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by Dale Dunlop and Alison Scott                                                               Formac Publishing - 277 pages                                                               Softcover                                                                                                                   Cost: $19.95                                                                                                                     ISBN-88780-440-3                                                                                                    

reviewed by Ronnie Scullion

With a hop, skip and a jump this book will guide the visitor to some choice events and scenic spots favoured by the authors, the husband and wife team of Dale Dunlop and Alison Scott. Unfortunately the book omits some truly worthwhile happenings and places. It is less a guide and more a review of selected attractions.

The attractions are many and varied: birding, hiking, beachcombing,
whale-watching, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, biking, walking, fishing and golfing. Also included are some recommendations for theatre, arts and crafts, and special events plus some of the authors' favourite dining and accommodation spots. Visitors will truly get a sense of the type of unique activities and adventures available in this province. Dunlop and Scott have traveled through and visited all of these places, sampling and experiencing first-hand what is offered. Their descriptions, which often includes their opinions and reflects their tastes, give a more intimate and accurate portrait of the places they visited than what one might read in a more traditional travel guide. Dunlop and Scott may well have succeeded had they presented this work as a travel diary or book, instead of as a guide.

Guidance is at times severely lacking and finding some of the
adventure spots featured may prove a challenge. Try for example to
locate Riverview Park (item #169) "several miles outside Bridgewater on the banks of the La Have River". To find this park, in which direction must one drive, north or south? On which highway, on which side of the river? The inclusion of a map or maps to mark the destinations would be of great value.

The book could also benefit alot from cross-referencing. Parks or
beaches that double as sanctuaries for birds merit mention under the
birding sections as well.

Serious omissions in the categories of arts and crafts or theatre do a
great disservice to Nova Scotia's thriving cultural communities. The
theatre community has been greatly underrepresented with no mention of some well established theatres such as: Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, a Windsor based touring company that has received international acclaim entertaining family audiences for more than twenty-six years with classical and contemporary puppet theatre productions; or Eastern Front Theatre, bringing to the stage the plays of many Atlantic playwrights among others. Studio 21 and Eye Level Galleries, both representing some of the more avant-garde artists of this province are also omitted. So too is the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Summer Festival, a showcase of some of the province's most accomplished craftspeople.

While not recommended as a comprehensive or even selective guide to Nova Scotia, it is certainly a worthwhile read for touring naturalists and
adventurers. The suggested adventure destinations are definitely worth visiting!

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