It is
Labour Day today but we are not really sure what that means other
than that it is a public holiday. We drove down to the centre of
Digby, a small fishing village but with a nice feeling to it, before
heading down to Digby Neck, a long, thin, spit of land heading out
into the Bay of Fundy. Apart from fishing, the main activity here is
running whale watching tours and this is what we have come here to
do.
As it is now the end of season some campgrounds are starting to
close down we had a choice of one out of one and checked into the
Whale Cove campground. As with some of the others we have stayed at
it looks like people with a big garden have simply put the land to
use by adding water and electric hookups and a shower block. It was
midday-ish when we got there and we had the pick of all the sites,
opting for one with views out over the bay from where we should get
yet another great sunset.
The road along the Neck have seen better days so it was a bit of a
bumpy ride. We passed through Sandy Cove, Tiddville and more tiny
villages before hitting the first excitement of the day. At the end
of Digby Neck are two islands, Long Island and Brier Island. To get
to the you have to take a little ferry across the water, less than a
five minutes ride. They run to a loose schedule but basically leave
as soon as it is full. The ferry was waiting as we arrived and as
soon as we were on board it pulled away. At Tiverton, the road wound
through a little village full of lobster pots and whale watching
opportunities before stretching out and down to the next ferry
across to Brier Island. Here too we were just in time for the next
departure.
At Westport we went in search of a whale watching tour. The first
one did not leave for another three hours but Stef managed to snag
the last two places on a different boat which was leaving in ten
minutes. With time only to grab fleeces, camera and a drink we
hopped aboard for four hours out on the open water. In the bay there
was an Atlantic salmon fish farm. Large netted enclosures joined
with wooden walkways were home to thousands (I think they said ten
thousand) of salmon. They are pretty active and you could see them
leaping out of the water.
We hoped to see a variety of different whales but we only saw one
Sei whale and quite a few humpbacks. The guide explained that the
tides in the Bay of Fundy have created sands banks that result in
high densities of krill and plankton, favourite foods of the whales.
Each year, the same whales come through this areas as they migrate
south. Two surveys have been done in recent years to try and size
the population which they estimate to be about fourteen thousand.
Researchers have photographed the tail fins of the humpbacks, each
of which is unique like a fingerprint. They then collectively decide
on names for the whales. The main guide on the boat knows them well
and quickly identifies them by name.
Nice view from our cosy
bedroom
Humpbacks are usually solitary creatures, probably just as well
given the amount of food they need. If they traveled in groups they
would soon exhaust the available food supply. As baleen whales they
have lots of gill like plates in their mouths that simply filter the
food from the water. We saw a couple of lone humpbacks, then two
lots of mothers with their calves and finally a group of three
together. They are enormous animals. A few came close to the boat
and in the clear waters we got a great view from nose to tail. They
normally only show from their blow hole to tail above water. It was
as if they were watching us as much as we were watching them. The
calves were very playful, rolling in the water, displaying flippers
as well as tail fins and generally just fooling around. It is
difficult to capture the sight n words but it was pretty amazing to
see.
Our trip took us round Brier Island, past a colony of sea lions (we
are now both a bit passé about them having seen so many in South
America) and back round to the harbour. A very worthwhile trip and
muti-national too - British, German, Dutch, Japanese as well as
Canadians and Americans. We had got a good perch at the back of the
boat marred only by very large American women who ate crisps, drank
Coke and smoked all the time. As the tide was out when we got back
to the harbour there was a short but relatively steep uphill from
the boat to the dock. They struggled to make it!
Back on land we took a brief detour to see the monument dedicated to
Captain Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail single handed around
the world. Stef has read the book Slocum wrote about his adventures
- no satellite navigation, on board computers and support team for
him and he had to fight off the hostile natives at Patagonia. Not surprisingly it took him a bit longer than Ellen McArthur
to get round.
With this little detour we were last in the queue for the ferry back
to Long Island. It was full and being low tide there was a steep
ramp to drive down to get on board. I waited at the top to be called
down not wanting to have to try and reverse Mortimer back up. There
was space for a car but I did not think we would fit in. They waved
me down and I reckon there must have only been a few centimetres of
space either end of us. Having been right at the front on the way
out we were right at the back now but we fitted in and off we
sailed. The Long Island to Digby Neck ferry was not so crowded and
before long we were back at our campsite.
The view out to sea was superb and the sunset was stunning. Vaughn,
the campground owner, came to have a chat. He had a strange accent
with a strong Cornish lilt but was born and has lived all his life
at Whale Cove. He left me with the impression that times are hard
and that until recently he worked on the ferries but he gave no
indication of why that was no longer the case. They try to keep the
campground open as late in the year as they can, usually through to
the end of October. After that the weather becomes too harsh. The do
not usually get high snow fall, just one or two feet, but it
normally quickly goes to slush, except when they get a nor'easter
which freezes the lot!
We had an Atkins diet barbecue of pork (very tasty), lamb (not my
favourite) and more bland, tasteless and tough Canadian steak and
then sat and watched the sunset and the stars. It was a clear night
and there is hardly any light pollution here so it was a great night
for star gazing. The Milky Way was really clear and we saw shooting
stars, satellites and a fair few planes as well!
