The Fundy and Acadian Coasts

Canada’s New Brunswick: The Fundy and Acadian Coasts Canada’s New Brunswick Slide Show – Images by Lee Foster by Lee Foster “My grandfather used to spread lobsters on the fields as fertilizer,” says Percy Mallet, a French descendant in Canada’s Atlantic province of New Brunswick. “Schoolboys of his era would hide the fact that they had lobster sandwiches in their school lunches. Lobster was a poor man’s food. Cod was a fish you could salt and dry and export, but lobsters were worth little. There was no refrigeration and transportation technology to market lobsters. Lobsters were almost worthless.” How times have changed in Canada’s Atlantic province of New Brunswick. Today the lobster and snow crab fisheries produce and export record catches. A visitor here during the busy summer season, mid-May to mid-September, will be tempted to indulge at the source in lobster, snow crab, oysters, mussels, clams, salmon, cod, halibut, and trout. Two compelling attractions atract visitors to New Brunswick. First, there is the joy of nature, especially the highest tides in the world along the Fundy Coast at the Hopewell Rocks, where the tidal change is 48 feet. A nearby drive, the Fundy Trail Parkway, shows the car traveler, bicyclist, or hiker some of the most dramatic coastal terrain you will find anywhere on the planet. Second, the area boasts a dramatic and forlorn history found nowhere else. The story involves Loyalist British who could not tolerate life in the American colonies after Independence from Britain was declared. They migrated north to St. Andrews and other towns. The second tale is the dramatic story of the Acadians, a French- speaking minority who were expelled in 1755 by the dominant British. The British even split up individual families to destroy the culture. Acadians were spread throughout the eastern U.S. colonies, where they were seldom welcome. Longfellow wrote about their plight in his famous poemEvangeline . Somehow the resilient Acadians survived and trickled back to New Brunswick. Today they proudly wave their Acadian flag, but only in this generation, in the 21st century, could it be said that they are a relatively secure and prosperous people. New Brunswick has positioned itself as an “experience collection” destination, facilitating personal growth for the traveler. The tourism authority assists visitors who want to plan such experiences. To explore the First Nations culture, for example, you could learn about sacred medicine with an Elder at the Metepenagiag Heritage Park . Learn how to salmon fish on the Miramichi River. Work with a chef to prepare a gourmet meal. You can also explore on your own, both the natural and cultural sides of the province. Try sea kayaking in St. Andrews, at the southern end of the province, or visit the Acadian Historical Village, at the north end, which portrays Acadian life from 1770 to 1940. You can walk into tourism assistance centers here and select from the Experience Collection or do-it-yourself trip plans. In a week of rambling along the New Brunswick coast, moving south to north, I sampled the possibilities and found I could usually combine some nature and some history each day, then relax with fine dining (especially seafood) and comfortable lodging in the evening. Here are my favorite discoveries in nature and history, enough for a week of adventure. Some care must be taken when planning a trip, putting the nature and historical elements together, because the driving distances are considerable. The optimal travel season is also relatively short, mid-May through mid-September. Only in those months can you be assured that all the nature and history attractions are open and accessible. The Joy of Nature: Highest Tides and the Piping Plover Here aresome prime natural experiences, south to north along the New Brunswick coast: *Sea kayak off St. Andrews. Seascape Kayak Tours (www.seascapekayaktours.com) is a small, locally-owned adventure company. I kayaked out to Navy Island with a guide, who had a good natural history knowledge of the region. We enjoyed seeing plenty of osprey, eagles, and harbor seals, as well as the boats in the St. Andrews harbor. The company’s main base of operation is on Deer Island, accessible by ferry. From there the company runs day and overnight trips around the Fundy Isles. This is an ocean kayaking milieu where an expert guide is a distinct benefit. Seascape Kayak Tours showed an appropriate concern for safety. The tides and the currents are strong, and fog is frequent, so you want a guide with a good map, compass, and local knowledge of the terrain. In this chilly water an overturned kayaker would perish in a few