New Brunswick’s Bay of Fundy

This was an exciting trip to see some of the crowning glories of the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. Why so exciting? Because the Bay of Fundy is Canada’s only candidate in the final selection of the global New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign. From hundreds of sites in 222 countries around the world, the competition to vote the New 7 Wonders of Nature is down to the last 28 – and Canada’s Bay of Fundy is battling it out with rivals such as the Grand Canyon and the Amazon. I’m an enthusiastic supporter of the Bay of Fundy’s bid and this trip gave me the opportunity to see some of the sites associated with Fundy and to broadcast the radio shows from the Fundy icon: Hopewell Rocks. www.votemyfundy.com

Hopewell Rocks

It’s difficult to visualize what a 40 foot tide looks like. Or 100 billion tons of salt water surging into the bay. That’s why Hopewell Rocks is the iconic focus of the Bay of Fundy: here you can really get a sense of the immensity of it all. You can look down from many viewpoints along 1.5kms of coastline that has been shaped by geologic forces, by glaciers, and most recently by the world’s highest tides, into a series of cliffs, sea stacks and ‘flower pot’ islands. What gives you a sense of scale is that if you are here at high tide, you can kayak around the tops of the cliffs and the sea stacks. If you then return a few hours later at low tide you can walk on the ocean floor at the base of the flower pots 50 feet above you.

There’s a first class Interpretive Centre here and a team of dedicated experts to bring it all to life (plus a restaurant serving the best seafood chowder around!). It was the perfect spot to broadcast my shows highlighting Fundy’s attractions, as I and my guests sat atop one of the Cliffside viewpoints watching enchanted visitors strolling on the ocean floor in the sunshine. www.thehopewellrocks.ca