The Maritimes: New Brunswick

Welcome to Blog Number Two!! Finally getting into the good stuff now ;)

Take a read, as we share our experiences, and favorite stops in New Brunswick. Hope you enjoy it!

The first exciting stop on our road trip was Grand Falls, New Brunswick. Of course, you've guessed it, the Grand Falls is what caught our eye and opted us to check out the town! There were two great viewing point of Grand Falls. The first we stopped off at was actually a seasonal campground, so while we were there is was closed which was actually quite nice, because we were able to make use of the picnic table and cook ourselves up a lunch right beside the falls. For the first time, we tried one of our backpacker, just add water meals. We chose the chili, and it was quite good! The campground was called Grand Falls Gorge. It offered a short, but very nice path, allowing you to follow along side the gorge. Arriving at the end of the trail, was a plaque identifying a large rock in the water known as the "Camel's Back". The Camel's Back is a distinctive element because it is located directly in the center of the St. John River. The visitors center, just up the road also offers an amazing up close view of the falls.

Pictured to the left here, is the Camels Back.

Hartland, New Brunswick

Next stop, Hartland, New Brunswick! Home of the World's Longest Covered Bridge. Something about covered Bridges in the East coast but they are all over. This one is Hartland holds the title for being the longest. We had to drive over it for the sake of saying we did. It is completely made of wood, and you can feel is moving as you pass over it. Its also a single lane, however, there are no lights indicating who goes next. You sort of have to wing it, and go when you don't see anything else coming. Keep in mind too, that the bridge is 1282 feet long. It was an experience to say the least. After leaving Hartland, and getting back onto the Trans Canada Highway, we spotted our first 2 moose! Just off the side of the highway, both looked smaller, but what a cool thing to experience. This night, we parked and slept at our first truck stop. One perk, was that the travel plaza had showers ;) Something which I have already developed a deep appreciate for.

Fundy National Park

The next morning, we continued driving and finally made it to Fundy National Park. We camped here for a weekend, because there is just SO much to see. Its such a beautiful park! The Bay of Fundy offers the HIGHEST Tides in the world! It was quite an experience to witness the tides at there highest and lowest forms. The scenery, looks completely different.We spent most of our time exploring the ocean floor at Algoma Beach. It was in Algoma, we decided to start a "Pizza tour" of Canada. First stop Sapranos Pizza. After lunch we made our way to Cape Enrage, a rather small lighthouse with outstanding views. Definitely worth the hour long drive. We were lucky enough to be in New Brunswick for off season, so we didn't have to fight any crowds to see such spectacular things. Our final Stop in Fundy National Park was a waterfall hike called, Three Vault Falls. This was a 3.7 hike to the waterfalls through a beautiful forest and 3.7km back to the parking lot. The end result was a super magical three tier waterfall.

Hopewell Rocks

An absolute must see in New Brunswick is Hopewell Rocks. We went on Low Tide, so we were able to explore by foot. The Arches, and rock formations are unreal! It really is an amazing site. For those of you who aren't aware of Hopewell Rocks, the rock formations are caused by tidal erosion. Leaving beautiful almost red colored formations, in spectacular shapes, some even resemble a flowerpot.

Grand Manan Island

Our final and favorite New Brunswick Stop, also another MUST DO, is Grand Manan Island. With a recommendation from our sister, we stayed at Hole in the Wall Campground. An incredible cliffside camping experience. We spent the course of a long weekend here and loved every minute of it. We boarded the Grand Adventure ferry in Black Harbour. The ferry ride itself was quite short, only about an hour and a half. And the campground is barley 5 minutes from the Grand Manan ferry port. We were assigned our campsite, a beautiful area with trees on either side of us and cliffs with the most amazing ocean views. Within one hour of being at our site, we spotted a whale, and not even 20 minutes later found a seal, right from our campsite! Unreal! We spent nearly every night sitting up top the cliffs whale watching. There is also one easy hike through the park, which takes you to the hole in the wall. If your staying here, you'll definitely want to make sure you do the hike. It’s a beautiful place. New Brunswick is definitely worth getting to if you haven't already!