you do see the whole shoreline off Cape Chignecto from the water,” says the Advocate Harbour-based company’s owner and operator, Anne Grabinsky.

“It’s just so beautiful because from the cliffs — when you do the hike — you can only see so much of the actual shoreline (and) I think it’s pretty unique in Nova Scotia.”

There is little doubt Cape Chignecto is unique. After all, only in July of 2020 was the provincial park designated a UNESCO Global Geopark site by the United Nations organization for it’s significant geological heritage.

Indeed, with the region’s rugged red cliffs and fascinating rock formations spouting up from the Bay of Fundy’s swaying tides, Cape Chignecto makes for a spectacular experience for everyone from beginners to even the most experienced kayaker.

“It’s mainly people who love the outdoors but it also (attracts) people from all kinds of walks of life,” says Grabinsky of the tour, which previous to the pandemic often lured many tourists from out of province.

“Families like to do it with their older, maybe teenaged kids and groups of friends, couples — we really do get a wide range of people interested in that particular tour.”

Starting at Spicer’s Cove near Eatonville, the Cape Chignecto Kayak Adventure Tour takes a relaxed pace to paddle past such magnificent sites as the legendary Three Sisters rock formation, the huge sea stack known as Old Sal as well as several other geological formations, waterfalls and sea cliffs. In fact, campers are even often treated to the bellowing morning calls of grey seals while sleeping at Seal Cove.

“It’s three days of paddling but there is time off to hike and relax on the beach. It’s not straight paddling for a full day everyday — it’s like a few hours and then there’s also time off to explore,” says Grabinsky of the tour. “And the beauty is, you have access to the hiking trails from the coast where we camp out.”

Not only are there plenty of opportunities to stretch your legs along coastline trails, as well as take in the exclusive vantage point of Cape Chignecto’s shoreline from a kayak, but NovaShores Adventures tour also provides all the amenities for the three-day trek.

“Other than personal items, (people) don’t have to bring anything,” adds Grabinsky, who says people can even rent sleeping bags if they like. As well, meals are supplied with an emphasis on food being organic and mostly sustainable. As a matter of fact, most meals are comprised of vegetables grown in Grabinsky’s own garden.

Although NovaShores Adventures has been around for more than 20 years, the company only took residence in Advocate Harbour in 2006. Grabinsky has worked for the company for more than a decade but was pleased to take over the operation in 2014 after falling in love with the Bay of Fundy.

“I love Chignecto park, its such a pleasure living out here,” says the German immigrant who grew up close to Berlin before settling in Nova Scotia after exploring the globe and kayaking in such disparate places as Greenland and Southeast Asia — not to mention the west coast’s Vancouver Island.

“I always loved nature — just the starry nights and the quiet out here, being able to grow my own garden on a big plot of land,” says Grabinsky of the Cape Chignecto area. “And being able to hike at any time of year — it’s just wonderful.”

For more information of the Cape Chignecto Kayak Adventure Tour, visit NovaShores Adventures website.

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