There is perhaps no more common of a Halifax experience than peacefully going about your day when suddenly a large, loud, amphibious tour bus roars by. The Harbour Hopper is hard to miss.
Appearance wise, they’re a bit contradictory. Large, looming and loud, Harbour Hoppers can be a bit intimidating. But they’re also painted a friendly green and blue, complete with a frog bearing a smile, inviting you on board.
There’s no denying the Hoppers are a little obnoxious. But something about them — so unashamed, so themselves — is enticing as well. So after watching them roam the city from a distance for more than three years, I decided it was time to finally board one.
Halifax is a movie
In the 1960s, 900 LARC-Vs were built by the US military for the Vietnam War. They cost about $1 million each. These days, the vehicles are only worth around $10,000 and about 100 are left in circulation. Six of them are now in Halifax and, stripped of the two 0.50-calibre machine-guns and adorned with a new coat of paint, they are known as Harbour Hoppers. Three of the vehicles in this city were used in action, two of which arrived in Halifax with bullet holes still in their sides.
This information was all explained cheerily by tour guide Abigail Beamish as we set off on the approximately hour long tour of the downtown, and of course the harbour, of Halifax.
Riding in the vehicle did take a bit of time to get used to. It was ridiculously loud and came to worryingly jolting stops. As it lugged itself up Citadel Hill, I worried the whole thing might tip over, and tried to swallow down the slight nausea that grew in my stomach as I pictured us toppling down the large green hill. It suddenly dawned on me: there was no escaping.
But as we cruised down the Citadel, and the beautiful architecture of the city came into view, I let myself relax.
We roared past the Public Gardens, Beamish explaining it is one of the only two remaining traditional style Victorian gardens in Canada, and unlike the one in B.C., entry in Halifax is free.
On Spring Garden Road, we learned it used to be a Victorian residential neighbourhood called the Spring Gardens, because it had a fresh water spring that ran down the middle and to the garden. I have walked down Spring Garden so many times in my life but never did it look as beautiful as it did that day. Passersby looked up at us with bemused smiles, some of them offering a wave. Beamish called out to the man grilling sausages on the sidewalk, referring to him as “our very own local superhero, sausage man.” He waved back, smiling delightedly.
It felt like we were in a movie, Halifax the beautiful set. It was like I needed this ride to remind me of what a wonderful place Halifax is.
Then, of course came the moment we had all been waiting for, what this ride was all about: the descent into the Halifax harbour, complete with a delicious splash and a rush of adrenaline as we barrelled into the water.
It’s not that serious
Beamish has been working as a tour guide on the Harbour Hopper for more than six years.
She thinks what enthralls people about the Harbour Hopper is a combination of things; it’s silly, big and a novelty in that it goes both on land and in the water.
“We talk a little bit about a lot of things. It’s a cliffnotes of the whole city. It’s fun — you make some jokes, you learn some history.”
However, some people, she explained, are not thrilled with its presence in the city. She says people often say it’s too loud, or annoying, or complain they were stuck behind it and it made them late for work.
“You have people flipping us off, and yelling at us and stuff,” says Beamish. “It’s not that serious.”
Her reflections made me think of all the times I’d sighed as the Harbour Hopper passed by, and my contrasting feelings on the machine as a whole.
Learning the history, details and community behind the Harbour Hopper made me more fond of it. But more importantly, the ride on the Harbour Hopper renewed my love for Halifax. From the high vantage point of the vehicle, surrounded by an ocean breeze and laughing seniors fresh off a cruise, Halifax looked pretty nice.
As I disembarked, I was grateful this is the city I live in, and that I get to stay right here in Halifax, Harbour Hoppers and all.
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