Bay of Fundy

 17^th September 2022

 

We have another shorter drive today with only a few things to see along the way as we head off to Saint John on the Bay of Fundy. The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the World reaching up to 16 m. The main attraction along the drive is a stopover at Hopewell Rocks where the effects of this can be seen.

 

Timing of our arrival at Hopewell Rocks roughly coincides with low tide, and the main tourist attraction is to walk on the sea floor, as the tide goes out so far that it is all exposed at low tide.

 

Naturally, this attraction is enclosed in a Provincial National Park, and is only around 35 km from Moncton. There is a well maintained (steep at times) trail down to the shore line, with a few lookouts along the way. The main attraction is the “Flowerpot” rocks at the bottom formed by erosion from the rapidly rising and falling tide.

The view out over the bay of Daniels Flats

Diamond Rock ( you can see a few people walking on the sea floor)

The tide goes out a very long way

Sharon, Carole and John at the Flowerpot Rocks Lookout

Flowerpot rocks from the lookout

 

Walking around on the ocean floor occupied our time for a good half hour, with a lot of interesting rock structures to see, there was a lot of seaweed growing on the rocks and some very muddy patches close to the water line.

Walking on the sea floor

Flowerpot Rocks

 

Rock covered with seaweed in the foreground

The ocean floor

Tourist numbers were modest when we arrived, but by the time we returned back up the trail to the visitor centre, the carpark was almost full. We had a cold drink at the café at the centre before getting back on the road to Saint John.

 

A bit of a navigation error meant we had taken the fast road route to St John and missed a few other tourist stops along the coast, but their descriptions sounded like they were just more of what we had already seen.

 

Lunch was at a little café in Sussex, which was attached to a small art gallery. We had a bit of a walk around town to stretch our legs before continuing on to Saint John, arriving at around 4 pm.

Knocks Cafe in Sussex

Hilton Hotel Saint John

Lighthouse on the boardwalk outside the Hilton

 

Once settled in we went for a walk to check out our surroundings, as the weather gods have been kind to us today, but may not be so co-operative tomorrow. 

 

Saint John is a major port city, which we visited quite a few years ago on a cruise. It is Atlantic Canada’s largest port by volume and is also regularly visited by cruise ships. 

 

The downtown area is quite compact and faces the harbour. There are many picturesque old brick buildings lining the streets exhibiting very European architecture. It must have been a very wealthy settlement.

 

After our walk we had a drink at the hotel bar, seated outside overlooking the harbour, before heading to our rooms to prepare for dinner.

 

Italian by Night was our restaurant of choice, and once again we were treated to a very nice meal.