Capturing the Beauty of Cabot Trail: A Photography Journey

Two weeks ago, we arrived home from a beautiful trip to Eastern Canada to experience the Cabot Trail, this is our story!

Welcome to my Cabot Trail Fall Photography Tour
~ I am excited to share our journey with you!

After visiting Halifax, Nova Scotia for our 20th Wedding Anniversary, our hearts lead us back for our 21st and this time, we headed directly to The Cabot Trail!

I felt inspired by this post, The Ultimate Fall Cabot Trail Road Trip, it was within this blog post where I found the gondola ride for those “unable to do this hike” of the Franey Trail. I am grateful for these shifts as its not easy at all for my husband to hike and this… was amazing! For us it was the best way to see it!

Our version of the trip would be great for someone with limitations for mobility with walking, especially uneven ground, damp weather, long distances – but want the beautiful photo experience. We knew coming into the trip, we would be doing the majority of the “Cabot Trail” by vehicle and stopping at view points or various towns etc. Since my husbands accident we adapt and the beautiful views and sights we are meant to see, we will! I am SO excited!!!

For the Photog’s Camera and Lenses – I initially had a lot more packed… and then I remembered I will need to carry my bag with me in the airport and to explore. I removed both macro lenses from my bag and even left my RF 28-70 f2.8 at home.

Camera – My main camera is my Canon R6MII + Backup Canon RP
Given that this trip was specifically to visit and photograph the Cabot Trail, the RP got to come too!

Lenses – Canon RF 15-30mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM + the Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM Lens with these two I can do the wide angle shots and the zoomed in. Yes both are not lower light at all, well without higher ISO. The purpose of this trip is exploring the beauty of Cape Breton along the Cabot Trail in natural light! I purchased my wide angle used from Henrys – highly recommend and I have seen the 24-240 come up available used as well for a great price. I purchased this lens last year before our first trip to Nova Scotia. Its a very versatile, all in one travel lens. Especially when weight is a factor.

I began with my R6MII + 15-30mm and then wanted to use my zoom. Since we had our own rental vehicle (Side note – also highly recommend renting your own vehicle and doing the trail yourself vs on a bus tour), I put my 15-30 on the Canon RP and then put my 24-240 on my R6MII. The zoom is a heavier lens and I love the feel of it on my R6MII vs the RP, which is much smaller. Our “surprise mid-size or larger” rental, was a brand new Ford F150 truck! Perfect for the days of road tours we had upon us! It worked out awesome so I could have both cameras ready for every stop. I used the wide angel on the RP, lighter lens, lighter camera, so much easier to use and oh my some of the wide angle shots were delicious!!!

If you are looking to upgrade to mirrorless, check out the Henry’s used section – great quality and prices. They have a few RP’s available, R6 and some others and an EF/RF adapter too! To be honest I was very hesitant to make the switch, its definitely not an affordable one, however with the lens adapter it does make it much easier so you can use your EF lenses on the RF mirrorless body. I still use a lot of my EF lenses with my mirrorless camera’s as I love the EF L lens quality, its absolutely gorgeous!

Camera Bag – To help distribute weight and ease for exploring on our trip, I opted to leave my bigger camera bag – Peak Design Everyday Sling 10L – with the extra lenses at home. I brought my Peak Design Everyday Sling 6L which can comfortably hold 1 camera body with a lens and an extra lens as well as my pouch with extra batteries and extra cards. I carried my Canon R6MII with the 15-30mm lens attached and the 24-240mm lens in the other side. My RP and the battery chargers for both cameras were in my Poppy and Peonies Nomad Backpack with my laptop, journal, book, tech case, oils – so many oils! This backpack is a carry on size and so versatile, I was able to put my sidekick “purse” in the top of it, so my Sling that had my R6MII + 2 lenses in was my “personal bag” for on the plane. Strategic!

Thursday September 25 – Happy 21st Year Anniversary to us! ❤
Work – finish up some things before we can take off for a few days, and Travel Day… We also we dropped off our dog to the kennel, the breeder where we bought our dog(s), Cooperslane, also board their own dogs after 1 yr. Its honestly so incredible and our dog LOVES his vacations with his doggy friends! When he was there the last time, so was his doggy brother and they had a blast!!!

