all right
Hi, I'm Mike of Mike's Road Trip and on this episode I feature New Brunswick.
This Canadian province shares a border with Maine and is well known for being
home to the Bay of Fundy which has the highest tides in the world.
Seafood, outdoor activities, and whale watching take center stage here in New
Brunswick, so come along with me and let me show you around. My Bay of Fundy road
trip to New Brunswick started by catching the ferry in Digby, Nova Scotia.
I'm originally from the Pacific Northwest, therefore I am quite familiar
with boarding and riding of ferry, but this one was particularly different from
the configuration, boarding process to the myriad seating options. The two and a
half hour journey was quite enjoyable, and the picture-perfect weather made for
some wonderful photos. After disembarking on the shore of New Brunswick, I made my
way to Saint John with just enough time to catch the waning light and some live
music being performed.
The next morning I strolled around downtown Saint John where I met up with a
special guest. So right now I am with Gillian McKinnon with Dicover Saint John
here in New Brunswick. Gillian you were telling me about the farmers market here in Saint.John... "Yes, the Saint John City Market is Canada's
oldest contentious farmers market, it's been around since 1876 survived the
Great Fire of 1877 here in Saint John and has always been open full of vendors
artisans beautiful place to take some pictures that the roof almost looks like
the inverted hull of a ship which is reflective of our shipbuilding history
here in the city so it's a great place that everybody must check out if they're
here in the city." Cool I'm looking forward to it. So, what are some other
activities that I should not miss well here in Saint.John? "Okay, so Saint John is the
only city on the Bay of Fundy, home of the world's highest tides...take a Harbor
tour, so go out on the water see the city from the you know the Vantage of the
water go over towards the reversing Rapids you can see where the Bay of
Fundy collides at the Saint John River, creating a series of whirlpools and
Rapids only happens here." Oh cool, and you were also telling me about this
mural that was just painted. "Yeah, so Sean Uro who goes by the street name Hula is
a street artist who paints on his paddleboard murals on abandoned ships
old walls we brought him here to the city to show the power of the Bay of
Fundy tides in an urban setting so he balanced on his board and painted a
giant mural that's revealed twice a day at low tide." Oh my gosh, that sounds
fantastic! And also I think I was reading about a new attraction you have hear... "Yes, the
Skywalk Saint John is gonna be a fantastic way for people to experience the
reversing Rapids you're gonna walk out on a glass floor sky walk and be up
above the reversing Rapids happening below really excited about it it's a
really great way to again show the power of the bay funny tides here in our city
oh that is awesome so do you think I'll be able to get a
sneak peek of this I think we can arrange it okay pretty sure cool let's
go check it out all right I left Saint John early the next morning to go on a
hike at New River beach park along the Barnaby Head coastal trail the beach in
this area is quite an expansive stretch of sand I imagine
during a nice day people must flock to this beach so right now I'm in New River
beach Provincial Park and I'm doing a little hike or maybe a bit of a stroll
through the forest it's really quite lovely it didn't take but a moment past
the trailhead marker before I was ensconced within a dense canopy of trees
and fauna it reminded me of the Pacific Northwest where I'm originally from
inside the forest the overcast skies did not matter it was a lovely hike met with
bends in the trail curvy boardwalks and covered bridges that afternoon I drove
to st. Martin's where I unfortunately got the car stuck in the rocks and sand
near the beach looking for a parking place that was until a kind local
literally snuck under the car to attach a chain and pull me free the friendly
Canadians live up to their reputation as soon as I was safely parked I was able
to stroll the sea caves during low tide a few hours later I met up with Nick
from Red Rock adventures for a kayaking tour and it was absolutely amazing to
explore areas that I had just walked a few hours earlier
the next day I headed west to st. Andrews by the sea where I had an
interesting experience crossing a road that is only accessible during low tide
ministers Island was once owned by railroad tycoon Sir William Van Horne
and his home was merely a cottage retreat for he and his family later that
afternoon I had another extraordinary experience going whale watching fingers
crossed and what have you watched I went whale watching with the folks from Fundy
tide runners after a long boat ride to get to the open waters it didn't take
long before we saw the giant but graceful mammals of the sea our last
sighting of the excursion was definitely the best one this one came just feet
from the boat and then Dover right under us after whale watching I happen to
notice this farmers market where I grabbed a wood fired pizza some
fresh-squeezed lemonade and enjoyed some local talent
later that afternoon I checked into the historically exquisite Algonquin Resort
which dates back to the late 1800s what a beautiful day it is here in st.
Andrews perfect for a day at the links the coastal holes and stunning ocean
views make this one special golf experience my next couple of days were
spent on the laid-back island of Grandma man about an hour-and-a-half ferry ride
from Black's Harbor grandma men is a fantastic place to get lost while not
getting lost driving around the island and finding places to hike or discover
romantic lighthouses was such a wonderful and relaxing experience and
New Brunswick is also known for having some dramatic coastline with jagged
cliffs like these this Bay of Fundy road trip often had me stopping for one
stunning and unique sight after another
my next stop was to the fund a national park where I went on several hikes
however my favorite was to Dickson Falls this one-mile loop trail takes about 30
minutes to complete the trail heads straight down and then follows along a
little creek where many boardwalks are provided to navigate over some of the
terrain criss crossing the creek several times along the way there are many
vantage points to view the falls and the creek the woods are lush and green and
almost look like a rain forest with all the variety of fern and moss that seem
to thrive well my skepticism drew me to this next place where cars go up a hill
backwards and in neutral what a strange phenomenon this was clearly an optical
illusion however had I not tried it I would have never believed it as you can
see it clearly looks like I am going uphill you'll have to trust me my car
was in neutral continuing East I stopped by one of New Brunswick's top
attractions hopewell rocks which is probably the signature site for New
Brunswick over thousands of years erosion has carved coves and unique
formations even leaving a few trees stranded on top I timed it so I would be
there during low tide and as soon as I had reached the seafloor my enthusiasm
for discovery kept taking me around each Bend in wonderment of this fascinating
area that Nature had created unfortunately the waning hours reminded
me that it was time to move on wow what a fantastic week I've had here
in New Brunswick row tripping around the Bay of Fundy if you'd like to do a
similar road trip click the link below if you have any questions at all feel
free to leave a comment I'll be happy to answer them and also please don't forget
to subscribe for more Road Trip travel videos well that's it from New Brunswick
until 9 we'll see you on the road