Moncton & Hopewell Rocks

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On Tuesday we did a bit of exploring beyond Shediac where we were staying. Some places, like the Hopewell Rocks on the Bay of Fundy shown at left, are well known points of interest. Gord and Paula had both recommended we go there. However, we started and ended our day in the city of Moncton with more modest adventures.

Paula, our niece who we were visiting, works as a postie in Moncton; a nearby city of around 160K (cf. Shediac is around 7K). It's at a big bend on the Petitcodiac River a little over a half hour from Hopewell Rocks and the Bay of Fundy. We planned our day around the tides — that's low tide at the rocks in the photo, high tide, at least in the summer, is for kayaking around the rocks. We're not up for that and, in any case, it's off season so there weren't any high tide events.

From Shediac Bridge, where we were staying, it's about 20 minutes into Moncton. Mostly on a divided highway of 4 lanes; it's all part of the Trans-Canada highway system. Our first destination was Resurgo Place; a museum and hands on transportation discovery centre which would have been great fun for kids. There is a lot of transportation history in the museum including a large model train and whimsical hanging pieces. Kate is keen on train stations and nearby, on the way in, we saw an impressive large building with a train track running beside it that we thought might have been the old train station; it turns out to have been the Old Moncton High School (1898-2015, temporarily closed).

The staff on the ticket/information desk at Resurgo Place were friendly and very helpful. A lady our age working there, who had figured out for us that the building we had mistaken for the train station was in fact the old High School, told us that although Moncton had been an important railroad crossroads the station wasn't all that interesting; however, if we were really interested in train stations, we must see the McAdams CPR Station (near the US border) which we did on our way back home to Canada a week later. The young fellow on the desk pointed out when the next tidal bore would happen (later that afternoon at high tide) and advised us to get to Bore Park (a tiny park with benches & a balcony, a popular place to watch the tidal bore on the Peticodiac River) well in advance of the time indicated on a white board. We're glad we took the advice from both.

A note on naming. "Resurgo" is the Moncton motto. The city was historically an important shipping and transportation center but fell on hard times. Wikipedia, in the History of Moncton, tells me

"Located in New Brunswick, Moncton's motto is Resurgo, which is Latin for I rise again. This motto was originally chosen in celebration of the city's rebirth in 1875 after the recovery of the economy from the collapse of the shipbuilding industry."

The city was an important rail transportation hub after the shipping era but even that has faded. The idea in the motto is to "rise again" from adversity — as in the Stan Rogers' song "The Mary Ellen Carter" (1979).

After our Resurgo visit we follow the Petitcodiac River south out of the city on two lane secondary roads to Hopewell Rocks and the Bay of Fundy. Along the way there are good views of the river which, at low tide, is a very wide shallow muddy expanse. It's hard to believe that it was ever navigable; but I suppose back then you're talking about small wooden boats/ships and nothing like what passes for shipping these days.

At Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park there's a large parking area; we found a spot close to the entry booth (Kate's mobility problems) and paid a seniors' entry fee. The entry fee is good for a couple of days so you can, if you wish, experience both high and low tide. The rocks (Elephant and Diamond Rock are some of the many, we descended at Cape Rocks) where we are to visit are some distance away and you can get there on a walking trail through the woods. There's also a golf-cart shuttle service and we're able to take that without any extra fees! They take pity on geezers like us. The young and agile could easily manage the trail — it would be about 20-30 minutes at a leisurely pace.

The rocks are quite impressive and you can get up close to them on foot at low tide. The Bay of Fundy has impressive tides and here rises around 16m! (That's 52' for those on the American system.) These high tides explain how the river to Moncton was navigable for shipping in the old days and also explains the tidal bore that floods the river each day.

We were able to safely wander around the rocks without getting too muddy. I was dancing around in thongs and avoided the muddy areas. But some brave explorers were not so careful and ended up covered in mud. But there's a washing station to clean the mud off your shoes as you leave. There's a staircase down to the rocks; essential as the cliffs here are quite steep and high. Some visitors would go for long walks along the shore in either direction. I suppose you could walk the shore back south to Diamond Rock at the visitors center but I don't know if you can easily get back up from the shore. From the maps I see you can walk a short distance further north and come out at Baymount Adventures (the kayak rental place).

After our clambering about (and picture taking), back at the very large visitors center, there's a gift shop one cannot avoid. There's also a very nice dining area. The day was sunny and warm enough that we could sit outside and enjoy the views of the expansive mud flats to the south on the Bay of Fundy. I had a bowl of chili and some local beer. On our travels we picked up quite a few local beers from the area and brought them home to share with our neighbors. Our neighbor Darrel is one of those guys who has not met a beer he does not like. He was appreciative of these souvenirs from the province.

We returned to Moncton and explored a bit, nothing too exciting. There's some interesting shops along the river: The Riverfront Cafe and Market is a "Starving Artist" gallery, the La Bikery Cooperative has some interesting graffiti. There is an extensive trail along the river, but we weren't up for that. As the day cooled off we waited at Bore Park for the high tide on the Petitcodiac River. There's a nice viewing area within a small park. There's an information center but again, closed for the season. As the tide rises it creates a wave (or a "bore") that progresses up the river. It's interesting but not exciting. If you're expecting a big wave you would be sadly disappointed. I'm not sure what the tidal effect is here in town (it cannot be as high as the 16m difference at Hopewell Rocks).  Paula tells us that it is possible to Surf the Tidal Bore — that would be interesting to see. We told Sam and Barry about the bore when they came later in the week but the weather was too cool; they retreated to a bar to warm up.

The guide at the Resurgo Place was wise to tell us to arrive early. After the bore had passed through and as we were leaving, we bumped into some folks who were just arriving at the "designated time" — they had missed it and would have been disappointed. But again, if they had been there they might have been just as disappointed!

We did a bit of shopping at Sobey's and the Alcool NB (cf. the LCBO in Ontario) in Dieppe on the way out of town. We are regular shoppers at the Sobey's at Chapman Corner in Shediac and had discovered the Alcool NB store on Main Street across from the Lobster Deck. The wine selection at the Sobey's stores was pretty minimal; the Alcool NB stores are well stocked. Later in our travels we discovered that you could get beer, wine and liquor at some gas stations. How convenient is that!

Ps. we were in the Moncton area another day when we visited the Magnetic Hill Winery.