My Canadian


JOURNEY


Turning with the tide


With its awesome Bay of Fundy, scenic coastline, whale watching, abundant seafood, charming towns and annual festivals, New Brunswick is perfect for an Atlantic Canada self-drive, says Steve Hartridge


STEVE HARTRIDGE Editor, Selling Canada


start my New Brunswick trip in Moncton, Canada’s only 'official' bilingual provincial capital. Once, French and English speakers lived on different sides of the Petit Codiac river – nicknamed ‘Chocolate River’ due to its muddy hues – that flows through the city and as I stroll down Main Street, past trendy coffee shops, breakfast eateries, and McSweeney's dinner theatre, I hear both languages being spoken. Leaving Moncton with my knowledgeable


I


guide, Darrell Mesheau, we follow the 'Fundy' signs south on Route 114 to Hopewell Cape. We drive past the modest houses of an Acadian community that dates back to the early 1600s and a sandstone quarry that provided the building blocks for the Dakota Hotel in New York (infamous for the shooting of John Lennon).


26 SUMMER 2014 • Selling Canada Just 30 minutes after leaving Moncton,


we arrive at Hopewell Rocks. Located on the shores of Bay of Fundy


the rocks are a collection of odd-shaped sandstone monoliths that rise from the ocean floor on the site of some of the world’s highest tides.


TIDAL FLOW More than 160 billion tons of water flow into the bay in one tidal cycle – that’s said to be more than four times the outflow of all the world’s rivers combined. And the tides race in and race out – a cycle of a little over six hours between high and low tides. At their peak, the tides reach close to 50 feet, but when they drop visitors descend the stairs to the beach and explore the 'flowerpot' rock formations. It’s little wonder that locals carry around the tide times as they might a bus timetable.


As I walk among the rough rocky striations, with names like ‘Mother-in-law’, ‘ET’ and ‘Dinosaur’, dozens of sandpipers dart by and high above a bald-headed eagle floats on a thermal. The Hopewell Rocks Interpretive Centre


(thehopewellrocks.ca) offers an interesting introduction to the region, its wildlife and geology, and points visitors in the direction of trails, look-out points and picnic spots. Guided kayaking excursions, paddling past those same rocks, are also available. The facilities are closed during the winter but open again in mid-May.


CAPE ENRAGE Back on New Brunswick’s easy-driving roads we make the short journey south to Cape Enrage. Perched on 150-feet cliffs is a lighthouse which dates from 1848. Automation made the lighthouse


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