One of the reasons I heartily endorsed Sam’s selection of Nova Scotia as a destination for his Golden Birthday trip was that I have always wanted to see the tidal bore in the Bay of Fundy. I have always imagined a wall of water at least 3 feet high, maybe higher, traveling up the bay and its feeder rivers at breakneck speed. I knew that the Bay of Fundy experiences the highest tide level change in the world with a few others close behind, including the TurnAgain Arm south of Anchorage in Alaska, but we had not observed it there while we drove past several years ago. So, the Bay of Fundy was an exciting destination for me. When I started my trip research I was trying to find a place we could stay with a great view and tried to get us an overnight stay in a lighthouse, but that didn’t work out.
However, what I did find was a wonderful alternative! You may have heard about our past experiences with white water rafting. Last summer we did a river in Oregon with Class 3 and 4+ rapids. Imagine our delight when I told everyone we would be rafting the tidal bore. After suiting up in outfits that we assumed would keep us dry, the journey started peacefully enough on the motorized raft with the guide explaining the tides and we also saw a number of bald eagles.
After about 45 minutes heading downstream on the Shubenachadie River (say that 3 times fast), we stopped to have some fun mudsliding. Sam gathered so much mud in one ear that it took the rest of the raft trip to wash clean.
And then we headed back downstream, got off to stand on a sand bar/island in the middle of the river. Soon the people from other rafts lower down channel than us started running to their rafts, and our guide calmly said it was time for us to head back also. I had my first surprise---at that place in the wide river, the tidal bore was about six inches high! However, the island where we had stood about 3 feet over the level of the water was covered completely within 10 minutes! And THEN, the action started. While the bore itself is not exactly where the action is during the raft ride, the swirling behind the bore is…in that area the incoming waters and the downstream flow meet pretty violently, until the incoming tide wins and the river runs upstream for the next hour or so. But in that first 45 minutes, it was NONSTOP wildness! Well, it did slow down for a few minutes each time Graham and I fell out of the raft. LOL (Big difference from our past white water raft experience—no helmets needed because no rocks!) I will let the photos speak for themselves now.
After about 45 minutes heading downstream on the Shubenachadie River (say that 3 times fast), we stopped to have some fun mudsliding. Sam gathered so much mud in one ear that it took the rest of the raft trip to wash clean.
Finally, rinsing off
And then we headed back downstream, got off to stand on a sand bar/island in the middle of the river. Soon the people from other rafts lower down channel than us started running to their rafts, and our guide calmly said it was time for us to head back also. I had my first surprise---at that place in the wide river, the tidal bore was about six inches high! However, the island where we had stood about 3 feet over the level of the water was covered completely within 10 minutes! And THEN, the action started. While the bore itself is not exactly where the action is during the raft ride, the swirling behind the bore is…in that area the incoming waters and the downstream flow meet pretty violently, until the incoming tide wins and the river runs upstream for the next hour or so. But in that first 45 minutes, it was NONSTOP wildness! Well, it did slow down for a few minutes each time Graham and I fell out of the raft. LOL (Big difference from our past white water raft experience—no helmets needed because no rocks!) I will let the photos speak for themselves now.
I figured I better explain this: the water in the raft was OFTEN up to the rim. When I opted to sit on the bottom of the raft, after falling out twice, it was often up to my waist. And no, we did not stay dry. LOL
We stayed at the place in a cabin, which made it very convenient for the after-raft trip warm shower. The cabin had a gas fireplace which immediately became THE place to be to warm back up. Afterwards, we headed into Truro, the closest decent size town about 30 minutes away, to do some laundry. Dinner was, guess again, seafood.
We stayed in Truro about 4 nights later and watched the tidal bore come by in the evening. So although it is out of sequence, this photo shows what the bore actually looks like. That sandbar/island was covered in about 5 minutes.
We stayed in Truro about 4 nights later and watched the tidal bore come by in the evening. So although it is out of sequence, this photo shows what the bore actually looks like. That sandbar/island was covered in about 5 minutes.
Oh, one last note: upstream on the raft trip, as the river itself narrowed, the tidal bore DOES increase in height. When we sped upstream in the raft to come at it again, it was about 2 feet high. YEE HAH!
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