Tide by timelapse

One of the best, though possibly slightly confuzzling, ways to 'see the tides' before a visit to Bay of Fundy is to check out one of our many time lapse videos. Here's a first: a new 24-hour time lapse prepped by Nova Scotia's provincial photographer, Len Wagg, from about 7000 still images. It's phenomenal...(oh and the reason it's confuzzling is that visitors sometimes think the tide actually comes in this quickly....oooops! it's actually 6 hrs 13 min from high to low folks)

Bay of Fundy Travel Show episode #17: Blomidon Provincial Park

We truly are blessed with many fabulous coastal parks around the Bay of Fundy in both provinces. Fresh out of the edit room is the episode of our Bay of Fundy Travel Show filmed last fall: Blomidon Provincial Park in Nova Scotia. Enjoy!

Thinking spring on Bay of Fundy

One of my winter projects was to finish up the edits on the 10 new Bay of Fundy Travel Show episodes we filmed last summer and fall around the Bay of Fundy. Here, as a little tribute to the arrival of spring, is episode from Campobello Island, New Brunswick. Enjoy!

iPad launch & new7wonders connection

If you like to keep up with techie news, you probably watched Apple's iPad launch last week. Imagine my delight when Phil Schiller, Senior VP of Worldwide Produt Marketing, started to demonstrate the iPad's 'Keynote' function and used the global New7Wonders campaign images to do this!

The Bay of Fundy, as you likely know, is competing in an international campaign to declare the New7Wonders of Nature. We are Canada's only site in the campaign and, now, one of only 28 worldwide finalists. You can support Bay of Fundy by voting here or joining our Facebook "Fundy for New7Wonders of Nature" fan page or by following us on Twitter.

What great exposure for the New7Wonders concept to be included in the iPad's launch.
(Keynote, by the way, is the Mac version of PowerPoint)

Canadian tourism folks & a certain Mr Claus go crazy for Bay of Fundy

Working as I do in the tourism field I run across all kinds of cool travelers at various conferences across the country. I wasn't really expecting to see a certain Mr Claus this close to Christmas but that's exactly what happened at the November national tourism conference.

I was actually seeking colleagues who were voting for Bay of Fundy in the New7Wonders of Nature contest and wow, did I find them. Check out this video of the whole crew:

Bring on the parting of the sea

As a lifetime resident of the Bay of Fundy I'm often surprised and delighted by visitors' impressions of our region. And sometimes it takes a newcomer to see the Bay with fresh eyes and new potential. Such was the case a few years ago when a Californian arrived on the shores of Five Islands in the upper Bay on the Nova Scotia side. Dick Lemon turned up and created an ecological retreat atop one of the islands then, while looking out at his extraordinary view, thought "wouldn't it be fun if we created an event where people could enjoy this beauty by walking and running across the ocean floor during the one or two lowest tide days of the year." Hence, the Not Since Moses race was born!

This year's race is today and tomorrow, sold-out, with over 600 walkers & runners attending. This short video I made last year will give you an idea of what a crazy bit of fund this was last year. Bring it on again today!

A child's view of our BIG tides

In addition to high-low tide photos sets, videos of Bay of Fundy are great ways to represent our intriguing seascape. Here is a delightful video that shows the genuine curiosity and pure delight of a little gal exploring the Fundy coast with her dad. It warms my heart to see our young friends embracing our tidal coast like this!



Thanks to Dave at Annapolis Valley Audio Visual for sharing this video. Another enthusiastic Fundy fan!

Fun little tide video

One thing I absolutely love about the invention of YouTube is how 'real' people can capture a local scene and share it with the world. I recently came across this video of the Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, tidal harbour. If you've caught the new tourism TV ads that I'm in, you may recognize this as the location where those ads were filmed.

2nd Bay of Fundy live camera

It appears that there is also a live Earthcam in St Andrews, New Brunswick. This one has programming code that enables me to embed it. In anticipation of more outdoor cameras to come, I've created a new blog category for them. Fun!

Finally... a Bay of Fundy webcam!

I've always thought that the Bay of Fundy is the perfect place to set up live webcams but, except for such cameras on our highways (so you can check out the winter weather conditions), I'm not aware of any other webcams set up anywhere near the tides until now:

The Fundy Restaurant on the waterfront of the village of Digby, Nova Scotia, has just set one up. Thanks to Dean for sharing this link to his new webcam!

I once heard a rumor that there was a live outdoor camera at the Reversing Falls Funeral Home (which, as you may expect by the name, overlooks Reversing Falls in Saint John, New Brunswick) but I've never been able to find out if this is true....er, short of phoning them which is a bit awkward....Anyone know?

Polar dip Fundy-style

Bay of Fundy folk are a pretty hardy bunch so the idea of taking a frigid dip in icy waters, known as 'polar dipping' doesn't intimidate us one bit! There are assorted polars dips in lakes around the region but I say 'go for the big freeze in the Bay of Fundy itself' like those who take the plunge every New Year's day at Mispec Beach.

If you are near Mispec Beach this morning (east of Saint John, New Brunswick) this morning, why not pop on by to cheer on the 200 polar dippers expected to take the plunge! I found this video of last year's Mispec dip on YouTube...today's will be a bit more exciting: there is a blizzard blowing.

And me? well, I'll be enjoying the health benefits from the sidelines down at our harbour...crazeee people!

Exploring Cape d'Or Lighthouse

Here's a post that can easily fit in both the 'lighthouse' and 'places to eat' categories of my blog: the Cape d'Or Lighthouse. Cape d'Or is one of the best places to see Fundy's tidal rips: wild, upwelling tidal currents.