We left with time to stop for lunch and traffic/construction. Got to the airport, left our vehicle with Park N Fly. This time we flew out of Toronto, to get the extra day and come home Tuesday, this was the only option. We can honestly say we both prefer flying out of Kitchener. The wait didn’t seem long, however it was a totally different experience, down to the people in the airport. Friendly airport reminder, when on vacation, allow yourself a good choice for a drink, now is not the time to cheap out on the taste that can linger 😉 AH good ol long island ice tea’s, so much better with good tequila, haha also takes me back to literally the time we met, in Connecticut such a shot in the dark chance of meeting, I loved my long island’s. These days I can tolerate a couple 😉

If you have the option when purchasing your plane ticket(s), always go for the extra leg room, its worth the extra $30-40! We were in the 4th row on the plane, seated next to a very nice older, West Jet retired stewardess, Cheryl. She was flying to Nova Scotia to meet up with a friend, Pam, in Nova Scotia. We all enjoyed a complimentary drink aboard the plane! We did receive an email to upgrade our seats, we could bid from $85 to about $250 each… we opted to not, but still had a benefit 😉

Arriving at the Halifax Airport, my husband went to get our “surprise” rental vehicle and I went to find our luggage. Hint, always take a picture of your luggage before you leave OR put something very identifiable on it. While waiting I enjoyed a lovely conversation with another older woman, who began by complimenting my hair colour, years prior hers was the same colour. She asked if we were visiting, I shared with her we were celebrating our 21st wedding anniversary, in true eastern fashion she complimented saying ‘congratulations, my goodness you don’t look old enough’… I finally found our luggage, when they removed all of the Toronto luggage, to make room for the Winnipeg luggage, where she had come from 😉 I found it and then found the husband, with the brand new F150 truck!

Our flight left at 535pm and arrived at 844pm approx Nova Scotia time, an hour ahead of our time in Ontario. After our slight delay with luggage, we made our 3 minute drive over to the HFX Airport Hotel for the night. Happy to see that their restaurant is open until midnight or later! Once we got checked in we went down to the restaurant, The Hidden Gem – I had fish and chips and he had the lobster bisque special. Both delicious and for someone with a sensitive stomach, no issues, much like last year, the food in Eastern Canada is fantastic!

I am excited to use this blog to document our travels and share some of the photography!

Friday September 26 – Travel Day – Truro + Baddeck

Today we travel up to Baddeck, where we will stay until Tuesday. As I type this, I am laying in bed, looking out the window, Ive been up since 5am – Ontario time and am watching the leaves on the trees and the light rain. We knew today would be hit and miss with weather, from what we saw last night it looks like the rain will be short lived and the sun will grace us at some point.

Breakfast – rather than eat a basic continential breakfast at the hotel, we opted to get ready and make our way up to Truro, on the way to Baddeck.

We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Fletcher’s in Truro. After picked up some drinks and snacks for when we arrive in Baddeck. The rain, was just stopping.

We found Victoria Park, so beautiful! You feel immersed in nature. We walked the Serpentine trail, to the look out, also where the sign said steep ahead. Hubby can’t do steep, and even after the 1km up and 1km back, he had discomfort, the damp weather not helping. We were happy to experience this part of the park, got some awesome pics!

Next, off to The Fundy Discovery Site! This was cool to see, how low the water goes is incredible!

For lunch we stopped in Port Hawksbury. First we stopped down at the small Harbour  and then ate at Miller’s Family Restaurant. I opted for a local white wine, Jost Pino Grigio, delicious!

We traveled the final stretch from Pork Hawksbury to Baddeck. The views, the water, so peaceful and tranquil.

We arrived at our hotel in Baddeck, The Silver Dart Lodge. Room 29.

We highly recommend this hotel if you are exploring the Cabot Trail, the rooms are very spacious, the people are wonderful, the food options are also delicious and the view from the dining room AND our own room of the lake, breathtaking! We opted for the King room with the lake view in the main lodge, we were in the 2nd building. A gorgeous view! The first image below, from the driveway and the 2nd from our balcony from our room.

Since we had traveled the day and it was damp, so the husband was not as comfortable, we opted to have dinner at the hotel, in the McCurdy Dining Room. A gorgeous view of the lake.

Saturday September 27

We started our day in the McCurdy Dining room for breakfast, a wonderful buffet option with coffee or tea.

Time to tour… we had only one destination in mind and stopping along the way at the various outlook points – oh my… Eastern Canada is gorgeous.

