Halifax
Today we docked in Halifax, a diverse harbour city location on the Eastern edge of Canada. It has beautiful harbour with amazing and rich history and delightful ambience in the city. It was a warm day and we walked to and from the main attractions in the city. Canada is celebrating its 150th birthday this year so the city is preparing to play its part.
We were amazed that the hop on hop off bus had been
‘hijacked’ by the cruise line and the bus company would only take patrons with
previously purchased tickets or buy a ticket at the terminal and charge it to
our ship account for US$50per person. Considering in other places it is normally costs about
$30-35pp for the hop on hop off buses that have about a 2-hour circuit - this
was highway robbery.
The Dartmouth Harbour walk was very pleasant with
interesting and well-maintained attractions, historic monuments especially with
an immigration theme, old ships and cafes and shops.
It had been very well laid out and felt uncluttered.
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| The founder of this famous shipping line was a local |
- City clock town on hill overlooking the harbour.
Above the clock is the Citadel - a well preserved old fortress.
Halifax citadel is located on the highest hill overlooking the town & harbour. It dates from 1869 (when Canada was
only 2 years old) and the history of the site has been well preserved and presented in
an interesting way.
Three forts were built prior to the current one and were
built of earth and logs and served through the Seven Years War, the American
Revolution, Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812.
The original fort was founded in 1749 as a base for the
British Royal Navy and constructed on the high ground above the original town
plot.
The British authorities decided that the old wooden forts
defending Canada’s strategic strong points - including the citadel, should be
replaced by more powerful and permanent works of stone. Construction of the
current citadel began in 1828 and was completed in 1856.The museum was opened
in 1953 and is a well preserved, especially since it is not from profit.
The citadel has a well laid out museum with 5 rooms that
cover WW I & II and Afghanistan. It was very moving that the youth of Nova
Scotia were so willing to fight and paid the ultimate sacrifice and have been
honoured so lovingly.
WW II - Of all the displays there was an Aussie connection.
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| Interesting story |
Afghanistan
Interesting helmet -
We then walked through the botanical gardens.
It was good to see that the town has many well-preserved
houses with wood shingles and nicely painted frontages.
We enjoyed our time in this friendly proud city.
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