Living on a postcard

There are spendid days during my travels around our region when the light is just right, when the perspective is perfect, when it feels like I'm living on a Bay of Fundy postcard. Today was one of those awesome days.

For locals on Campobello Island this is the every-day ho-hum view of their famed East Quoddy Light (a.k.a. Head Harbour Lightstation). It's quite possibly the most photographed lighthouse in the Bay of Fundy: visible from the island as well as from the ocean during trips with whale watch companies (which is when I took this photo).

I'm on Campobello Island for a few days filming one of our Bay of Fundy Travel Show episodes
and, if my first few hours here are any indication, there will be many more picture-postcard moments....!

Pretty pretty cruise ship

Cruise ship visits to the Bay of Fundy have increased greatly in the past few years. Due to our tides, of course, there are many harbours without water for much of the day. The Fundy city of Saint John, New Brunswick, is our busiest cruise port with over 180,000 cruise passengers visiting in the run of a year.

There's a swanky new cruise terminal now on the Saint John waterfront (with an adjustable ramp system to allow for tide heights). I was in Saint John last week and was lucky enough to witness the last vessel of the season, the lovely Queen Mary II, swinging a tight U-turn in the harbour right outside our hotel.

Another Bay of Fundy lighthouse... Walton, NS

If you're a coastal explorer like me, chances are you're also interested in exploring built heritage of the sea. Although travelers by land and water now navigate with sophisticated GPS units now instead of fog horns there are still lots of preserved Bay of Fundy lighthouses in great locations that are usually open to the public for touring.

Pictured here is the 'salt shaker' style Walton, Nova Scotia, lighthouse. This lighthouse, built in 1872, is located on Route 215 - a somewhat less traveled but gosh-so-darn-pretty coastal touring route. This lighthouse played a key role historically in guiding boats loading gypsum, lumber & other cargo in this extreme tide harbour. Now open seasonally as a visitor's centre and small musuem. Panoramic view of vast exposed ocean floor of Fundy's Minas Basin at low tide.

Click here for more info on Nova Scotia lighthouses.

Good news for Cape Enrage lighthouse

I've got a bit of a nostalgic and architectural interest in visiting lighthouses anywhere I travel but, being the Bay of Fundy gal, I am also very fond of our many lighthouses. 

We've got some interesting models of lighthouse use/reuse going on here in our Bay, such as the cafe, trails and lightkeeper's guest house at Cape d'Or in Nova Scotia and the tea room, gift shop, rappelling & sea kayaking at Cape Enrage in New Brunswick. 

I was pleased today to hear that plans are in place to develop a long-term business plan for Cape Enrage that would see visitation increase so that it becomes an even more popular Bay of Fundy travel destination. Read more...

Out with the old, in with the new...lobster traps

For all that we locals joke about tourists' fascination with lobster traps (many have been purchased dockside and taken home to landlocked provinces and states to become coffee tables), I am kinda into them.

For example, I once made a flower box out of one (my petunias never looked better!) and I have spent a goodly amount of time photographing them - but the 'old' style wooden ones with the curved tops only - I'm a purist.

This is the first photo of the new metal mesh traps that has ever revealed itself to me. It was taken at my local wharf just after lobster season last month. Mmmmnh, not so painful....

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.

Inside Swallowtail Lightkeeper's House

Here's a closer exterior pic and a sneak peek at the interior of the Swallowtail Lightkeeper's house - not exactly a real estate agent's panoramic tour but you can certainly see some typical features of lightkeepers' houses of this vintage: hardwood floors & trim throughout and double hung windows. This Bay of Fundy architectural gem appears to be in great shape on the inside.

Friends who successfully operate another Bay of Fundy lighthouse (Cape Enrage) sent these photos. Perhaps the new owners of Swallowtail could use Cape Enrage as a project model: it's a registered charity that employs more than two dozen high school and university students operating it as a seasonal tea room, gift shop and adventure centre. Last year Cape Enrage was honoured by Frommer's Travel Guides as one of seven "Best Views" in Canada.

Dream of Living in a Bay of Fundy Lightkeeper's House?

This is seems to be the winter of Bay of Fundy dream opportunities. I mentioned last month that a Bay of Fundy clam diggers license was for sale on Kijiji and now I've heard that the Swallowtail lightkeeper's house on Grand Manan Island is for sale!

The actual lighthouse, which sits on a spit of land on the north head of Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy, was built in 1858. Following the automation of the lighthouse in 1986, the municipality leased out the adjacent keeper's house for use as a bed and breakfast. Apparently, upkeep on former lightkeeper's home is becoming too financially burdensome for the small island so it's soon to be listed with a real estate agent. A neat opportunity for a lighthouse-lovin' someone to preserve and enjoy this wonderful Fundy landmark.

Hopefully, the lighthouse itself will still remain accessible to visitors - it's one of the most scenic and most photographed spots on the Bay of Fundy! The lightkeeper's house is pictured to the right of the lighthouse.
(If any Fundy readers have a closer photo, I'd love to see it.)

Rapelling at Cape Enrage

In additional to searching for rocks on the beach , there are other ways to get "up close and personal" with Bay of Fundy geology - such as by rappelling. Since our tides cause constant coastal erosion it's best to do this with the assistance of staff who have the gear and the proper training. If you are inclined toward rappelling, you would likely get a kick out of visiting Cape Enrage in New Brunswick. Rappelling here involves about two hours of descents (about 6 repetitions if you're up for them) on 140-ft cliffs overlooking the Bay of Fundy's tides and currents. It will inspire those of us who are middle-aged to know that an 80 year old Fundy gal celebrated her birthday a couple years ago by rappelling at Cape Enrage!

Hike to Cape Sharp

Took advantage of the great weather this weekend to hike out to Cape Sharp lighthouse. Cape Sharp is located near the village of Black Rock, overlooking the Minas Channel (near where the proposed tidal energy project may be) near Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. The hike to the lighthouse is about 20 minutes via the old access road. The lighthouse was automated in 1989 so that road is only traversable by foot now. Doesn't bother me - it's well worth it for both the view and the solitude. The lighthouse itself is a salt shaker style, dating from 1886. It stands about 35 feet in height and its light reaches out 11 miles in the upper Bay of Fundy. That's just about perfect because that's pretty much the distance over to Cape Blomidon on the opposite side of the Bay! Luckily the tide was out today enabling me to take this photo looking up to the lighthouse from the beach - at high tide here I'd be way under water. All safe up on the lighthouse though where I stopped to explore the panoramic view.

N'ice Lighthouse

This winter may just have to go on record as one of the best years for ice cakes in the upper Bay of Fundy. My normal dog walk into the intertidal zone at low tide was significantly impeded today by globs of ice cakes. Those in the foreground are about 8 ft high...I'll have to get back over with better climbing gear!