Cross Canada and Back, Part 28

Camping in Val-Comeau and Visiting Metepenaciac, Red Bank, New Brunswick

July 23rd 2011 we traveled north along the east coast of New Brunswick to the Acadian Peninsula to Val Comeau just before Tracadie-Sheila. 

The Acadian colours are dominant on this part of the coast

View Val-Comeau, New Brunswick in a larger map

The Camping Plage Val Comeau is a beautiful spot right on the point between the Gulf of St.Lawrence and the Tracadie River.  The very friendly owners welcomed us and suggested strongly not to miss the good food of the cantine next door. 

We are camped in Camping Plage Val Comeau

Our camping spot was right up front on the river with a great view. Here too, many seasonal RV' s are enjoying the summers here. As we found out later, many of the people come here every year for the summertime, and yet they live, and often work very close by. 

Camping at the mouth of the Tracadie River

Birdwatchers paradise

One of our neighbours came here for the last 15 years. The language of choice is Acadien French, but most people are fully bilingual. Anders felt that he should increase his French vocabulary and asked the neighbour  while talking about the different trailers what a "Fifth Wheel Trailer" is called in French. The neighbour looked at him, shrugged his shoulder and said: "un Fifth Wheel". Anders now thinks that French is easy.

Liz on the other side of the peninsula facing the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, about 400 meters from our camp site.

The beaches go on forever.

We decided to drive back through Miramichi to Red Bank. There we visited the oldest continuously occupied Mi'kmaq Village. The architecturally beautiful Metepenagiag Heritage Park building was finished just a few years ago.

Liz at the Metepenagiag Aboriginal archaeological site.

The video and the exhibit are well worth visiting. It gave us a good idea of the ancient culture of the Mi'kmaq people. The Metepenagiag ( Red Bay ) area has more Aboriginal archaeological sites per km²  than anywhere else in the Maritime Provinces.

Lifestyle of the Mi'kmaq People

Village Site of the Mi'kmaq People

The Oxbow site on the Little Southwest Miramichi river, re-discovered in 1977 through the guidance of Elder Joseph Augustine, flourished for generations as a warm-water fishing village. Here the people lived in Wigwams and not in Tipis. 

Wigwam in the forest on one of the trails

Mi' kmaq children were taught about their place in the world, learned about the plants and animals, the history and customs of their people,and they learned how to make a paddle, paddle a canoe,and as a woman how to erect a Wigwam. 

Growing Up Mi'kmaq

Mi' kmaq are still famous storytellers, that's why we know some of their past. The bowls, baskets, canoes, cradle-board and other artifacts are beautiful.

Sunset over Tracadie River

Sunset over Tracadie River

Back at the Campsite in Val Comeau we enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the Tracadie River after our horrendous experience of the Storm which overturned several campers in the park. See our earlier blog Winds Storm in New Brunswick.

Sunset over Tracadie River... Nature showing off.

Evening Sky Over Tracadie River

For more pictures of this part of our trip click the images below or go directly to the Val Comeau slide show or the Metepenaciac slide show.

Val Comeau Camping

Metepenaciac, Red Bank, oldest Mi'kmaq villae

  

Cheers,

Liz and Anders

Here are some shortcuts to all the blogs from our Cross Canada Trip. Just hover over the number to see where it will take you

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Cross Canada and Back, Part 27

Kouchibouguac National Park of Canada, New Brunswick

It's July 21st and day 67 of our Cross Canada Round Trip

We had a short drive from Shediac north up to Kouchibouguac National Park. Kouchibouguac National Park in the Province of New Brunswick is located on the north coast of this beautiful province. Kouchibouguac is an absolutely wonderful park and we recommend to stay here at least 3-4 days. 

Kouchibouguac National Park

View Kouchibouguac National Park of Canada in a larger map


Kouchibouguac is of Mi'kmaq origin and means the "river of the long tides". Kouchibouguac is an incredible fascinating mosaic of bogs, salt water marshes, tidal rivers, a sparkling freshwater systems, sheltered lagoons, abandoned fields and tall forests that characterizes the Maritime Plain Natural Region. You will even find plants that eat bugs, pretty cool!

Liz with two park employees showing off the bug eating plants.

Bug eating plants, munch,  munch....

The campground is one of the best, even though it only offers electric service. The camp-sites are very large and you can get a wooded area or open. The open areas are in my opinion the best. They are level and have a fire pit/place.

Anders enjoying the fire.

Liz

Kouchibouguac National Park was established in 1969. The park is 238 km² and offers year around activities. Kouchibouguac River goes right through the park into the Northumberland Strait. This slow moving river is great for canoeing / kayaking and you will more then likely see some wildlife on your venture. We did not see any large animals when we were there, however this is black bear country so be alert. Canoe rental are available in the park.

At the mouth of Kouchibouguac River flowing into Northumberland Strait

Boardwalks over the lagoons to the sand dunes.

If you prefer to stroll the incredible sandy beaches  with sand dunes they seems to go on for ever, you will need weeks to cover them all. The water in this part of the Northumberland Strait is very warm in the summer and here are some of the warmest waters north of Virginia. The Kouchibouguac sand dunes are my absolute favourite and as you can tell from our pictures. It does not matter if the rain is coming down..... If it's warm, let it rain.

Liz on the beach at Kouchibouguac National Park

Lunch on the beach at Kouchibouguac National Park

So beautiful

We have a storm coming in

The park also has over 60 km of biking and hiking trails that are very popular. In the winter cross country skiing, snowshoeing and tobogganing are popular activities.

