Saturday, September 29, 2018 (Headquarters Campground, Fundy National Park, NB)

We wanted to see low tide, which was at 9:30 this morning, so we thought we would drive up to the viewpoint where there was a good view of the bay. That was a bust...we thought it would be very visible but it wasn't. So much for that idea.

After that little drive up the hill, we headed back down, through Alma...low tide here...

Fishing boats are high and dry!

We took highway 915 to Cape Enrage Road...

The road was narrow and a little lumpy and bumpy but it was a gorgeous day...

There were a lot of salt marshes along the way...

We drove through Cape Enrage Marsh Nature Preserve...

The Cape Enrage Nature Preserve boasts breathtaking views from a publicly accessible cobblestone beach showcasing the marshland, woodland and coastal areas.

A beautiful sandy beach once you got past the rocks...

We arrived at Fundy's Cape Enrage, paid our $6 each admission fee and parked the truck...time to get out and explore the area!

History of Cape Enrage
One of the oldest names on New Brunswick's Bay of Fundy coast, Cape Enrage came from an early French descriptive, 'cape of rage', testament to the turbulent waters that are often encountered in the vicinity, especially on the extensive reef pointing south which is wildest during mid-tide. The name appears as 'Carage' in the records of Franquelin-DeMeulles of 1686 and as Cape Enraged in the records of DesBarres in 1779. There are also previous references to the site as 'row-shee-head' and as Little Rocher (rocher being the French word for 'rock')

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Zip Line platform...and the stairway up to the lighthouse...
Experience the thrill of a lifetime! Get a unique view of the world famous Bay of Fundy from our over-600 foot long zip line.

Cape Enrage lighthouse is one of the oldest on New Brunswick’s Fundy coastline. The original light was built about 1840 at a cost of £600 and was probably a fixed, white light which may have been changed later to a green hazard light. David Tingley sold the land for £50 and allowed a road to be constructed to the Cape at no charge.

Recently, records have been found indicating that a second lighthouse (the current one) was built at Cape Enrage in 1870. This light had a revolving white light until replaced with a fixed green light about 1999. Cape Enrage is actually an island now called Barn Marsh Island and is only connected to the mainland by a beach-head along which the road has been constructed. It is separated from the mainland by Barn Marsh Creek.

The View from Here
You are currently looking out over Chignecto Bay, a northern extension of a rift valley which forms the Bay of Fundy and divides the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Driven by its tidal phenomenon, Fundy is one o the most unique marine eco-systems in the world. On a clear day, you can see across the bay to Nova Scotia. You can also see Grindstone Island and to the south, Fundy National Park, the core zone of the Fundy UNESCO Biosphere. At certain times during the twice-daily tidal cycle, you can see the rocky and tumultuous reef which juts south from the cape, a point of avoidance for inexperienced mariners. During lobster season, you're able to see lobster trap buoys that are placed so close you can actually talk from shore with fishers as they haul their catch.

Rapids at the end of the point of land in the above photo from the changing tide...

Fundy National Park where we're staying, in the distance...

Checking out the view from the zip line platform...

We walked down the path to the treeline...that's the starting platform for the zip line on the left...

Stairs down to the beach...and the cliff where you can have another adventure and rappel down. We later found out the lady in blue below had just rappelled down the cliff and was being filmed for her audition for next seasons Survivor Show. (A favourite of ours)  Canadians are allowed on the next season of the show...

Enjoy an exhilarating descent on the 43m (142 ft) cliffs overlooking the Bay of Fundy's giant tides and spectacular currents. All rappelling equipment is provided and our experienced Adventure Guides will give you pre-instruction, as well as pointers during the entire rappel session.

View from the cliff rappelling platform...doesn't look so high in the picture but it is!

Stairs up to the starting point for the zip line...

Looking back up the hill...that building on the right houses the Cape House Restaurant...

The Survivor applicant is about to be filmed on the zip line...

We quickly made our way to the platform to watch her come in...

We missed her first run but made it to the platform on her second one...

We met Charlene Fox after she landed on the platform. She works for Tourism New Brunswick in Moncton and was very enthusiastic about her audition for Survivor...

We wish her luck! How cool would that be...watching one of our favourite TV shows and having met one of the contestants... Good luck Charlene!

We really enjoyed our visit to Cape Enrage...time to head back to Alma...

Apparently this used to be hay fields back in the day...

We stopped in Alma for lunch...we had planned on going to the Tipsy Tails restaurant but the doors were locked when we got there...apparently they had just closed for the season. So we ended up at Tides Restaurant...I had mussels and Steve had seafood chowder...both were delicious...

By the time we got home, clouds had come in and it was now mainly cloudy with the sun peeking through occasionally. We sat outside and when it got chilly, Steve brought out the campfire-in-a-can. The end to a great day!