This was at the “beginning” of the trail, across from The Lobster Galley, we visited there for dinner. The views and colours, breathtaking!

There is a waterfall tucked back there, if you can spot the red chair, the water fall is to the left of it. We ‘found’ the waterfall on the way back down the trail and pulled in, I will share those photos later on in the blog however it meant me facing some deep fears and while in the moment of slight panic, I looked up and saw my husband looking back down at me. A moment of fear and then full trust!

We made our way to Meat Cove with a few stops on the way. Neil’s Harbour as well as all of the look out points along the way. Absolutely breathtaking views! We were lucky with great weather, a wee bit cool and windy right at the coast at Meat Cove, especially with how high we were up. These views, so worth the detour off the Cabot Trail to see this cove. I began facing my fears, stepping right to the edge to get photos, finding the confidence to tell my brain – we ARE safe, I AM getting this picture! 😉

Meat Cove is a scenic and picnic spot, there isn’t food to purchase at this time of year. Thankfully they do have very clean bathrooms. As I was sitting on the toilet, I read of their rules, no flushing toilet paper and to put in the receptacle provided, with thanks Kenneth McLellan, Manager.

My uncle, who passed earlier this month… Kenneth McLellan. I walked out and asked my husband for his phone to take a picture of the sign. This trip felt like a beautiful reset for both my husband and I, its been a hard year, and this sign touched our hearts, deeply. We are on the right path!

We enjoyed the views up high at the campground and down within the cove.

View of Meat Cove Campground from the road heading back to the trail.

We made our way back town the Cabot Trail. We began going counter clockwise up the right side of the trail, this way you are on the outside driving to stop and see the views. Our advice, after doing the trail, on the way up the right side, only stop at the pull off’s – its that side of the road, then make note of where you want to stop on the way back down. Will help prevent stopping at the same place twice, although when you do that, you will see something completely different – me and my camera did!

I met a couple new friends when we found the falls, that we had stopped at previously, to see the beach.

Time to find the front of this waterfall… and apparently face some deep height fears! So gorgeous! A must see at Still Brook! This is my one and only photo of the falls. Only one. I got the shot and I had to get back from the edge, I was then so focused on talking myself down from the fear, that I completely forgot to get more photos.

This image below is hard to look at now, I was so focused on getting the shot of the waterfall, I got myself down to a position to get the shot, and then realized… holy fuk I am literally out on a “limb”… This was in front of me. My holy sh*t moment truly.

As I was beginning to panic slightly, there I was with just my camera, no phone, nothing and all my husband knew is I was going to find the waterfall, he had no clue it was on a cliff. Then I looked up, and saw his face… Pam you CAN do this! My pure desire to get the shot got me down there, the trust and confidence in myself got me up. With the help of nature, literally grabbing tree by tree climbing up 😉 Oh I also highly recommend, just wear your running shoes regardless of how nice it is, I don’t recommend hiking down and up this in birk’s, however it did work!

See the big rock to the left, I was beside it on the left, and then almost to the top again below!

On our way back we found Morrison’s to stop for a late lunch!

Heading to Smokey Cove for the Gondola ride!

Dinner we went to the Lobster Galley, about 10 minutes out of Baddeck, on the right side of the Cabot Trail on our way back to the Silver Dart Lodge.

Sunday September 28

We had breakfast at the Salt Rock Restaurant at the Lyn Wood Inn. Walking in the front door, I had an instant connection. The layout was the same as my aunt and uncles home. The familiarity I felt was so comforting! Especially after seeing his name on our travels the day before. One of those other beautiful reminders, trust the path.

For the left side of the Cabot Trail, we decided to drive straight to Pleasant Bay, make notes on the way, and then when driving back to Baddeck (counter clockwise) we would stop at all the stops. This was a smarter decision – less in and out, more time being present.

Looking down to Pleasant Bay

Can you spot The Rusty Anchor above?

For lunch we stopped in Pleasant Bay, we were to be on a whale watching tour there this morning however it was cancelled last night due to predicted high winds. It was smart. In certain areas it didnt look rough at all, in open areas the waves were big! We had lunch at The Rusty Anchor. Another cute spot that of course served all the fish and seafood! The husband has been in his glory with lobster! The views from the restaurant were also awesome!

