Day 4

As the Mini we picked up from Mini Halifax was red with a dark interior, it earned the nickname "Jaffa". Amongst other things, a Jaffa is a small round candy from New Zealand (where I'm from) with a red candy shell and a dark chocolate inside.

Having been shown the in's and out's of this brand new convertible Mini Cooper by Campbell Harbord, the Sales Manager, we set off, roofdown, iPhone teethered, stereo pumping, sun blazing and grins for ear to ear. What lay before us was seven weeks of adventure in a truly fun car.

I've read the motor journo hyperbole about Mini's being shopping trolleys that handle like go-karts so was hoping not to be let down. But before I go on, this trip is about enjoying Canada, it's summer and watching it's children have fun, so the performance nuances of "Jaffa" are a secondary thing and we're certainly not out to break any cross continent land speed records. Nevertheless, I have to say that as a convertible, the Cooper's handling is as precise and predictable as I could have hoped for given how far we were are about to drive it. In the cockpit, the only thing that might have been an improvement, is the ability to charge things (phones, PDA's etc) when the car is not running. Other than that, yes it's small - and so it should be, it's not called Mini for nothing - but it's so much fun to see the world from!

In the 1200+ km's we've travelled in the first four days around Nova Scotia, we've only passed four other Mini's, including one other convertible. But all have proudly acknowledged our passing with a toot or a wave. The Mini clan may be a small one in this part of the world,

but it's a friendly one!

Having said that, Nova Scotians are a friendly bunch of people in general. So far I can make three sweeping generalisations about them:

1) They're very courteous drivers.

2) They like to go to church - or at least they have a lot of them and it was mighty quiet on Sunday until around midday.

3) They like to gather a very large and festideously tidy wood pile in preparation for the winter.

As for fun with the kids, well we've learned quite quickly that if you don't keep a camera on hand at all times you'll miss those priceless shots that only kids can afford us. Of this we ask your forgiveness and patience, hopefully we'll do better at capturing them at their impromptu best in future. In the meantime though, we did manage to see what happens when you let those who don't do the washing of clothes or cars loose in the mud of the Bay of Fundy when the world's highest tide goes out. For what it's worth, although we would have loved to have joined in on this escapade, we don't think Mini Canada would have been overly pleased if we'd managed to stain the upholstery Shubenacadie mud red to match the exterior.