27 May - Truro to Bathurst via Hopewell Rocks - Day 23 of TCE

Overnight rain had left puddles on the road. Roger, the owner of the Inn, told me when I went to hand over the room key that Truro town was prone to flooding and would someday be swallowed by the fury of flood waters; hopefully, he sighed, after his time! It continued to drizzle all through the drive to Hopewell Rocks, a 40 km deviation from Moncton. I had not gone there when I stayed in Moncton on my way to St. John’s. The drive was pleasant and there were not too many visitors, possibly due to the indifferent weather.

It was C$ 10 for admission to view the rocks and "walk on the Ocean Floor", as they call it, plus C$ 2 each way for a shuttle to the staircase that would take me down for an up, close and personal 'interaction' with the world famous geological phenomenon. It was misty and still drizzling, but the views were magnificent said the lady at the ticket counter. She showed me a live cam of the Rocks for me to take a decision. As I had come all that distance there was no way I was going to go back without an effort to experience the world renowned Rocks. I took the shuttle ride because of the weather, else it would have been a pleasant 15 minute walk down through winding roads to the viewing platform and the staircase that took one down to the Rocks.

The tide comes in twice a day and nearly rises 40 feet. How much the water comes in can be gauged well by the rather long 'necks' of the formations. The 'Flower Pots', as they are called due to tenacious trees that cling to the top of the 40 to 70 feet formations, have been caused by tidal action over millennia along the Bay of Fundy. In fact, in 2016 one of the formations collapsed and many are in danger of suffering damage during the tides. Many sections, cave like, are closed off due to the threat of collapse. While the Rocks can be appreciated walking around between 10 am and 5 pm every day, between the tides, visitors have the option of getting close to the formations on kayaks during the tide timings. I walked around all I could, avoiding the slush and water. The misty conditions did not offer the best views, but they were adequate enough to admire another wonder of Nature.

As I crossed over from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick the weather cleared and I had absolutely glorious sunshine by the time I reached Bathurst. The town is a postcard perfect settlement on the estuary of the Nepisiguit River. I had a reservation in a superb homestay run by a French couple, Joille and Jean, in a quiet part of the town, not very far from the beach, marina, harbor and downtown. Jean told me that fishing and hunting are the major attractions of the town.

After keeping the luggage in the room I left to explore a bit of the town. A short drive away was the beach where I spent some time watching the River quietly lapping the sandy beach. The reflection of the beachside cottages in the river and driftwood on the shore kept me on the beach for quite some time. Near it is also a small marina that didn’t look too busy.


A search for dinner took me to the beautiful waterfront restaurant, Nectar, downtown. With the weather holding the views from the restaurant were glorious. After disposing off a large peg of dark rum and coke I settled down to savour a most delightful tomato soup and Phad Thai. The portions were large, as usual. The restaurant was on the pricey side but the location is something to die for. Even though the lady suggested a few dessert options I opted out considering the calories that had already gone in.

I came down to the parking lot where the car was parked and noticed a large number of people going into an ice cream store. They came out with large ice creams, of different colours, on cones. Calories or no calories, I could no longer resist the temptation, and I considered it prudent to give in to it rather than fight it with a guilty conscience. I went in and looked over the large selection. After taking a good look around I settled for a small portion of raspberry cheesecake ice cream. The ‘small’ turned out to be a double large scoop. So much for calories.