Nova Scotia, Day Three – Ferries

First, last night before hitting the hay early we managed to catch the Reversing Falls of Saint John. The Saint John river flows into the Bay of Fundy whose tidal range is about 16 metres (52 ft). The average tidal range worldwide is about one metre (3 ft 3 in). In one 12-hour tidal cycle, about 100 billion tonnes of water flows in and out of the bay, which is twice as much as the combined total flow of all the rivers of the world over the same period. All that water heads into the Saint John river which at low tide has a waterfall cascading into the bay. At high tide so much water goes in the falls literally “reverse”. It’s the kind of thing a tourist does and then says to themselves, “So, we saw that.” Here’s a short video so you get the “drift”.

As always, click to enlarge

Before going home for an early night we headed to Steamer’s Lobster for dinner. Lobster number one for me, two servings of oysters for Wayne.

Now, on to the ferries. Traveling through the maritimes inevitability requires boarding ferries. In the last two days we have taken three, one from Campobello Island to Deer Island, one from Deer Island to L’Etete, New Brunswick, and today the ferry from Saint John to Digby, Nova Scotia. First thing you see on the Campobello ferry is, well nothing. Just a ramp going into the water. That’s Eastport, ME across the bay.

The ferry arrives, two cars disembark and we board.

The next ferry was a little larger and since there is no bridge access to the mainland it is run by the Canadian government so there was no charge. Maneuvering through the maritimes must be very tricky, lots of turns and twists, sharing of the shipping lanes (ferries do go both directions) and always close to shore.

The ferry to Digby is a different story, eight decks, two of which hold vehicles, and a strict boarding protocol which requires you check in an hour and fifteen minutes before departure which for us was 6:45 AM. Up at 4:30 AM for boarding at dawn.