Oven Caves

Before leaving Moncton, we decided to cut our driving time in half by heading to Oven Caves Natural Park on Nova Scotia's South Shore instead of going to Kejimkujik National Park. The quick change in plans was a bit of a gamble, as we were going only on Oven Caves' website, but the payoff was huge.

Oven Caves is a massive, privately-owned campground that's a bit rundown these days, but still quite phenomenal. It extends out from a long, craggy shoreline, which is dotted at the northern end with dark, dripping caves. On the short hike out to the last cave, you can see, before you hear, the waves crashing magnificently through the small opening in the rock and hitting the far wall of the cave, producing a sound not unlike a sea monster, we imagined.

Later on, we created our own natural wonder: fire. Adam put his Scouting skills to good use at our campsite, building a bobbing little campfire, hammering tent pegs into the ground, and teaching me how to light our tiny stove. Meanwhile, I made myself busy gathering kindling and roasting pork sausages with baked apples in the fire.

There has never been a lot of love lost between the great outdoors and I, but Oven Caves is exactly how I want to camp if I ever do it again.