Fun with a twist

Night kayaking, llama walking and more in New Brunswick

BY SHELLEY CAMERON-MCCARRON

With the stars and moon lighting the way, you navigate narrow tunnels and pass spectacular sea stacks, paddling the highest tides in the world at night — yes, night! It’s an unparalleled way to see a familiar landscape in a new light, says Shaun Gibbs.

Gibbs, co-owner with wife Ashley of Baymount Outdoor Adventures Inc., introduced the After Dark Tour last year in the waters just off Hopewell Cape, an iconic destination on the Bay of Fundy, home to the world’s largest tidal range. The mighty Bay’s unique funnel shape allows massive tides every six hours, at once revealing life on the ocean floor, then covering it as waters swell up to 16 metres.

“Awe-inspiring is a word I use a lot,” says Gibbs. “You lose that sense of knowing exactly what’s in front of you. It’s a more intense experience, you’re alert for what’s happening. The atmosphere is quite different than daytime. When you take away that sense of being able to see what’s coming, the focus becomes very narrow. I’ve been paddling there for almost 20 years, and I love to go at night. It’s a totally different experience at the rocks. All you hear is the quiet around you, a little bit of waves.”

There’s also positive energy, he says. People are chatty. Some are apprehensive. And Mother Nature can deliver beauty skies, bright starry nights, and luminous moonlight. People often return saying the experience was amazing, he adds. “We’re trying to bring local people back to experience it in a way they never would have thought of doing.”

After Dark tours require just the right conditions: calm waters with, at most, very light wind. Paddlers set off at dusk, around 9 or 10 p.m. at high tide, equipped with glow sticks and head lamps. If conditions turn, the tour can cancel on short notice.

“The area is so special,” says Gibbs, telling how people are drawn to Hopewell Rocks, about halfway between Moncton and Fundy National Park (it’s about a 40-minute drive to either) to walk the beach at low tide, marvelling at its treasures: caves, windand water-carved arches, and the almost alien-like free-standing rock forms that the constantly swirling tide shapes.

At low tide, visitors walk on the ocean floor at Hopewell Rocks.

Photo: Shelley Cameron-McCarron

It’s surreal to return a few hours later at high tide and see the same landscape in a new way, with the water dramatically transforming the view. It’s arguably one of the best places to experience the Bay of Fundy’s majestic powers, with an up-close view of its two different faces.

More great adventures

Night kayaking isn’t the only traditional activity with a twist in the province. Read on, as the folks at Tourism New Brunswick dish up more out-of-the-box fun.

As tides rise they can see the landscape from a different perspective, kayaking where they walked just hours before.

Photo: Shelley Cameron-McCarron

• You may have attended ballet before, but what about a professional show by the sea? Ballet by the Ocean in Grand-Digue is a performance next to the Northumberland Strait. It takes place on a 17-hectare site, a protected wetland hosting many bird species. Guests also enjoy a five-course meal and wine pairing, a locally inspired and sourced meal from New Brunswick chefs. atlanticballet.ca/ en/event/ballet-by-the-ocean

Photo: New Brunswick Tourism/Wes Perry Photography

• What about walking a llama on the beach? Llamazing Adventures in Haute-Aboujagane offers various experiences, including taking llamas for a sandy stroll. llamazingadventures.ca

Walk with llamas on the beach.

Photo: llamazingadventures.ca

• You’ve overnighted in many accommodations, but what about staying aboard an authentic, retrofitted lobster boat turned into an Airbnb with a hot tub? Jacob Boy accommodates six. westrivercamping.ca/jacob-boy-boat-rental

This former lobster boat is now an Airbnb that sleeps six.

Photo: West River Camping

• You’ve enjoyed your share of coffee and frequented many cafés. Here’s a deeper experience. Visit Epoch Chemistry in Moncton for a guided coffee tasting with their in-house java expert. In a one-hour session, guests sip as they learn about the chemical composition of coffee, compare flavours of different beans, and try perfecting the espresso press technique. epoch.coffee

• For a unique birdwatching experience, stroll among the puffins on Machias Seal Island with Sea Watch Tours. When you land on the island, you hold a steel pole over your head as you walk. Some birds are protective of their property and will fly at you and hit you in the head to keep you away, but holding a steel pole deters them. On the tour, visitors enter a cabin where they can photograph the nearby puffins. seawatchtours.ca

Puffins on Machias-Seal Island.

Photo: New Brunswick Tourism

• There’s traditional fishing, but what about shark fishing? St. Andrews Sport Fishing Co., takes people shark fishing, with a marine biologist onboard. The catch is microchipped and released back into the ocean, enabling scientists to conduct studies. standrewssportfishing.com

Whale watching

Photo: St. Andrew’s Sport Fishing Co.