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DESTINATIONS: The South Shore -- Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia from Jan/Feb 1994 issue of Wave~Length Scott Cunningham of Coastal Adventures, based in Tangier, Nova Scotia, Canada has now produced the second volume of his paddling route guide for Nova Scotia covering The South Shore and the Bay of Fundy. The South Shore of Nova Scotia extends southwest from Halifax around to Yarmouth where it gradually blends into the Bay of Fundy. From headland to headland it stretches a distance of about 325 km but, as with the Eastern Shore, inclusion of all the harbours and inlets would inflate this figure several fold. This is a young submerged coastline, highly irregular, with drowned estuaries and headlands producing a largely indented coast, fringed with islands. This feature, couple with localized sediments has contributed to a large number of habitats: sand and cobble beaches, mud flats and salt marshes. The predominant feature, however, is the rocky shore. The most remarkable feature, of course, is the extreme tidal range of the Bay of Fundy. The Bay is a funnel shaped tongue of ocean separating Nova Scotia from New Brunswick stretching over 200 km from its mouth in the Gulf of Maine to its upper reaches. The special nature of the Bay of Fundy follows from its extreme tides. These range from about 20 feet at the entrance to a record of 58 feet at Burntcoat Head, in the Minas Basin. The province's South Shore has a great deal to offer the coastal paddler. It is unspoiled, easily accessible, and you can put in almost anywhere. Camping on the islands isn't a problem. Services (gas stations, grocery stores, and accommodation) are available in the numerous towns and villages, and tourists are welcome. If the weather is poor you can still find sheltered groups of islands for your trip or head inland to Kejimekujik National Park. If the weather is good, your options along the coast are limitless. (excerpted from the guidebook) Coastal Paddling Routes in Nova Scotia: the South Shore and the Bay of Fundy (8.5 x 11 fomat, cerlox bound, 106 pages) is available from Scott Cunningham, Coastal Adventures, PO Box 77, Tangier, N.S. B0J 3H0 or calling (902) 772-2774. DESTINATIONS: Doubtful Explorations -- New Zealand by Scott Melzer from Jan/Feb 1994 issue of Wave~Length Riding in the back seat of a double cab truck with four kayaks on the roof and bouncing over the roughest road in the world with snow falling all around us, I wonder how I have gotten myself into this mess. My new fibreglass kayak is riding atop three plastic boats above us on the roof rack. The driver who is transporting us across the Wilmot Pass to Doubtful Sound doesn't give a damn about them and the ropes are getting looser and looser. I finally demand that he stop and let us adjust the ropes. Getting out of the truck, I glance down through falling snow to Doubtful Sound, 2200 feet below. All doubt is banished as I see just pure beauty of the most natural kind. This is Fiordland National Park, the southwestern part of New Zealand's south island. Fiordland is one of the most remote places in the world. This area is impressive, with overpoweringly steep mountains and narrow valleys. For the last million years this region has been subjected to intense glaciation. The present result is almost sheer vertical walls rising from sea level to around 3000- 4000 feet. This midwinter trip is a fact-finding mission. Although we have heard that the weather is best at this time of year, we expect little sun. Because the sun at its highest point midday during the winter solstice (late June) is only 21 degrees from the horizon, and due to the height of the mountains and the narrow valleys, at least half of Fiordland receives no direct sunlight during winter. Nevertheless, four of us are tempting the frost monsters, and already, on our first day, we have verified Fiordland's reputation of quick changing weather with wind, hail, sun and rain, making us feel very small. We quickly learn why some of the surrounding areas are called Refrigerator Valley and Hurricane Passage. Arriving at Deep Cove at the head of Doubtful Sound the wind is so strong we can hardly stand. After unloading the kayaks and gear we search for an answer to our first problem. It is too windy to paddle and there is nowhere to stay or camp in Deep Cove. Camping in the Sound is generally difficult as flat ground is rare. We are lucky to hitch a ride onboard the Seaspray (a cray fishing boat) that takes us out Doubtful Sound towards Secretary Island where there is a forestry hut we can stay in. We spend four days at the hut with short kayak trips in between lightning, thunder, gales and hail storms. The weather finally clears and we set off to explore some of the arms of the Sound where we meet up with dolphins, seals, and many different types of birds. On our last day, at the head of Crooked Arm, we awake to the most wonderful morning of the trip. It is clear and very cold with frost on everything including our wetsuits, which require a bit of courage to put on. Packing up and heading back to Deep Cove, we encounter a very unnerving occurrence. Doubtful Sound gets around 300 inches of rain a year which produces hundreds of beautiful waterfalls and 10 to 15 feet of fresh water on top of saltwater at the heads of the arms. The combination of fresh water (which is lighter and freezes at a lower temperature than salt) and the flat calm have created a continuous sheet of ice 2 mm thick, shore to shore, and about 4 to 5 kilometres long. We have no choice but to paddle through it. Although extra work is needed, we encounter no real problems, just our fears of what could have happen if the ice had been any thicker. All in all, our twelve day trip went relatively smoothly. Given the remoteness and remarkable beauty of the area I consider Fiordland National Park a premier sea kayaking destination. I plan to return, armed with the experience gained and knowing that no amount of preplanning can take into account all of mother nature's little surprises. For information about Fiordland National Park contact: Scott Melzer, c/o Te Hoiere Sea Kayaks, Box 33, Havelock, Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. Ph: 035742610. Fax: 035742333 Or the Department of Conservation , PO Box 29, Te Anau, New Zealand. Ph: 032497921