Please take note: The Provincial Parks coin program will be coming to a close at the end of 2019. It was a great program but it has run its course, and it is time to look at something new. Passports will be accepted until the end of the year, If there is an issue with a cache please communicate by sending a message on the cache page. The address has changed to send in the passports, please use this address:
Nova Scotia Dept. of Lands and Forestry
15 Arlington Place, Suite 7
Truro, Nova Scotia
B2N 0G9
Amherst Shore lies on the gentle shores of the Northumberland Strait. It makes an ideal spot to experience the warmth and charms of Nova Scotia’s Sunrise Trail. At low tide, the waters here often recede over 1.6 km (1 mile), exposing extensive tidal flats to exploration and the warming of the sun. When the waters return, the beaches of the Northumberland Strait offer the warmest saltwater swimming in Nova Scotia – for that matter north of the Carolinas! Hikers can follow nature trails that thread through coastal woods out to tidal inlets. Picnickers, swimmers, campers and hikers will all enjoy the picture-postcard views to be found throughout the park. The park’s main hiking trail is 2.5 km (1.5 miles) long and follows Annabelles Brook through the coastal woods out to the unsupervised beach.
Watch for old orchards and cellars of the Black family farm as you explore the park; these ghosts of a time gone by are being reclaimed by nature. A walk along the park’s shore reveals distinctive red sandstone cliffs towering 12 metres (40 feet) above the strait. These cliffs, or ‘ridges,’ were formed over 290 million years ago when powerful geological forces caused the giant red sandstones that lie underneath this whole area to fold over each other.
The geological and cultural history of the park is written with its trees. Black spruce, jack pine, and red maple are found in abundance along the coastal plain where the underlying sandstones still lie relatively flat, while larches prefer the lower, wet areas. Beech and sugar maple thrive on the well-drained slopes, and abandoned farm fields have been taken over by white spruce and poplar.
Birdwatchers can expect to spot sandpipers, blue herons, osprey, ducks, other waterfowl and migratory birds. Look up and you may be rewarded with the sight of a bald eagle in its nest. Take a walk along the shore and you may spy a seal basking on a rock ledge. Keep a sharp eye open for a real rarity – this is the only place in Nova Scotia where triploid bluespotted salamanders have been found. If you find one, please leave it undisturbed.
This geocache is part of the 2010 NS Provincial Parks Geocaching challenge. For more information about the geocaching challenge, click the following LINK for more information. To participate in the challenge, you will need to download the associated PASSPORT. At each geocache, there is a punch that you can mark the corresponding box on your passport. Collect all 5 and you can send in your passport to receive a free trackable geocoin.
In order to solve this geocache, you will need to brush up on your knowledge of trees. Refer to the following links to help you.
How to Solve This Multi
1. At the starting coordinates; identify the species of tree that you see. (Hint: you will see a yellow trail marker 5 feet up the tree)
Answer: 5 letters, The sap from this tree is popular in the spring. Place each letter in the following slots.
(a) ___
(b) ___
(c) ___
(d) ___
(e) ___
2. Refer to this cipher key to get the corresponding digits from step 1. (eg. the letter I = 2 + 4 = 6)
| 0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| 1 |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
| 2 |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
| 3 |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
| 4 |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
| 5 |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
3. Use your answers in step 2 to discover the final geocache location:
N 4c c7.803 W a3 c2.c30
4. Verify your answers...
i. The checksum from step 2 is a + b + c + d + e = 24
ii. The geocache is located within the park along trails or access road, No bush wacking required
The Series
The geocaches that are part of the passport program are:
The Passport
You can download the passport from NS Parks.
30 sg sebz gur genvy, snpvat gur fgernz, 5sg hc gur gerr.