I got it all: snow, ice, gusty winds, rain, floods and sun
Halifax to Cape Briton
After the repair job of my Defender was completed, I drove from Halifax in southern direction to Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse one of Nova Scotia´s landmark icons. From here I headed North again to Cape Briton. The Cape welcomed me with blue skies but freezing temperatures. I found my way along the Cabot Trail into the National Park and stayed overnight in Pleasant Bay a small campground in the park. Since the season had not started yet, I was the only guest. The next day the weather had changed to overcast with patches of rain and gusty winds. At the very North in Meat Cove the weather was almost not bearable anymore and the forecast for the next days was not promising. There was no other alternative than leaving Cape Briton and to see whether Prince Edward Island got better weather conditions.
Prince Edward Island
A free of charge ferry took me from the main land to Prince Edward Island. In Canada the season starts in June. Before that, almost every campground is closed and even Motels might be still closed. This said, P.E.I. felt like “we are closed, happy to welcome you later”. Fortunately, after a search of nearly two hours, I found in the North of the island a small cottage which just opened on the day of my arrival. For that night I was the first and only guest in 2019. The island itself is sweet, lots of farms inside of the island and nice sandy dunes at the coast.
Bic National Park
For some change of 45 CAN$ I took the bridge which connects P.E.I. with the mainland of New Brunswick. From here the journey continued in westerly direction through dense forests. Due to the unusual Canadian winter all trees were more or less under water and the rain was continuously pouring down. Closer to the mouth of the St. Lawrence stream the sky brightened up and I traveled along the river to the Bic National Park. Bic NP is one of the smallest National Parks I have ever seen, but beautiful and worth for visiting.
Quebec, Montreal, Toronto
Continuing my journey along the St Lawrence river I reached Quebec City. Well, parking in Quebec is a challenge and the same is true for Montreal and Toronto. In the nutshell I made a drive through sightseeing for all three cities. Although I must admit Quebec City, especially the old town, is worth to stay a few days for visiting. In Montreal the weather did not allow for a city stop and in Toronto, it was a weekend, it seemed that everybody had the same idea and went to town. After 4 hours going from one traffic jam to another I was happy to leave for Niagara Falls.
Niagara Falls
Just a few miles before Niagara Falls I found a small privately run campground next to a river. The bathrooms were the cleanest I had found so far on my trip and the showers had sufficient hot water, what a treat. From here I visited the Falls from the Canadian side only. To my surprise, there were hardly any visitors. Ok, one or two busloads of Asian hardcore travelers dressed-up as if the next stop will we the Arctic circle.
What's next
The weather conditions so far were not as great and since the season had not started yet in Canada most campsites were closed. In Niagara Falls I made a decision to continue my travels in the USA in the hope that a roughly 1000km more southern route would provide for warmer and drier conditions.
