St Martins, Fundy National Park and Hopewell to Moncton 24 & 25 August 2016


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August 25th 2016
Published: August 27th 2016
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St Martins, Fundy National Park and Hopewell to Moncton 24 & 25 August 2016



After breakfast in St John we drove along a magnificent road with spectacular scenery – forests, valleys and hills, little cute villages and farmlands. It was beautiful.



After 130 km we arrived in St Martins. The Village's premier attraction is the St. Martins sea caves. The knowledge of tide times is important in this part of the world to find the best time to walk the ocean floor out to sea caves, caverns and arches or to view them from the shore. The tide rises, filling the caves and caverns with water. The tide rises and falls every 6 hours and 13 minutes, creating new times for high and low tides every day. The tidal range can be up to 38 feet on our shores in St. Martins. We were there at high tide.



The amount of water that flows in and out of the Bay of Fundy in a day is equal to all of the water pumped into all of the oceans by all of the rivers of the earth.



St. Martins is certainly THE place of Tidal Wonder at the heart of the Bay of Fundy. We found that life is governed by the rhythm of the world's highest tides. A colourful fleet of fishing boats wait in the Bay for the high tide to rise and fill the empty harbour with water so that they can unload their catch. At low tide the boats sit in the mud. It’s a daily tidal cycle that has been showcased for many years in a time lapse film at Disney's Epcot Centre.



Hope you enjoy the photos.



When then went onto the Fundy Trail - just minutes from St. Martins. It is in a 2,550 hectare park featuring a fascinating eco system, 16 km auto parkway that travels along the coast, a 10 km multi use trail, over 20 lookouts each offering spectacular Fundy views, pristine beaches to explore, a 15 meter waterfall, a 84 meter suspension bridge, and dramatic 157 meter cliffs.



We walked along 5 kms of it, stopping at all the wonderful natural features.



The Fundy Trail is part of Stonehammer Geo Park and you can learn about the Birthplace of the Atlantic Ocean. It is also part of the UNESCO designated Fundy Biosphere Reserve.



Before going on the trail we got some information from the Visitor’s Centre in St Martins, making sure we climbed to the top before leaving the building. This original lighthouse was burnt down, moved from its original location, then rebuilt to become the visitor’s centre.



St. Martins is a place of living history where during the golden age of sail, more than 500 sailing ships were built and launched on the highest tides to sail the world. The legacy of sea captains and shipbuilders endures in the architecture of historic homes in the village and in the Quaco Museum where the Village's rich history is kept alive.



Next point of interest was Hopewell Rocks, a group of Flowerpot rocks located in the community of Hopewell Cape.



The Hopewell Rocks was certainly a place for us to pause…a place to appreciate a remarkable story interwoven through time, tide, and the intricacies of nature. These are the highest tides in the world. And they happen twice a day....every day.



They are located on the shores of the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy. The formations consist of dark sedimentary conglomerate and sandstone rock. The large volume of water flowing in to and out of the Bay of Fundy modifies the landscape surrounding it. After the retreat of the glaciers in the region following the last ice age, surface water filtering through cracks in the cliff has eroded and separated the formations from the rest of the cliff face. Meanwhile, advancing and retreating tides and the associated waves have eroded the base of the rocks at a faster rate than the tops, resulting in their unusual shapes.



On March 14, 2016, a part of one of the Hopewell Rocks, Elephant Rock, collapsed. Park officials said approximately 100 to 200 tonnes of rock fell to the ground. "Sometime after the tide went out this morning, a significant piece of Elephant Rock calved off, closing off a whole section or a whole passageway where we used to walk," said Kevin Snair, supervisor of interpretive services at the Hopewell Rocks.



We really enjoyed seeing the rocks which was north of Fundy National Park. We also stopped at Alma for a creamy icecream!!



What a day we had. There are so many natural beauties throughout the world.



We then drove 40 kms to Moncton where we were staying for the night. Accommodation was interesting. We usually book the day before we need the accommodation and more often than not, on bookings.com…. which we did for this accommodation. However, Nancy our GPS took us to a little cottage. We though we got the wrong address but found an unlocked house, 3 beautiful double rooms, all with little kitchenette, bathroom using very modern décor. The kitchen had a coffee machine with amazing coffee pods.


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