Travelling through Canada by van: On the Carbot Trail in Nova Scotia

We are traveling in Canada with our van, two children and a dog. While we arrived by plane, the van is arriving in Nova Scotia by ship. After gathering our first impressions of Canada by car, we will now continue as usual at campsites or in a free-standing camp. You can read how our journey began here . 

Reunion with the van in Halifax

Now the time has finally come: after about three weeks of shipping, we can pick up our van in Nova Scotia at the port of Halifax. The first stop takes us to customs, where I meet the shipping company directly and receive the necessary documents, then have a brief conversation with the customs officer and finally collect our van at the port. Now we head to the port, extremely excited and with incredible anticipation, which turns into absolute euphoria when we see our van parked there. It can finally begin - our adventure across the North American continent from east to west, from south to north and back south before heading back east, always following the adventure. This is where we begin our actual journey in the capital of Nova Scotia: Halifax. 

Into the nature of Nova Scotia: the 100 islands of Murphy Cove

To be honest, the desire for nature and adventure was too great to stay in Halifax any longer than necessary. After a first big shopping trip, we headed straight out of the city. When we arrived in Nova Scotia, we headed for a beautiful campsite at Murphy Cove . It was mid-May and there was nothing touristy yet, the campsite is actually still being prepared, but it still invites us to stay here. The choice of Murphys Camping on the Ocean was more of a coincidence, we found it with the help of our trusted tool, Google Maps. However, we couldn't have chosen a better place to arrive. This was exactly how we had imagined or even wanted the campsites in Canada to be. Simple in terms of facilities, but a fantastic location. 

While we sorted ourselves out, packed up the van, stowed all our purchases and thought about the coming days, the day passed with a view of the Bay of 100 Islands, sea eagles flying past and Canada geese chattering. Shortly before dusk, the campfire was lit by the couple who own the campsite and there we are, four real Canadians and the four of us travellers, sitting around the fire and talking about our plans. The next day we find out that the exact campsite and exactly pitch 31 where we were standing had already been recommended in a German travel guide and lo and behold, we have exactly that travel guide too.

The best road trip feeling on the Carbot Trail

After two wonderful nights, we continue along the coast towards Cape Breton Island, where we spend our first night camping on the beach. Along the Celtic Trail, the road winds through forests, over lush meadows, long sandy beaches and finally rugged cliffs towards the Carbot Trail and Cape Breton National Park. 

We drive to Chéticamp and thus to Cape Breton National Park . Unfortunately, the large visitor center there is still closed, the season doesn't officially start until the end of June. At first we thought about taking this detour through the "tip" of Nova Scotia or heading straight for Newfoundland. The first few meters in the national park on the legendary Carbot Trail took our breath away, luckily we took this route. The sun was setting and the road winding along the coast was bathed in bright yellow light. The ultimate road trip experience that we hadn't expected at that time. 

We also did not expect the distances and the rather sparse infrastructure in this part of Nova Scotia. So the fuel gauge took us to Pleasant Bay , a small town surrounded by the national park. Luckily, because at the harbor there hundreds of gannets were diving into the water like spearheads to catch small fish. After this spectacle, we set up camp for the night right there at the harbor and watched the birds until late in the evening. 

Forests, bears, rain: natural wonders in Nova Scotia

The next day we continued on and shortly after setting off we spotted a mother bear with her two little babies in the bushes. Still completely inexperienced, we naturally got out and tried to photograph the bear team, thus scaring the wild animals away. Hindsight is always 20/20 and now we too are following the official rules of not getting out or following the animals to take great pictures. The Carbot Trail continues to meander along the coast, offering great views of the Bay of St. Lawrence and enchanting us with its lush forests. 

There is no bad weather…

Unfortunately, the orientation of the park (we crossed from the west side to the north side) meant that the weather changed suddenly. The sun in the morning turned to fog and rain in the afternoon. Nevertheless, we wanted to get moving and explore this wonderful nature. Equipped as if for a three-day hike, we set off on the short Aspy Trail , which leads to a small waterfall. The children and we were thrilled and breathed in the fabulous nature. Unfortunately, it started to rain on the way back, which ended in a heavy downpour and left us soaking wet when we got back to the van. We took off our rain gear, hung everything in the bathroom to dry and turned on the heating. 

We spend our next night at the Broad Cove Campground in the park, from where you can hike the Waren Lake Trail directly. The circular hiking trail runs along the shore through the coniferous forest and is beautifully laid out. Only our stroller sometimes reached its limits. Nevertheless, it was possible to walk around the lake with the stroller, although a backpack would have been a better choice. We spent the next night again at the Ingonish Beach Campground before heading towards northern Sydney, where the ferry from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland will take us the next morning. 

Departure towards Newfoundland

The rest of the route from Ingonish to North Sydney is scenically varied and offers spectacular views time and again. We recommend taking the turn-off from Route 312, which crosses the estuary with a small ferry in Englishtown. North Sydney itself is not very charming and is characterised by the character of a ferry port with a supply point. We spend the last few hours before the ferry departs and look forward to the upcoming adventures in Newfoundland .