It's raining

Two wet rags

Just loving it

Kouchibouguac is a birdwatcher's paradise with the second largest Tern colony in North America. The sand dunes are also home to the endangered Piping Plover. 

Tern in flight

Tern diving

Got the fish?

Piping Plover

For more information on the park, check out the Park Canada website.

We have many more pictures from the park in our on line Picasa Web Album. Click image below or go directly to slide show.

Kouchibouguac National Park NB

Cheers,

Liz and Anders

Here are some shortcuts to all the blogs from our Cross Canada Trip. Just hover over the number to see where it will take you

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White - Sided Dolphins

White - Sided Dolphins Visiting Cortes Island, BC

Not sure which book I'm thinking of maybe it's "The Richest Man In Babylon" where the fellow sells all his land and travel the world looking for diamonds. Finally broke, he returns to his home land to find that the person that bought his land found diamonds in the creek on the property he used to own.

Maybe this is a little bit like that. We traveled all across this wonderful country of ours and returned to this wonderful piece of paradise called British Columbia to find nature showing off at it's outmost.

Here they come

The other day our neighbour John came over and told us there were dolphins in the bay. Sure enough there they were, going like crazy. They swam back and forth a few times then they disappeared.

White-Sided Dolphins in Smelt Bay, Cortes Island, BC. Canada

Later when I was out fishing for sole (" I'm the sole man") they came to visit me. They came right for me.... not sure what to do, I started the motor and got up to a slow cruise.... They followed and came up on my side about 30 to 40 ft from me. Then they decided my little boat, "Bubbles" is something to play with. They swam all around me and splashed water in the boat. It was such a rush, words can not describe.

The part of the movie in the boat is a bit shaky, but I think you get the idea. It was out of this world, fantastic!!

The dolphins, I think are White - Sided Dolphins which have three colours. The chin, throat and belly are creamy white.

The beak (mouth), flippers, the back, and dorsal fin are of a dark gray colour. There are light gray patches on the sides of the body and a further light gray stripe running from above the eye to below the dorsal fin where it thickens along the tail. There is also a dark gray ring surrounding the eyes.

Incredible

Females weigh up to 150 kilograms (330 lb) and males 200 kilograms (440 lb). The males can reach 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) in length and females 2.3 meters (7.5 ft).

Females reach maturity at 7 years and a gestation period of one year. These wonderful individuals can live 40 years or more.

The Pacific White-sided Dolphin is extremely active and playful. It readily approaches boats and bow-rides.... no doubt about that one. Large groups are common averaging 90 individuals or so and super-groups of more than 300 can be found. 

They love fish and the main prey is mainly hake, anchovies, squid, herring, salmon and cod which they munch up with their 60 some teeth.


Hope you enjoy the movie.


Cheers,


Liz and Anders

Cross Canada and Back, Part 26

Drive to NB, Shediac, Cap-Pele, Bouctouche Dunes

It is July 19th 2011, and day 65 of our trip.

We received word that our trailer was fixed, and it was ready to roll with the new axle installed. After anohter wonderful breakfast at Peter and Maia's, we left Nova Scotia, and headed for Prince Edward Island where we picked up our trailer. 


View Drive to NB, Shediac, Cap-Pele, Bouctouche Dunes in a larger map


As we crossed the wonderful Confederation Bridge again the sun was shining down on us. 

Confederation Bridge

Confederation Bridge

There was an extra charge this time to cross the bridge, a cost of $7.00 per extra axle, equals $14.00 for a total of $55.00. We headed  for the town of Shediac on the North/East Coast of New Brunswick.

We took the "Acadian Coastal Drive" up the beautiful coast line. We arrived in Shediac and were setting up camp at the Parlee Beach Campground. It's a provincial campground and is run very well. 

Parlee Beach

Parlee Beach

What is really nice in New Brunswick is that most people are totally bilingual. They switch back and forth from English to French without a problem or an accent. I wish I could do that.

We went for a long walk on the beach and sat and enjoyed the sunset.

Parlee Beach

Parlee Beach

The next morning after breakfast and a bit of computer work, we decided to drive to Cap Pelé which is famous for its smoked fish. 

Amazing the people along the coast here seem very well off. Their homes are super well kept, the grass is trimmed  to golf course standards, and flowers and flower baskets decorate  their  homes.

Cap Pele area home

Cap Pele area home

In Cap Pelé there are tons of fish processing plants in operations. We picked up some smoked herring and headed back north. We stopped in at our trailer to drop off the herring, and enjoyed a café crème made by our trusted coffee machine.

On the road again we stopped in at Canadian Tire in Shediac, and bought a couple of lawn chairs ( we felt that summer finally had arrived). 
Further up the coast, we found our way to the Eco-Centre Irving, at La Dune de Bouctouche.

Visiting La Dune de Bouctouche

La Dune de Bouctouche with its boardwalk

These sand dunes are a must to see if you visit the area. The sand dunes stretch for about 12 km along  Bouctouche Bay. They are the result of the constant action of the wind, tides, and the sea currents. Here you can also find some of the warmest waters on the east coast.

At La Dune de Bouctouche

Part of the dunes have a wonderful boardwalk. We spent hours just walking along and taking it all in. Unfortunately some of the east coast storms have done serious damage to the boardwalk.

Damaged boardwalk at La Dune de Bouctouche

For more pictures of this part of our trip, click the picture below, or go direct to the slide show here.

Drive to NB,Shediac,Cap-Pele,Bouctouche Dunes

Cheers,

Anders and Liz

Here are some shortcuts to all the blogs from our Cross Canada Trip. Just hover over the number to see where it will take you

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