We packed away the tent and set off for North Bay, through the Algonquin National Park, from east to west.We had not seen a moose yet and thought this might be our best chance, but it was still not to be.We're starting think they're mythical creatures, like the NZ kiwi that we never saw!Either that or we're just really bad at nature hunting.

We arrived into North Bay early afternoon and met Graham's cousin Marcelle, two of her children, Brad and Taylor (Spencer was away at Uni in Ottawa) and later Scott, her husband.I had never met the family before and Graham last saw them 9 years ago, but was convinced he had never met them (a lot has happened since then!)So, we had a lot of catching up to do, and spent the afternoon and evening chatting over many drinks.We had a BBQ that evening and then sat in their hot tub, just to remind us of home!

The next day we went out for breakfast.We love the breakfasts over here, but there are just so many choices - what type of breakfast and then how do you want everything cooked.We explained to them how easy it was in England: 'I'll have a full English please' and you don't get a choice about how it's cooked!We then took a drive around North Bay.This was great, but it rained for most of the time, so the views of Lake Nipissing and Trout Lake were similar to those we saw in the Shenandoah National Park - foggy!It is Labour Day weekend in Canada (like a British Bank Holiday, so just typical that the weather was bad.

We stopped for a while down at the edge of Lake Nipissing and saw the tourist ferry boat leaving for a trip around the lake.We decided that a trip on this was pretty pointless today, as we would not have seen much except for fog and mist!We then drove to Duchesnay Falls and the rain cleared up for a while, so we went on a walk.We climbed up the dry stream to see the waterfall, as the water levels were so low after their dry summer - we're starting to think that the rain is following us, as we've seen so much in USA and Canada!The waterfall was great and it was nice to be able to climb across it, as the water level was so low, but then the rain came down again so it was a quick dash back to the car.

We went back to the house for more drinking, chatting and family photos, as Graham seems to be one of the few in the family who has met all of his cousins, even if he can't remember it!We also got to see Marcelle and Scott's wedding photos and video, as they just got married in July this year.

Today we're heading back to Smiths Falls to visit Auntie Maureen and Uncle Pat again - another long drive ahead.Maybe we'll see a moose today......