St Marys River

I thought st Mary River deserved a mention its own right. It was 8 miles of river that we needed to be negotiate on the way to Sherborne, which was our planned destination for the night. It is one of Nova Scotia longest navigable rivers, it has a frontier and industrial history. I am sure its qualities are ignored by the local in habitants. It reminds me of the river Tamar that is right on my doorstep. I had no idea how pretty the Tamar was and how full of wildlife it was until I canoed it. The first time I canoed the Tamar I saw Kingfishers, Otters and salmon Dippers and was amazed by the varied and remote country side it led us through. The St Marys river gave the the same surprise and pleasure. As we approached the mouth from the sea it was dense, dense fog. We bouy hopped our way into the river. A local small pot boat followed us in from the murk and as he overtook us they had a squadron of birds in tow. The first clue to the diversity of the river was in the squadron were 3 Ospreys, ducking and clawing for the scraps. By the time we had done 1 mile of the 8 any sign of the fishing community had gone and we were into pristine river. About 1/3 of a mile wide. Not that deep. The for was left at see and the we had blue sky. The bank was mostly dense impenetrable forest with the odd meadow area. Our path through the deep water made us meander from bank to bank as the river narrowed some parts of the river went to less than 2 metres deep.. Bald eagles, Osprey, Merlin all types of waders and Loons even the hint of an otter (not confirmed) really nice few hours. Next job find a spot to and how in the river near Sherborne which had now narrowed and shallowed quite a bit.Read more