Nova Scotia Kayak Guides
The kayak tour exceeded all expectations from start to finish.
Meet Your Nova Scotia Kayak Guides
Experience the spirit of East Coast hospitality with your Nova Scotia kayak guides
Our Nova Scotia kayak guides team brings together a passion for sea kayaking, a deep respect for nature, and the warmth the East Coast is known for. Friendly, knowledgeable, and highly experienced, our guides are here to make your time along the Cape Chignecto coastline safe, inspiring, and unforgettable.
At NovaShores Adventures, our kayaking guides are more than outdoor professionals – they are storytellers, hosts, and stewards of this remarkable landscape. We believe in inclusiveness, respect for the natural world, and creating meaningful human connections through shared experiences on the water.
Our Story – Over 20 Years of Guiding in Nova Scotia
Founded in 2000, NovaShores Adventures has grown from a small, passionate operation into one of the most unique sea kayaking experiences in Nova Scotia. What began as a vision to explore and share the rugged beauty of Cape Chignecto has become a community of dedicated guides who return year after year.
Meet the Team
Our experienced Nova Scotia kayak guides come from diverse backgrounds, united by a love for the ocean, adventure, and connecting with people. Many return each season, creating a close-knit team that feels like family – something our guests often notice and appreciate.
Anne Grabinsky, Owner Operator
16th season at NovaShores
Anne, originally from the Berlin area in Germany, left her academic career in social history in 2007 to guide full-time. Since then, she has led hiking and sea kayaking trips around the world, including Patagonia, Corsica, Greenland, Southeast Asia, and Vancouver Island.
After co-owning a safari company in southern Africa, Anne discovered the Bay of Fundy and made Nova Scotia her home. Today, she is dedicated to creating exceptional experiences for every guest who joins a NovaShores adventure.
While she still guides occasionally, Anne now focuses on managing operations, supporting guests, and cultivating her extensive vegetable garden at basecamp. In the off-season, she continues to explore; enjoying stand-up paddling in Mexico and river rafting in Alaska, where her husband Kienan maintains an off-grid homestead.
Brennan Lemieux, Overnight Guide
1st season at NovaShores
Brennan grew up in Northwestern Ontario, where a lifelong connection to the outdoors led him into a career in adventure guiding and wilderness leadership. With over eight years of experience in the outdoor industry – from raft guiding on the mighty Ottawa River to sea kayak guiding in Middle-earth New Zealand and everything in between – he’s always ready for action and excited to help guests experience life beyond cell service. He brings a mix of professionalism, enthusiasm, and more than enough bad dad jokes to keep everyone entertained on the water. When he’s not guiding, you’ll usually find him paddling whitewater, working on off-grid projects, or dreaming up his next adventure.
Emmett Finnigan, sea kayaking guide
6th season at NovaShores
Emmett grew up in Ontario with three siblings and developed a strong love for the outdoors early on, which eventually led him to study in Algonquin College’s outdoor program. He has been part of the NovaShores team for many seasons and often joins a little later in the year, as he spends his early season immersed in the tree-planting lifestyle.
When he’s not guiding on the Bay of Fundy, Emmett can be found exploring the world: working as a ski and snowboard instructor in Japan, fruit picking in New Zealand, or heading into the mountains of the Rockies. He brings a deep curiosity to everything he encounters, from seaweed and mushrooms to Indigenous stories and coastal ecology.
A natural storyteller, Emmett has a gift for bringing places to life through the lens of experience, adventure, and a genuine respect for the natural world and indigenous culture.
Hayley Nuttall, Office Manager
Hayley is the soul of NovaShores, and you will at some point be lucky enough to talk to this friendly, witty lady on the phone or in person. A Dalhousie graduate in literature and film, she is a great conversationalist and runs the daily operations smoothly and with a lot of heart and attention to detail.
Not exactly an outdoor enthusiast herself, this Advocate native will provide you with all the information on the tours and the area you need, and is a legend for her daily motivational notes to the guides and team. She loves everything vintage and takes you back in time with her stunning 40s outfits. During the quieter winter months, Hayley likes exploring Europe.
Damien Mahoney, Sea Kayaking Guide
9th season at NovaShores
Damien grew up in Moncton and Amherst and has long been drawn to the rugged beauty and close-knit communities of the Bay of Fundy coast. He traded city life for a more rural lifestyle near Advocate Harbour, where he now raises two young daughters with his partner alongside a lively homestead filled with chickens, ducks, permaculture gardens, cultivated mushrooms, and a love for foraging and self-sufficient, sustainable living.
A true outdoorsman and community-minded local, Damien spends his winters working aboard fishing boats out of Advocate Harbour and his springs as a chef at the local sugar shack’s pancake house. He also manages the newly re-opened Three Sisters Centre in Eatonville, helping create a welcoming gathering place for both locals and visitors.
With his deep knowledge of the area, easy-going personality, and passion for local food and sustainable living, Damien brings warmth, authenticity, and a strong connection to the land and sea to every experience.
Brooklyn Nuttall, Kitchen Manager
Brooke grew up in Advocate Harbour and now attends the University on PEI where she is very successfully studying Psychology and Nutrition. She enjoys academics, spending time with her puppy, reading, and she is also an enthusiastic soccer player. She says she likes working as well, and it shows! Brooke is very can-do, with a strong-minded and optimistic spirit and an exceptional work ethic. We love her straightforward way and positive personality.
Jobs - We're still hiring for the 2026 season!
Our guiding positions for the 2026 season are filled – Thank you to everyone who applied.
However, we still have food prep positions open for 2026.
NovaShores is accepting applications for the following 2026 & 2027 seasonal job openings:
Certified, experienced day tour and overnight KAYAK GUIDES (2027)
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June or July until August or September.
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Minimum qualifications: Wilderness First Aid & Paddle Canada Level 2, SKGABC AOG or similar.
- Experienced drivers only.
- Must hold a Canadian passport or permanent residency card.
FOOD PREP STAFF (2026 & 2027)
- June or July until August or September.
- Must be able to work independently and without supervision.
- Tasks include baking, cooking, meal prep, packing food for day- and overnight tours, clean-up and keeping an inventory of food stored.
- Must hold a Canadian passport or permanent residency card.
We offer
- Competitive pay based on level of experience and seasons worked with us
- Family-style, eco-friendly work environment
- Smoothly running operations
- Reliable, approachable management
- The great outdoors right at your doorstep
- Calm & peace
- Fresh, organic food
Blackie, head of the house
11th season at NovaShores
Blackie is the sweetest guy, and loves people. Big groups scare him, but otherwise he’ll try and snuggle up – unless he’s napping somewhere. He was born at NovaShores as a stray kitten, and now he rules the roost here. He is allowed in everywhere but the guest room.
Impressum
NovaShores Adventures
Anne Grabinsky
37 School Lane
Advocate Harbour, Nova Scotia
B0M 1A0
Canada
seakayak@novashores.com
1-902-392-2222 (local)*
1-866-638-4118 (toll free)*
Open Mon - Sun 8 am - 8 pm.
*Please note that our office is closed from early October to late May. Please reach us via email during those months, or book directly on our website.
