Fundy National Park
On our last days we came back to Saint John. Thursday morning we went to Fundy National Park, north of Saint John. It was very easy to find our way there and took us about one hour to get to the park gate. The park is humongous and one could, should, spend days there!!!
Next time we are in that area, we should find accommodation IN the park.
There are numerous trails ranging from category 1 to 6 depending on the level of difficulty. We went to a wimpy category 1 trail in search of a water fall. Now, the walk was really nice and we were surrounded by huge trees and wild life (Dany for instance).
We had lunch in a small village, Alma, which seems to be the hot spot in the whole park. There are some lobster shops that had huge yummy lobsters.
And of course, we went to Hopewell Rocks where one can see one of the largest tides in the world. The water level changes by as much as 8 m from low to high tide.
Daniela and Ernesto on the ocean floor at Hopewell Rocks. The rocks behind us appear on every postcard of this place. The water level rises usually up to 8 m, about to my shoulders height, projected on the rocks in the background.
This rock formation at Hopewell makes me think that a giant should be sitting and resting his feet on this foot stool.
Mayte.
Does anyone else see a face here???
Rock formations resting on each other.
Mayte.
Looking up from the ocean floor.
Mayte.
Walking along the rock formations.
While Daniela and Ernesto walked along the waters edge at Hopewell, I took the high ground and walked thru the flower pot formations. I had a new pair of hiking boots I was trying out, and it was easier to walk on the rocks, as the soil near the waters edge was wet, and soft, and I almost left the boots in the sand as I walked back and forth from one terrain to the other...It was lovely rick red soil, and I probably should have allowed my toes to experience sinking into it...
Mayte.
I found this beautiful frame of rocks for one of the flower pots.
Posted by Mayte.
The flower pot formations looking down into the cove.
Posted by Mayte.
Grand Manan Island
There are lots of ways to see whales in Canada. You can do that on the east or the west coast. One can go to the Saint Lawrence river, New Foundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island or New Brunswick. One will probably find different kind of whales in those places. Minke whales and Humpback whales like to go to the mouth of the Saint Lawrence river. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick share the bay of Fundy, where the now rare right whales come to feed in the Summer. The last time a killer whale was spoted on the bay of Fundy was in 1985. Since then they haven't been seen there.The island of Grand Manan lies kind of in the middle of the bay of Fundy and from there the “Elsie Menota” took us two hours into the high see. After this long journey we were rewarded with LOTS of right whales sightings. At some point, we had 6 whales around the boat.
The wharf during low tide. One can see to the right how high the water rises at high tide. The stair case is on a rail system to adjust the height.
Low tide at the wharf in Grand Manan.
A great pick nick spot
Deep Cove seen from above. At high tide, the water goes in as far as where the yellow raft is laying.
Mayte taking rock pictures at Deep Cove. She likes rocks!
Still waiting for those pics ... ;-)
At Deep Cove, Daniela was brave enough to go in the water. She is seen here with a playmate in the river.
Whale watching on the "Elsie Menota"
Swallow Tail as seen from the "Elsie Menota" on our way back from the whale watching experience. The next morning took us to the tip of the peninsula where we could seat on a bench to enjoy the view.
Whale snack
This is krill, what whales like to eat. To me it looks like shrimp. These creatures really know what good food is .... yum !
Right whale close up.
This was a calf (baby whale) that came very close to the boat. Even though my camera wasn't as fast, I managed to get some pretty good shots from its back ....
This kind of whale does not show its head by jumping out of the water (known as bridging) like the
humpback whales.
Arrggg .... ! The digital camera is good for static objects. Moving targets are hard to catch. Barely got the tail of a
right whale.
Closer view of the
basking shark.
Duckies. We were pretty far from the shore. But I guess they can fly and aren't afraid of
whales or
basking sharks.
Basking shark. Only dorsal fin can be seen. Second largest shark after the
whale-shark. Feeds plankton like the
whales.
A full body pose.
Mersmerizing dad.
Do not worry dad, I'm here with you and everything is gonna be allright!
Smiling. Close up.
Dany smiling to the camera.
Modelling sesion to kill time while we are getting to the whales.
Dany practicing her photographer skills.
The super binoculars were too heavy for Dany. Mayte takes over.
Nothing to be seeing yet. Dany very diligently watching the waters.
Ernesto serving as calibration sample for the camera. The captain can be seen in the background standing. She has allegedly a fetiche for buoys and things left behind by other boats.
Happy girls enjoying the fresh air from the ocean.
Dany and Ernesto posing for the cameras during the 2 hours trip to the whale watching spot.