The views today, oh my! Just as beautiful. We opted to do half the trail in one day, driving the outside of the trail counter clockwise to be able to see and stop at the look out points. So today was the left side up from Baddeck to Pleasant Bay. The views, so beautiful. We stopped at all of the look out points. On the way back we stopped at the Fishing Cove look out, there is a trail you could hike, I think its approx 12 km.

We began the Skyline Trail in the park, got to the forks and he knew it was time to turn around.

The views on this side of the Cabot Trail were just as breathtaking!

The above photos were taken at Corney Brook.

This photo above was at La Bloc National Park. It was along this single road that we came upon skinny dippers, as he ran out of the water and made himself visible.

It can be varying factors, weather, humidity, temperature, sleep, daily pain/soreness, uneven ground/rocks etc. We knew this coming into the trip, because this is daily life with pain and discomfort, its frustrating for him because he is limited which he then feels limits me. I’m just as happy with him driving, us together sightseeing and stopping where we can for pictures. Doing it this way, we easily drove the trail in 2 days, right side up and back, left side up and back, coming back down is the outside so prepare for stops!

As I walked up to the edge of this cliff, my jaw dropped. The village of Margaree was just up the road. ‘You HAVE to come see this!’

We even stopped at some places that I would have never picked out on a map or specifically planed so that was really cool just driving and having a general idea of what and where to stop and see.

We took a turn and as I got out to take some scenic shots I looked over and saw some fishermen!

The MacKenzie River was also so beautiful!

This trail will take you to Fishermans Cove, its approx 12km. I did the first little bit to grab some photos while he waited in the vehicle. I went to the tree line 😉

For dinner we walked into town, it wasn’t even a 10 minute walk for us, easy down the road from our hotel.

Went to the Inverary Resort and went to the Lakeside Restaurant. I had said to myself husband earlier, as we were commenting on the vegetation of the land, other than salads there hadn’t been much offered for vegetables, ok also other than fries ;)! This evening, our dinner was delicious, of course Jaz had the lobster, after his crab legs appetizer. I enjoyed a ceasar salad and then the Atlantic Salmon dinner with broccolini, carrots and jasmine rice. It was delicious!!! We had a beautiful view of the water behind our table. So peaceful, I was wishing I had my camera with me when I saw a heron fly in!

Monday September 29

We went into Sydney Nova Scotia this morning, had a slower morning after 2 days of driving. Went and had massages in the city and then realized how much we wanted to get back to the country again. We began doing massages on the last day last year when we went, it was a great way to fully unwind before returning back to regular life. We stopped in Sydney at Ziggy’s for a couple appetizers and then made it back to Baddeck.

That evening we walked into Baddeck again, it is so convenient being that close. We went to eat at one restaurant however they were closed so we ended up back at the Lyn Wood Inn and had dinner there. Absolutely delicious!

Tuesday September 30

Travel day back to the Halifax airport! We were up in good time, packed up, had breakfast and then loaded up for the drive back. My camera’s were tucked in my bags, the photo files safely on my computer and ready for my touch once we got on the plane. I forgot how long it took to get through over 1000 different photos 😉

Our flight was on time and was good. We arrived home just in time for bed! One thing we did do was specifically planned to pick up our boy Gunner the next day, it worked much better for him and us. He once again, had a great time!

If you are a photographer I have to say this should be on your must see list – please if you are a photographer share some “must see’s” with me to experience!

I am happy with our experience of the Cabot Trail, when I began researching I was trying to plan out each specific day and was looking at multiple stays. Yes doable, however for us we felt more comfortable having a ‘home base’. If we were able to do more hiking, Im sure that would have changed and we would have for sure broken it into 3 days, to be able to hike the trails and stayed along the way – however also in saying that, I did like that we drove up and back the same way, so we got to see each side twice, and sometimes that allowed us to see that much more vs going in one direction. As I was researching and trying to plan, it began feeling very stressful, letting that go and each day just going with the flow, was perfect for us!

I have many more images of our Cabot Trail Experience on my flickr site…

http://www.flickr.com/zmijaourmomentsintime or click on the image below to view the album!

All images on this blog and flickr site are copyright Pamela Zmija. Do not copy or reproduce any image without written consent. Custom canvas art available by contacting Pam at the link above. Thank you for respecting my time and energy into my photography as a hobbyist photographer who is passionate of her art.