25 Places in Canada Every Family Should Visit by Jody Robbins

Author:Jody Robbins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Touchwood Editions
Published: 2017-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

You won’t believe how close to whales you can get in the Bay of Fundy.

St. Andrews by-the-Sea is a pretty town kids won’t mind exploring. After all, there’s more than one ice cream shop on the main drag . . .

New Brunswick’s Bay of Fundy

Rise with the Tides

Coax a kid with chocolate milk and anything is possible. My daughter isn’t that fond of boats, particularly if she has to use her own her muscle to propel them. Yet, as we carve our way through the Hersey-coloured waters of the Bay of Fundy, she exclaims delightedly, “Wow! We really are kayaking through chocolate milk!” Sea kayaking along the shores of Fundy National Park—a diverse landscape punctuated with towering sandstone cliffs and desolate beaches christened with fanciful names such as Squaw’s Cap and Devil’s Half-Acre—is just one of the incredible thrills found along New Brunswick’s Fundy Coast.

It’s not hard to persuade children to play in the planet’s most massive, natural bathtub. The highest tides in the world flow in and out of the Bay of Fundy. With each tide cycle, over 100 billion tonnes of chocolate-coloured seawater surges through the claw-shaped bay. That’s more than the combined flow of all of the world’s freshwater rivers!

Parents, expect extra laundry duty on this trip: investigating this natural phenomenon means getting wet, muddy, and downright dirty—and kids will love it. Teeming with national historic sites and rich aquatic life, New Brunswick’s Fundy Coast offers a myriad of options for families keen to dive into this fascinating seaboard.

SEA KAYAKING

Alma is a traditional maritime town and the departure point for family kayaking excursions. Dipping your paddle into the murky bay, you’re apt to glide past seals and loons, while bald eagles soar over copses of cedar trees reaching up from the jagged coastline. Half-day trips often stop on remote sweeps of sand such as Hunt’s Hole Beach, allowing paddlers time to rest, refuel, and, most importantly, explore. Rescuing periwinkle water snails and sampling fresh dulse seaweed that grows on the side of the rocks is equally as fascinating to kids as being on the water.

Expect an entirely different experience on your paddle back to shore: the vast energy and power of these tides is incredible. A few hours after your departure, the beach you set off from probably won’t look the same. It could be flush with fresh water or strewn with thousands of algae-covered rocks, depending on what tide cycle you set out on. That’s what makes kayaking on the Bay of Fundy so worthwhile—it’s a new adventure with every tide.

Don’t worry about keeping up with the group; tour outfitters realize most parents are new to this activity. Should you have any difficulty, your guide will attach your kayak to theirs with a nylon rope and give you a tow. (Not that I’m admitting I know this from personal experience.)

HOPEWELL ROCKS

Arguably the most famous spot from which to appreciate the vast range of these tides is found at Hopewell Rocks, less than an hour’s drive from Moncton.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.