Destiny Lies in New Horizons

Invigorated by our recent return from Bayfield our excitement to be heading off in an unexpected direction and exploring new horizons bubbled and fizzed away inside us. We had absolutely no idea what to expect in Nova Scotia, we were stepping away from all the ‘best laid plans’ that we had spent four years finalising, our future was uncharted, and we were eager to take the leap into the unknown.

We had a day to tie up any loose ends and pack up ready for our departure, with our suitcases already packed (having never being unpacked) we cleaned and tidied the rental apartment, I mean it wasn’t messy or unclean, but I never waste opportunity to clean something, they don’t call me ‘Monica’ (from the Sitcom Friends) for nothing.

At this stage we were still waiting for the hard copies of our vehicle insurance, our permanent Ontario driver’s licenses, and our much-coveted Canadian Permanent Resident cards to arrive in the post. We left pre-paid envelopes for recorded delivery with our awesome Airbnb host who agreed to forward any mail that arrived for us once we left and had a new postal address.

You know it is cold outside when you go outside and its cold.

The day of the first leg of our journey started at 5am, the now unfamiliar early morning was a rude awakening seconded only by the shovel to the face that was walking into -12-degree temperatures which had our eyes watering, our noses running and our cheeks and hands stinging, suffice it to say we de-iced the Warlock in record time. Safely inside the now warm truck and after our warmup dance that involved much arm and hand flapping like demented chickens, we had enough sensation back in our extremities to head off without driving into the nearest lamp post.

Today would be a long day, we would be on the road for ten hours and our journey to the Big Axe would take us past Ottawa City and Montreal, we would then skirt alongside Quebec before heading further into New Brunswick. Having already discovered my inability to see over the bonnet of the truck and my predilection for highway verges we decided Martin would be taking the first leg of the drive where the traffic would be at its peak, we hoped to be through Montreal before rush hour started. Once the roads became quieter, we would swap until we reached our destination.

As expected, the roads around the cities were busy, the traffic was stop-start despite leaving early to avoid it. There was nothing special about the city scenery, apartment blocks, retail outlets, over-passes and graffiti lined the highway much like any city in the world, but we were hardly seeing the best of what these places had to offer to be honest driving through and skirting around them did not do them justice.

Had we not been on a tight time schedule we would have loved to take time to explore the Rideau canal or wander through the galleries and museums of Ottawa City or walk the cobblestone streets, admire the historic buildings, or sip coffee while watching the world go by in one of the cafes in Montreal but for now, we would have to take a rain check. Our fur babies would be arriving in Halifax in a matter of days.

The highways through Ottawa/Montreal and New Brunswick were poles apart, and the scenery changed dramatically. Wide open roads soon replaced the city landscape, frozen lakes greeted us at every turn and snow dusted trees stretched as far as the eye could see. At times, the roads were so quiet we often questioned whether it was a Sunday and not a Tuesday or whether there had been an apocalypse about which we did not know.

New Brunswick is a bilingual province, so we were excited to dust off our French speaking skills à la Del Boy and Rodder’s (from Only Fools & Horses) when we stopped off at the services to fill up with gas, have quick bite to eat and change drivers. It was hard to say whether the service attendant was over or underwhelmed with our butchering of the French language, she offered no greeting or farewell just a look of utter disdain. Thinking it was better to quit while we were behind, we hit the road once more.

In Ontario we had acclimatised ourselves to the frequent road signs warning of deer running into the roads, so it was both novel and amusing to see warning signs of moose bigger than cars roaming the roads through NB… These road signs had to be a joke, right? The scale of the moose had to be grossly exaggerated to emphasise the dangers of hitting one while driving surely? Well apparently, not! Further research revealed that they really are bigger than a car and as much as we would love to see one, we would prefer to admire it in a forest and from a safe distance and not driving at 110kph on the highway, the Warlock was a beast but even we knew we would lose that fight.

A seismic shift occurred within us as we weaved our way through the lakes and forests of NB, we stared wide eyed (while also keeping an eye out for giant moose) as stunning vistas appeared one after another. This was the Canada of our dreams, when we lived in NZ and imagined a life in Canada it was lakes, forests, and stunning landscapes that we had envisioned. Any lingering apprehension about moving to a new province drifted away with each kilometre we travelled.

After ten hours on the road and with voices dry and croaky thankfully from all the chatting and singing that we did on our journey and not from arguing about me driving too close to the bloody verge we finally arrived at the Big Axe. We were exhausted but buoyed by the sense of achievement at having successfully navigated our way to NB, and excited about the next leg of our journey which would be shorter. But for now, we were in desperate need of a cup of tea and a hot shower maybe even at the same time.

Suitably refreshed we headed out to find sustenance and evening entertainment if we were lucky, it was only the early evening, the night was still young. Well in New Brunswick during the winter and at the tail end of a pandemic the night was far from young in fact it was an octogenarian, tucked up in bed with its plaid flannel pj’s and thermal socks.

All the local restaurants and eateries that we had researched online before heading off had closed or were on restricted hours due to the winter or Covid. But there was no need to panic, all those weeks in our apartment in Nepean living like impoverished university students had prepared us for this very moment, we knew exactly what we had to do.

We returned to our accommodation a mere ten minutes later, arms laden with a feast of delectable delights plucked from the shelves of the local convenience store, with Doritos for our starter, Lean Cuisine sweet and sour chicken microwave meals for our main and chocolate chip cookies for dessert, who could ask for more? It was a dinner of champions; however, we should have included antacids to ease the killer heartburn that soon followed!

And a day shall come when I eat something healthy and proportioned …… But it is not this day!

Now we know it has been a while since we have had the drama of unexpected adversity thrown in our path but fear not readers because our next fix of calamity was imminent because little did, we know that while we had our minds on adventure trouble was brewing in NZ.

The delayed settlement of our house in NZ was fast approaching, with the finer details of the settlement left in the capable hands of our Lawyer and Jenn our amazing Real Estate Agent. We foolishly thought the settlement would go through without a hitch, after all everything had been quiet with no hint that there were any issues with either the house or the buyer. Well Silly us! The poop was about to hit the proverbial fan quicker than our Lean Cuisine microwave meals could go poppety ping!

Do not go looking for trouble; It is already looking for you.