Carova 4X4 Beach in North Carolina

We just returned from a great trip to North Carolina to visit NC LaBarges. We spent a week at Carova 4X4 Beach, you drive in about 11 miles on the sandy beach to a deluxe gourmet home with fabulous ocean views. We wined and dined like kings and queens during the visit. We also rented a double kayak which was perfect for navigating around the sounds, inlets, canals and estuaries. The blackwater estuaries in the intercoastal hardwood tidal swamps were especially beautiful.

Carova Beach is right at the border of North CAROlina and VirginiA; the home we stayed in is named Ten Down because it is 10 lots down from the border. (This photo is looking out towards Virginia from our deck-see the fence?)We could take super long beach walks every day or head towards the sound, out of the wind and explore the fishing & hunting retreats or the uninhabited state park in Virginia. We read that walking 1 mile in soft sand is equivalent to walking 2 miles on hard pack, so we got our exercise.

This area was slated to be developed just like Duck & Carolla, but the Nature Conservancy bought much of the land in the area which kept roads from coming in. However, the homes were already being built, so people can still build here, and the homes have all the modern amenities and utilities you need, just no paved roads and no services. It is a very different sort of place; this would never fly in Oregon.

There are all kinds of wildlife here, too. We saw wild boar, a black creature at night that we think was a fox, there are wolves, and raccoons. We saw 2 coons at night down by the water's edge; we think they were hunting for crabs or shellfish that were being washed in by the waves. They are strong critters with good teeth; there were holes chewed in our garbage cans. We saw all kinds of sea birds plus herons, terns, ducks, 2 bald eagles and something that looked partridge like, but we don't know what it was. We saw dolphins leaping out of the waves right next to the surfers. And there are wild horses. They first "landed" here in the mid-1600's when a Spanish ship wrecked off the coastline. It was carrying horses which swam to shore. They have been here every since.