156 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
156 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
DESTINATIONS: The South Shore -- Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia
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from Jan/Feb 1994 issue of Wave~Length
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Scott Cunningham of Coastal Adventures, based in
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Tangier, Nova Scotia, Canada has now produced the
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second volume of his paddling route guide for Nova
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Scotia covering The South Shore and the Bay of
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Fundy.
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The South Shore of Nova Scotia extends southwest
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from Halifax around to Yarmouth where it gradually
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blends into the Bay of Fundy. From headland to
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headland it stretches a distance of about 325 km
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but, as with the Eastern Shore, inclusion of all the
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harbours and inlets would inflate this figure
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several fold. This is a young submerged coastline,
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highly irregular, with drowned estuaries and
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headlands producing a largely indented coast,
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fringed with islands. This feature, couple with
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localized sediments has contributed to a large
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number of habitats: sand and cobble beaches, mud
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flats and salt marshes. The predominant feature,
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however, is the rocky shore. The most remarkable
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feature, of course, is the extreme tidal range of
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the Bay of Fundy. The Bay is a funnel shaped tongue
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of ocean separating Nova Scotia from New Brunswick
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stretching over 200 km from its mouth in the Gulf of
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Maine to its upper reaches. The special nature of
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the Bay of Fundy follows from its extreme tides.
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These range from about 20 feet at the entrance to a
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record of 58 feet at Burntcoat Head, in the Minas
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Basin.
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The province's South Shore has a great deal to offer
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the coastal paddler. It is unspoiled, easily
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accessible, and you can put in almost anywhere.
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Camping on the islands isn't a problem. Services
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(gas stations, grocery stores, and accommodation)
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are available in the numerous towns and villages,
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and tourists are welcome. If the weather is poor you
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can still find sheltered groups of islands for your
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trip or head inland to Kejimekujik National Park. If
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the weather is good, your options along the coast
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are limitless.
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(excerpted from the guidebook)
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Coastal Paddling Routes in Nova Scotia: the South
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Shore and the Bay of Fundy (8.5 x 11 fomat, cerlox
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bound, 106 pages) is available from Scott
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Cunningham, Coastal Adventures, PO Box 77, Tangier,
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N.S. B0J 3H0 or calling (902) 772-2774.
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DESTINATIONS: Doubtful Explorations -- New Zealand
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by Scott Melzer
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from Jan/Feb 1994 issue of Wave~Length
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Riding in the back seat of a double cab truck with
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four kayaks on the roof and bouncing over the
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roughest road in the world with snow falling all
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around us, I wonder how I have gotten myself into
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this mess.
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My new fibreglass kayak is riding atop three plastic
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boats above us on the roof rack. The driver who is
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transporting us across the Wilmot Pass to Doubtful
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Sound doesn't give a damn about them and the ropes
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are getting looser and looser. I finally demand that
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he stop and let us adjust the ropes.
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Getting out of the truck, I glance down through
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falling snow to Doubtful Sound, 2200 feet below. All
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doubt is banished as I see just pure beauty of the
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most natural kind.
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This is Fiordland National Park, the southwestern
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part of New Zealand's south island. Fiordland is one
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of the most remote places in the world. This area is
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impressive, with overpoweringly steep mountains and
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narrow valleys. For the last million years this
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region has been subjected to intense glaciation. The
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present result is almost sheer vertical walls rising
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from sea level to around 3000- 4000 feet.
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This midwinter trip is a fact-finding mission.
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Although we have heard that the weather is best at
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this time of year, we expect little sun. Because the
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sun at its highest point midday during the winter
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solstice (late June) is only 21 degrees from the horizon,
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and due to the height of the mountains and the
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narrow valleys, at least half of Fiordland receives
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no direct sunlight during winter.
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Nevertheless, four of us are tempting the frost
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monsters, and already, on our first day, we have
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verified Fiordland's reputation of quick changing
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weather with wind, hail, sun and rain, making us
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feel very small. We quickly learn why some of the
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surrounding areas are called Refrigerator Valley and
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Hurricane Passage.
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Arriving at Deep Cove at the head of Doubtful Sound
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the wind is so strong we can hardly stand. After
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unloading the kayaks and gear we search for an
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answer to our first problem. It is too windy to
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paddle and there is nowhere to stay or camp in Deep
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Cove. Camping in the Sound is generally difficult as
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flat ground is rare.
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We are lucky to hitch a ride onboard the Seaspray (a
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cray fishing boat) that takes us out Doubtful Sound
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towards Secretary Island where there is a forestry
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hut we can stay in. We spend four days at the hut
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with short kayak trips in between lightning,
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thunder, gales and hail storms.
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The weather finally clears and we set off to explore
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some of the arms of the Sound where we meet up with
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dolphins, seals, and many different types of birds.
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On our last day, at the head of Crooked Arm, we
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awake to the most wonderful morning of the trip. It
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is clear and very cold with frost on everything
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including our wetsuits, which require a bit of
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courage to put on.
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Packing up and heading back to Deep Cove, we
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encounter a very unnerving occurrence. Doubtful
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Sound gets around 300 inches of rain a year which
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produces hundreds of beautiful waterfalls and 10 to
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15 feet of fresh water on top of saltwater at the
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heads of the arms. The combination of fresh water
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(which is lighter and freezes at a lower temperature
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than salt) and the flat calm have created a
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continuous sheet of ice 2 mm thick, shore to shore,
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and about 4 to 5 kilometres long. We have no choice
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but to paddle through it. Although extra work is
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needed, we encounter no real problems, just our
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fears of what could have happen if the ice had been
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any thicker.
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All in all, our twelve day trip went relatively
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smoothly. Given the remoteness and remarkable beauty
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of the area I consider Fiordland National Park a
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premier sea kayaking destination. I plan to return,
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armed with the experience gained and knowing that no
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amount of preplanning can take into account all of
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mother nature's little surprises.
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For information about Fiordland National Park
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contact: Scott Melzer, c/o Te Hoiere Sea Kayaks, Box
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33, Havelock, Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. Ph:
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035742610. Fax: 035742333 Or the Department of
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Conservation , PO Box 29, Te Anau, New Zealand.
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Ph: 032497921
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