Fun Fundy: Hopewell Rocks and the tidal bore

Okay, enough of the Fundy names already!

On the trail to see the Hopewell Rocks

Aw, just one more! Well, one more trip to see the marvels of the Bay. This time, we traveled up to upper end of the Bay to see the famous Hopewell Rocks, and watch the tidal bore on the Petitcodiac River in Moncton.

About an hour after high tide

The Hopewell Rocks are a series of flowerpot rocks in Shepody Bay, on the upper edge of the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. They really need to be seen at both high and low tide to get an appreciation for how these massive tides shape the earth. When the tide is in, the tops of the rocks look like islands, and the water laps against the cliff face.  

When the tide is out, there’s plenty of space around them to explore.  

Low tide

 Morgan liked kicking at the rocks, and stepping in the bits of mud.

Lily liked balancing on the rocks better. (This is the only set people are allowed to climb. The rest are off limits.) 

cliffs with mud flats in the distance

 On either end of the rocky cliffs are wide expanses of ecologically important tidal flats and beach/ marshland that support several species of shorebirds in the summer months.

Those are at least a km wide when the tide is out

People are asked not to walk on the mud, in order not to disturb the birds or their foodsource (shrimp).

   

The small interpretive center has interesting information about the formation of Bay of Fundy, the ecology of the region, and whales.

Another neat phenomenon of the high tides is the tidal bore which occurs on some of the rivers around the upper end of the bay. As the tide comes rushing back in (a couple hours before high tide), all that water gets funneled into the river basin, which can create a wave of ocean water moving backwards up the river bed. Sometimes this is only noticeable as a ripple, and sometimes it’s a wave large enough for people to surf on.  This is quite dependent on a number of factors, but generally the full moon makes for greater bores (due to the moon’s greater pull on the tides at this time). We were fortunate enough to be there near the full moon.

After visiting the Hopewell Rocks at low tide, in the morning, we drove into Moncton and joined the crowd waiting at Tidal Bore Park to await the arrival of the bore. Three surfers also waited, further downstream. Ten minutes later, here it came.

Nature is so cool.