During our travels through Nova Scotia we spent a very relaxing weekend on the Bras d’or Lake in Cape Breton by checking out a cottage rental through Vacations Abroad. The Kayak Cape Breton has three cottages and we stayed in the two bedroom Boat House Cottage right on the lake with Baby Boy and Little Monkey. Our original plan was to spend an entire weekend there with the grandparents along for some true R&R but with the appearance of Hurricane Arthur, our plans got slightly de-railed.

 

Disclosure : We received a complementary stay but as always, the opinions are totally mine! 

 

We arrived at Kayak Cape Breton Cottage and our lovely host, Eberhard, greeted us and asked us to drive up to the Boat House where he would meet us for a walk through. Whilst the hubs and Father in love unpacked the kids and car, Eberhard gave me a quick tour of the place, including instruction on recycling and garbage disposal. He also had brought us some water from the well and hunted down a high chair as he knew we had kids. Very thoughtful! What really surprised me was that in addition to the three beds available, he had got a bed guard and an extra floor mattress in case we had some “extra guests” in our room in the middle of the night! Can you tell he has a little one himself? Luckily for us Baby Boy and Little Monkey slept blissfully in their room that night and we had no guests pop by in the middle of the night!

This is a true rustic cottage for those who enjoy the outdoors. Not only is there a dock right by us for Kayaks and Canoes, we’re right on the Bras d’or Lake and a 5 minute walk through the woods will bring you to your own private beach. Little Monkey loved the rocky beach and we spent a lovely afternoon throwing rocks into the water and enjoyed a beer with the father in law. One thing to note is that the walk is short but definitely ensure the little ones bring appropriate footwear as it is a muddy path (weather dependent of course) and the beach is very rocky. We did the beach the first day and then the next morning Eberhard took the hubs and Little Monkey out in his canoe. The Boat House has plenty of gear for all ages from toddler to adult ( Baby Boy is still too small for a life vest so he and I hung out whilst the rest of the party went out exploring!). Being an experienced instructor, I highly recommend enlisting Eberhard’s services if you head out that way.

 

 

Our cottage came stocked with everything we needed which is something I usually battle with on the rare occasion we visit a cottage. This was by far the CLEANEST cottage we’ve ever been to.. I had no qualms with Baby Boy crawling around everywhere. Previous guests had left behind some spices and oil which we used to cook up the steaks and potatoes on the grill that evening. Not only was there a full kitchen but we enjoyed a private deck with a grill and a large table. This is definitely a spot a small family can spread out at and a large family can party at!

We turned up without any food (but had beer and wine) when we first arrived – can you tell we aren’t professional cottagers? So please don’t do that…you have to head back to St. Peters to get groceries or hit up a restaurant and this meant a twenty minute drive out. The beauty of Kayak Cape Breton is that it’s just you, the water and woods for miles and miles. There’s no convenience store nearby for a quick dash or a Tim Hortons for a coffee run. We grabbed some eggs, steaks and potatoes which was all we needed for our two day stay. Of course I had some snacks and milk in our travel bag so we were good on that front too. I did forget the bug spray…ensure you pack that because we’re still dealing with bugs from our travels. Just part of the whole outdoorsy scene.

So this was a weekend for us all to unplug…there was no WiFi or cell phone reception at the cottage for us and whilst it wasn’t ideal, we enjoyed it. We got to dance with the Little Monkey and the hubs and I played a game once they went to bed. The cottage came with quite a few books and games (and a tiny Tv with DVDs but who wants to watch Tv?). I did need to do some work one morning and was able to hop on to the WiFi at the main office which is where Eberhard resides.

Vacations Abroad has a great range of accommodation options around the world and I hope to visit some of the resort properties in their portfolio very soon… they do look stunning! If you’re looking for an option on the Bras d’or Lake, I highly recommend checking out Kayak Cape Breton.