In Search of Sea Caves (and Gold!)

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

LISTEN HERE

On our trip to the area near Halifax, Nova Scotia, (NS) we planned to ride our adaptive tandem bicycle on the multiple rail trails that are available in that area. The Salt Marsh Trail and St. Margaret’s Bay Trail ended up providing us with plenty to see on our travels. The rigors of setting up our tandem and riding up to twenty+ miles per outing means we take a rest day between the times when we venture out on the rail trails.

One of our “off” days took us to the Lunenburg, NS area. While looking at maps, we spotted a reference to The Ovens, in Riverport, near Lunenburg, which promised a cliff walk and sea caves.

The first sea cave access point required navigating a steep set of stairs. The railing down the middle of the steps offered support, but it was steeper than I was comfortable with. My husband ventured down alone while I took in the ocean views nearby.

What we did not understand till we arrived was that this area was the site of a gold rush in the early 1860s.

Traces of that gold remain and visitors are invited to try their luck panning for gold along the seashore.

When we arrived, visitors were down at the beach with their prospecting equipment, bending over, scooping up gravel, panning for treasure.

Various interpretive markers help tell the story of the mining efforts here, although the Ovens’ website conveys the history in more detail.

A relatively easy walk led us along the cliff edges that overlook a series of sea caves underneath our feet. Some stretches of the foot path were widened and had a level layer of gravel that eased our way. Benches along the way offered places to rest and take in the stunning views. A number of spots along the walkway required climbing up or down stairs to see the caves better.

Several other viewing platforms were built along the path for visitors to enjoy. They offer better views of the dynamic sea caves than simply remaining on the gravel path. Reaching some of these viewpoints was manageable for me, with assistance. One narrow stairway leading down near the shoreline required a tight squeeze between rock walls. I stayed near the top while my husband headed down to investigate.

The sea caves in this area bear the brunt of strong waves that crash against the rocks. Like the perhaps more famous (at least in the U.S.) “Thunder Hole” of Acadia National Park in Maine, Thunder Cave at the Ovens offers a similar whoomp! thumping sound that we felt underneath our feet when standing near the entrance. Like Thunder Hole, the sound effects of the collision of rocks and waves surging into and out of the caves at the Ovens are much more pronounced at mid tides.

Whenever we set out to explore we make time to stop and investigate interesting spots along the way. A small beach along the roadside looked like a nice place to spend some time next to the water. Our puffin friends had been left behind on several of our outings so I took them along to the beach and invited them to enjoy the shoreline.

We made one more stop on this non-biking adventure day. The town of Lunenburg is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. The significance of the area is not readily apparent to the casual visitor. However, with just a little searching we learned that, acording to the UNESCO World Heritage organization, Lunenburg is the “best surviving example of a planned British colonial settlement in North America.”

We walked along the docks of Lunenburg, got some great views of sailing ships tied to those docks, and later walked alongside the river.

A small gravel footpath made for an Easy Walk along the waterfront, with benches in place to invite visitors to rest a while.

Both Canada and the U.S. celebrate Labor (or Labour) Day the same weekend in September. We had not intentionally planned our trip to coincide with this end of summer event, but there we were. For most of our trip we found places that were not crowded. Local beaches and Lunenburg were the exceptions. We found many other places that offered solitude, quiet, and magnificent views. It’s a long way from home (for us) but I hope we will be able to return. We barely scratched the surface of places we would like to see. Till next time, happy trails!

Marjorie

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors, and is the author of Easy Walks in Massachusetts, 2nd edition, More Easy Walks in Massachusetts, 2nd edition, Easy Walks and Paddles in the Ten Mile River Watershed, Easy Walks South of Boston and Finding Easy Walks Wherever You Are. Her memoir, the backstory of Easy Walks, is My Liturgy of Easy Walks: Reclaiming hope in a world turned upside down.