Explore Georges Island, Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia

This weekend, Parks Canada made it possible for Steve, me and many others to visit Georges Island National Historic Site of Canada for the first time, as part of a new two-day event called Explore Georges Island. On June 14 and 15 only, visitors could purchase a $14 round-trip ticket to Georges Island on a Dartmouth-Halifax Harbour Ferry.

We headed out to the island on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. on one of the ferries brimming over with 380 passengers. The buzz on the ferry got us very excited to discover the island on such a beautiful summer day.

As soon as we arrived on the island, we were ushered up the hill to Fort Charlotte to take a tour through the tunnels and underground passageways where cannon balls and cannon were stored to protect our port. Actually, Georges Island is one of five forts built to protect our port city of Halifax from international invaders in the 1700s & 1800s. Visit Wikipedia for more information on the unique history of Georges Island.

While exploring the parameter of the fort, Steve took a cool shot of one of the many cannons on the island, and caught me gazing out at the Dartmouth shore and the new Waterfront Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College. I have also featured a picture I took of the Georges Island Lighthouse with Halifax's Pier 21 in the background.

Hopefully Parks Canada will again make it possible for us to Explore Georges Island. We had a lovely time, and based on the masses of people, it certainly seemed like a huge success.