minutes. On my next trip I hope to have time for a whale-watching excursion either by kayak or whale-watching boat. The Bay of Fundy is one of the great whale-watching areas on earth. On a summer outing from mid-July through August you might see finback, minke, humpback, and even rare right whales. It is estimated that three- fourths of the remaining 400 right whales frequent the Bay of Fundy. *Explore the Fundy Coast near St. Martins along the Fundy Trail Parkway. The Fundy Trail Parkway is an outstanding scenic drive. On a leisurely day I drove this 11-mile stretch of coast road and stopped at many of the 40 turnouts to gaze up and down the coast between Black’s Point and the Big Salmon River. Particularly enjoyable was the promontory overlooking Melvin’s Beach. Also memorable was a ladder climb down to the elegant hidden waterfalls known as Fuller Falls. The terrain is dramatic because cliffs rise steeply from the sea and the shore twists around to good advantage, exposing the intimate beaches to your view. Hills behind the coast rise several hundred feet, affording an optimal perspective. Parallel to the roadway are two other trails. I walked one stretch of the rustic Hiking Trail. Bicyclists and walkers wanting a smoother surface can partake of the third trail, the Multi-Use Trail. On my next visit I look forward to a bike outing along this trail or perhaps a sea-kayaking expedition along the shore. Bikes and kayaks can be rented locally. Along the trail, the Heritage Sawmill Project recreates the lumbering scene on the Big Salmon River. *See the highest tides in the world at the Hopewell Rocks. This is the signature world-class nature experience of New Brunswick. The high and low tide differential–as much as 48 feet–is an astonishing sight to see. Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. The highest tides occur at the new moon, when the sun and moon are in alignment with the earth and on the same side of the earth. The world’s highest tides happen to occur in the Bay of Fundy partly because of the gradually narrowing funnel shape of the bay. Another factor is the graduating shallowness of the bay, forcing the inrushing water upward. The water exchange during the tidal rush in the Bay of Fundy is said to be 100 billion tons of water. To get the full effect of the tidal change, I visited the Hopewell Rocks twice, first at low tide and then again at high tide, eight hours later. At low tide I could walk out on the beach and gaze up at the rocks. The tides have torn away at the soft rock in several vertical formations, leaving what looks like a giant’s whimsical flowerpots. Pine trees are the “flowers” at the top of the rocks. The beach is accessible from three hours before minus tide to three hours after. At high tide the water is lapping at the pine trees on the top of the rocks. Kayakers paddled by in the water, 40 feet above the beach I had just walked on a few hours earlier. *Visit the piping plover sanctuary at Bouctouche. The wealthy Irving family of New Brunswick has funded the preservation of a large coastal dune environment. Known as the Irving Eco-Center “La Dune de Bouctouche,” the entity has as its mission “to preserve and restore one of the few remaining great sand dunes on the northeastern shoreline of North America.” These white sand dunes extend eight miles across Bouctouche Bay. Access is along a one- mile boardwalk over the dunes. The most celebrated residents here are birds known as piping plovers. These plovers are endangered. Only about 5,000 of this bird species remain. Five nesting pairs flourished at Bouctouche when I visited. The area is a major shorebird resting place on the long migration route. Between 1 and 3 million sandpipers are the most numerous species. Some shorebirds fly without pause for three days from the Arctic before landing here. While in the area, they double their body weight, feeding on sea worms and mud shrimp. Peak bird migration time is late July and early August. The sanctuary’s symbol, the great blue heron, can be seen spearing fish throughout the salt marsh. *Explore the coastal dunes at Kouchibouguac National Park. Kouchibouguac National Park occupies a large area of choice coastal terrain on the Northumberland Sea, north and west of Bouctouche. I stopped at Kelly’s Beach to walk the boardwalk out to the dunes and ocean, crossing several life zones, from a forest to a salt marsh. There were osprey and eagles, plus kayakers and canoeists. Inland, within the park, stretch miles of hiking and biking trails, some with natural history signage. The forest is particularly diverse here in both conifer and broadleaf species.

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