‘Ciad mile failte’ from New Scotland

Posted: March 24, 2010

With a history rooted in Celtic tradition you can expect ‘a hundred thousand welcomes' if you visit Nova Scotia.

Of course, Nova Scotia means New Scotland in Latin but before the late eighteenth century it was called Acadia (meaning ‘place of plenty') by French settlers. The relative proximity to Europe and its natural harbours made Nova Scotia an attractive landing site for immigrants to the ‘new world'. Nova Scotia also accepted English, Irish, Germans and many African slaves displaced after the American war of independence.

Nova Scotia has a link to Australia because it also has a city called Sydney named after Thomas Townsend the 1st Viscount of Sydney - who had Sydney Cove named after him. Sydney NS was a coal and steel city but has now become a thriving tourism centre with the world's largest Scottish fiddle (violin) on the waterfront.

If you look at a map of Canada, the province of Nova Scotia hangs off the eastern coast like a T lying on its side. It calls itself Canada's Ocean Playground because nowhere is more than 67 kilometres from the sea. To the north, Cape Breton Island juts into the Gulf of St Lawrence, to the west is the Bay of Fundy with the Atlantic to the south and east.

Being surrounded by water means the province does not have extremes of weather. Bear in mind though that with a top summer temperature in the mid twenties, it will be cooler than an Australian summer and along the coast fogs are not uncommon.

Being surrounded by water, fishing was a traditional industry but it collapsed in the 1990s due to over fishing. At the World Heritage listed port of Lunenburg you can see what fishing the Atlantic was like in the nineteenth century.

For excitement visit the Bay of Fundy where the tides rise and fall by up to 20 metres and you can go tidal bore rafting. If this is too challenging try a stroll along the beach fossicking for amethyst or fossils scoured out by the waves.

Cultural history and traditions have been preserved in many places. Arts, music, food and crafts are a thriving part of Nova Scotian life. You can appreciate the Scottish highland gatherings on Cape Breton Island and the annual Military Tattoo in Halifax. Acadian culture includes fabulous churches, fine food (including French bakeries), rug hooking (hand woven carpets) and folk art in Cheticamp. Many people still speak Gaelic and Irish music, dancing and festivals occur right through the year.

One advantage of being a small province is that it is easy to get around. Over 50% of the area is natural forest and moorland and the coastal cliffs and bays are spectacular.

When you leave, expect someone to say Slán (pronounced slawn) - farewell in Gaelic.