Monday 1 September 2014

Tony's Trip to Canada - The Saint-Felicien Wild Zoo.

My first planned stop out of Quebec city was due north to Saint-Felicien and its Wild Zoo. The wild zoo is known for its train tour where the animals are wild and the carriages are caged. This gives the animals considerably larger domains and more natural conditions than in many zoos, although electric fences were still visible around some areas. The zoo specialises in northern and arctic species and even includes a polar bear.

Caged bus-train carriage.

The animals are quite used to the train, it is quite peaceful.

First black bear, resting beside a hut.

Grizzlies in their own domain.

More black bears.

Bison resting in the sun.

Another black bear. Normally, not something you encounter every day.

And another with cubs.

A Crane.

Wild Turkeys and a small deer.

A Bobcat.

A not very active Bear.

The Asian section had Snow Monkeys ...

... and Tigers.

While Corine was heading towards the real Mongolia, I had to settle for the Mongolian section of the zoo. It had Camels and Przewalski's horses ...

... Yaks ...

... a Ger kitted out in the traditional colours ...

... and Ibex.

Continuing on were Racoons ...

... and Martens.

An aviary full of Bald Eagles.

A lonely Wolverine.

Three playful Otters, one in the water.

A family of Beavers.

A Canadian Lynx.

The lone Polar Bear. He seemed to be having a great time in and out of the water.

A Snowy Owl.

Back to the Beavers.
There were plenty of other creatures but they didn't sit still long enough to get good photos.

Tony's Trip to Canada - Quebec city to Nova Scotia.

While Corine was taking the Trans Siberian railway, I was in eastern Canada. I started with a week at the IGARSS conference in Quebec city and then started a ten day road trip from Quebec city to Nova Scotia and back. Canada is a huge country and even my small travel plan ended up being too ambitious. My first stop was actually in the opposite direction as I headed north to Saint-Felicien and its Wild Zoo (in a separate blog post). Then I headed back across the Saint Lawrence river, down through New Brunswick and into Nova Scotia. The plan was to go all over Nova Scotia, but I only had time for the north east cape of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick on the way down and back. The main destinations were the bay of Fundy, cape Breton highlands national park and Louisbourg. I prioritised the wilderness and food and got plenty of both. From isolated beaches and moose in the forests, to eating lobster and crab at the harbours. Here is a small selection of photos from the trip.

Flying over Greenland with its amazing glaciers.

Conference centre in Quebec city with leaping wolf statue.

Artisan street in the rain, great rabbit restaurant down the end.

Fantastic wall painting, depicting the local history and culture.

The Chateau Frontenac hotel dominates the city.

Extra-large street art.

Beautiful Melvin beach all to myself.

Harbours on the Bay of Fundy have extreme tides. These boats at St. Martins will have to wait a while.

Nova Scotia's coastline. Lighthouse cove, Louisbourg.

Louisebourg's fortress historical reenactment ...

... including powder and pellet rifles ...

... and cannons.

Final day. Quebec city seen across the Saint Lawrence river from Levis.