Sun and snow at the Bay of Fundy
Baxter Harbour waterfall. At low tide, you can walk on the sea floor to the base of the falls.
We spent a sunny but chilly Saturday afternoon exploring part of the Bay of Fundy shoreline. First stop was Baxters Harbour. Baxters Harbour is a former fishing village, now used only by recreational boats or "pleasure craft" as they're called here. After a beautiful drive through snow covered fields and forests, the road suddenly drops off, revealing a spectacular view of the Bay of Fundy.
It's a little overcast here - but you can see the beauty of the Bay even through the mist.
The waterfall at Baxters Harbour is one of the more popular falls in Nova Scotia - and there are hundreds of waterfalls in Nova Scotia. What makes the Baxters Harbour Falls so cool is that, at low tide, you can walk across the ocean floor right up to the base of the falls. We were there at very high tide - so we couldn't do that on this trip - but we'll be back.
A word about the tides here. The Bay of Fundy has the highest tidal range in the world. The Bay of Fundy is a 270 km (170 mile) long ocean bay that stretches between the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Each day 100 billion tons of ocean water move in and out of the Bay of Fundy during one tide cycle -- more than the combined flow of all the world’s freshwater rivers. The water level at high tide can be as much as 16 meters (52 feet) higher than at low tide. In Baxters Harbour, the tide change averages around 24 feet. That 24 foot drop at low tide allows you to walk out onto the sea floor to the base of the falls. (We'll go back at low tide and I'll post those pics on the blog - but not today. It's too cold.)
Here's a shot from our visit to the falls in September - our first trip to Nova Scotia. Again, at high tide.
Do I look cold enough? I thought we were just jumping out of the car to take a couple of pictures.
Driving south, our second stop was at Halls Harbour, a small working fishing village and home of Hall's Harbour Lobster Pound. If you type "best lobster in Nova Scotia" into google, the first listing that appears is Hall's Harbour. We didn't try it today, but we'll let you know. Hall's Harbour is named after Samuel Hall, an American privateer from the American revolution who used the cove as a headquarters to launch raids on settlements in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia in the 1770's. He was forced to flee in 1779 and treasure hunters still visit Halls Harbour - chasing the legends of buried treasure in the woods around the harbour.
The dock at Halls Harbour, Nova Scotia blanketed with snow.
Sea spray at Hall's Harbour
At high tide, the ocean spray blasts over the rock wall and onto the parking lot. You have to watch out or you'll get soaked with freezing ocean water. Did I mention it was cold and windy out there?
We ended the day at the Lookoff - an overlook on the North Mountain with an amazing view on the Annapolis Valley. It was very windy and cold so we didn't stay long. What a beautiful place!
Last shot at the Lookoff.
