INFORMATION
camping’ experience and it was superb.
The campsite is very well planned, lots of space in amongst the trees and good facilities. Given the fifth wheels and coachstyle motorhomes here, they need the space, and of course for the customary bug tent for those there for the high season.
The park is vast, with lots of wildlife and trails. This was also our first encounter of the traditional ‘covered bridge’, iconic preserved structures in the Maritimes, designed to protect the old trade routes in winter.
The Bay of Fundy is known for having one of the greatest tidal reaches in the world and the water flow in and out is equivalent to the flow of all the world’s rivers for 24 hours. At Hopewell Rocks we witnessed this in action; the water came in at a foot per 10 minutes.
Hopewell Rocks are a spectacular sight. Eroded over millennia, the sea has created elaborate shapes, carving precariouslooking standalone forms in the red, muddy, rock. All of the sea stacks have trees and shrubs growing out of them, hence being known as the Flowerpots, based on how they look at high tide.
The hiking and mountain bike trails at Fundy National Park are superb. Even after the devastation of Hurricane Fiona in September 2022, the area is ready for the season. It is a worry, however, so many fallen trees becoming literal matchsticks for the summer.
Sensibly, the best bike trails are one-way and need a level of proficiency as they are narrow and are all forested. The aroma of warm pine trees and spotting the groundhog (just the once!) was fun. It’s a real gem of a place, with recently introduced outdoor
Parks Canada App – useful for booking in the parks. You need what’s known as a GCKey to be able to book. When you log onto the site, it looks like you have to be a Canadian citizen to set up an ID to book parks, but you don’t, just follow the steps) Allstays app – a subscription, but well worth it E-book or hardcopy: Lonely Planet Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island sculptures creating a fun discovery trail, too.
Stopping in Moncton, on the way to Shediac, for supplies, we discovered our new favourite shop, Canadian Tire! It has everything a motorhomer could need. A bit like Ikea, it’s difficult to come away without spending on something ‘practical’! From there, we carried onto Shediac and Parlee Beach Provincial Park.
Shediac is the self-proclaimed Lobster Capital of the World so, with the inevitable B-52’s ‘Rock Lobster’ earworm, we headed out in search of why. Cycling along an old railway line, past the superb town mural, we were lucky not to get caught in the claws of a giant lobster...
After no doubt a few too many wines and a shellfish supper, the Shediac Rotary Club commissioned a 50-tonne giant lobster to take centre stage in the town. Quite bizarre,
the resultant concrete form was unveiled in 1990 after three years in the making, and now brings tourists in their droves, although that’s more likely for the real thing!
We took the Confederation Bridge across to Prince Edward Island (PEI). An incredible construction, it’s eight miles long and one of the longest in North America. The Northumberland Strait itself, freezes in winter. Stopping to admire the bridge from terra firma, and the birds nesting on the old lighthouse, we then headed to Charlottetown, the main hub of the island.
Being not much longer than an average pick-up truck in North America, we’ve found it easy to street park in the small towns. Charlottetown has a gorgeous mix of older buildings from its mercantile days, its origins being from the mid 1700s.
Province House (currently undergoing refurbishment), built in 1847, is famous for holding the first of two key meetings which led to the formation of the Confederation of Canada, in 1867, the union of the colonies. The second meeting was in Québec.
Wandering through the old town buildings, some with colourful featherboard façades, down to the waterfront, we could see across to Fort Amherst National Historic Site, traditional Mi’kmaq territory and where the first French settlers from Europe established themselves in 1720. At odds with the lovely buildings surrounding it, the enormous Basilica St Dunstans is pretty ugly; thankfully the inside was better.
Our first camping on PEI was a lakeside boondock location with host, Mike, and his ‘big rig’. Following the example of William and Kate, after Charlottetown, we headed to Georgetown (we’ve yet to find a ➤