Saint John and St. Andrews

These two communities live and breathe the Fundy tides. The Harbour in Saint John had the tang of the ocean on the wind and as we strolled the Harbour Passage along the waterfront. The mist rolled in off the bay giving the boats an eerie presence at the wharf. The Old City Market just up the hill from the waterfront is also connected to Fundy: this is the place to buy (and smell and see and sample) the seafood from the cold waters – salmon, shellfish and of course, fresh lobster. I love the place: it’s colourful, friendly and impossible not to succumb to the edible temptations on every side. www.tourismsaintjohn.com and www.sjcitymarket.ca

Another 90 minutes south of Saint John, the resort town of St. Andrews has long been a part of the Fundy scene. This is where families come to stay and explore the Fundy Isles and go whale watching in the Bay of Fundy. There were two places here which had long been on my ‘to-do’ list and which I now have a chance to see: Kingsbrae Garden and Ministers Island.

Kingsbrae Garden is a riot of colour in July. Its 27 acres encompass gardens of all kinds of course - but also mazes, streams, woodland trails, children’s areas, a Dutch windmill, alpacas and an excellent restaurant and art gallery. Don’t miss “Pericles”, Kingsbrae’s Wollemi – this is a living fossil, a very rare pine tree species from Australia that was thought to be extinct for millions of years. There’s something for everyone here, even for someone with poison-green fingers like me.

And last stop on our trip: Ministers Island is truly a child of Fundy. Just a few minutes outside of St. Andrews, this is only an island at high tide. When the massive tidal flow is sucked out of this part of the bay, Ministers Island is connected by a drivable causeway to the mainland. In fact it’s the largest tidal island in North America.

Here is where the great Canadian Pacific Railway magnate Sir William Van Horne built his stately retreat and country estate called Covenhaven. Wandering around the house and the island acres, it’s easy to see why he fell in love with the place. Lovingly guided by Susan Goertzen, we fell into a wistful reverie of times past and views present. We ended up in The Tower on the southern tip of the island; here the views over the Bay of Fundy are boundless and as the sun shimmered on the waters of this magnificent Wonder of Nature, it was a fitting end to our Fundy journey. www.kingsbraegarden.com and www.ministersisland.com