The site also offers a panoramic view of the upper part of the Bay of Fundy in the exact location where it splits into its two smaller bays: Chignecto Bay and the Minas Basin. And, even better, there is an amazing restaurant in one of the former lightkeeper's houses (the other house is used as a tourist guest house!).

Here a fun video of Darcy, the operator of the restaurant and guest house describing what makes Cape d'Or so cool.

Although the lighthouse was de-staffed in 1989 (automated), there's been a fog whistle at Cape d'Or since 1875 to warn mariners of the Cape's extreme tidal rips. Now the site is a great reward for those who take the time to drive 20 minutes up the dirt road from the nearby village of Advocate Harbour, Nova Scotia. One caution though: the cliffs are quite extreme here, ranging from 300 to 500 feet sheer vertical drop so this is not a great place to visit with little kids.

New Bay of Fundy video tour

I just came across this great new Bay of Fundy promo video on YouTube. It’s an excellent virtual tour of the New Brunswick side of the Bay…cool time lapse high-low video too. Take a look!

Bay of Fundy Whirlpool - A School Study Topic?

I hear from visitors all the time that they first learned about the Bay of Fundy in school. Indeed, the Bay, and its incredible tides, is studied in science textbooks throughout North America, parts of Europe, and - as photographer & travel writer Igor Kravtchenko recently told me - Russia.

For example, I just came across Will Rhodes' travel blog - he's a teacher from Katy, Texas, who visited the Bay of Fundy late last summer to research a unit for his students.

Will's got an excellent selection of photos & videos from tidal bore rafting, his ocean floor drive over to Minister's Island, New Brunswick Museum, Joggins Fossil Cliffs, St Martins Sea Caves, and even this rare footage of the Old Sow Whirlpool - the largest whirlpool in the western hemisphere... here in the Bay of Fundy! Wow, with teachers like Will, no wonder so many people have the Bay of Fundy on their 'bucket list'!

Vertical tidal effect on a Bay of Fundy pier

Here's a great little time-lapse video of the tides going up and down against a wharf. It's by Fred MacDonald of Great Circle Pictures (who is across the bay from me in the Annapolis Valley region of Fundy). Fred's been documenting Fundy's amazing tidal effects in high definition film for the past year and has some never-seen-before footage. Take a look at some samples on his website - great stuff!

Twice a day this is typical sight at coastal communities all around the Bay of Fundy. Remember, in reality, it takes our massive tides 6 hrs 13 minutes to go from high to low (or vice versa).

Some of my favorite Fundy tidal harbours where you can experience this include:
(in New Brunswick) St Andrews, Blacks Harbour, St Martins, Alma
(in Nova Scotia) Advocate, Parrsboro, Halls Harbour, Harbourville, Margaretsville

High to low Bay of Fundy tide in 55 seconds

In an effort to help folks figure out how this whole Bay of Fundy tide thing works, I've found myself collecting both high/low photo sets and time lapse videos. I know...most people collect stamps or spoons, but hey, each to her or his own. I did some surfing on YouTube this weekend and located this great little time lapse video taken last summer from a great clifftop vantage point. It really gives a sense of the volume of water moving into the bay on one tide cycle. Take notice particularly at the end when the Bay appears to be filling up like a bathtub! Click on these links or use the side menu to see more videos or high-low pics.

Humpback Whale & Calf film on Animal Planet

Not owning a TV can sometimes make it tricky for me to catch the odd film of interest. Here's one that's definitely worth a trip to the neighbor's: Animal Planet's 70 minute Humpback Whale documentary chronicling the migration of a Humpback Whale and her calf.

The film, Ocean Voyagers, follows their epic journey from the waters off Polynesia where the calf is born to Antarctica. Additional footage was shot in the Bay of Fundy, Gulf of Maine, Hawaii, Newfoundland, and Alaska. Humpbacks, thought to have cruised the earth's oceans for millions of years, tend to follow a regular migration route which takes them from a summer in temperate (Bay of Fundy) and polar waters to winters in tropical waters for mating and calving. There's lots of 'never seen before' footage in this new film, airing on Animal Planet on Dec. 16.

Bay of Fundy whale video

Tom at Ocean Exploration Zodiac whale cruises in Tiverton, Nova Scotia, just sent me this 4 minutes video footage he taped a few days ago on the bay...these are Humpback whales flipper and tail slapping!...living proof that there are still lots of whales to see in the Bay of Fundy.

Mud, mud, glorious mud!

Here's some Bay of Fundy insider information: how to enjoy a do-it-yourself, no-cost Bay of Fundy foot spa.

• Visit the upper part of the Bay of Fundy - Minas Basin or Chignecto Bay - best.
  
• Walk down to the beach at low tide, remove shoes, roll up pantlegs, walk out on the ocean floor, seek muddiest sections of beach
• Enjoy the sklooshing of good clean mud between your toes, repeat, laugh, and celebrate our wonderful Bay in all its forms.

Took this video on Evangeline Beach, near Wolfville, this weekend. It was about 30 degrees with no wind so by late afternoon all roads lead to the beach, not to swim, but to mud. Not very sophisticated but oh, so fun! (p.s. don't forget to check the local tide schedule before you go and to keep a close eye on the moving beach around you!). Also please refrain from walking on these beaches in August when migratory birds are feeding & should not be disturbed.

Weir fishing video

While at the fish weir on the weekend I also caught some video. Take a look at this video of the guys in action: