On muddy waters

Yesterday (July 12, 2017), I took the opportunity to go Tidal Bore Rafting on the Shubenacadie river, off Cobequid Bay, at the upper end of the Bay of Fundy. If that’s a lot of places you have never heard of, it is about an hours drive northeast of Halifax, or 30 minutes west of Truro, Nova Scotia. I had wanted to do this the last time I was in Nova Scotia, but as it is based on the tides, the timing didn’t work for my trip. I am very happy that it worked out this time!

I went with Shubie River Wranglers, or as Hayley refers to it, “Emmet’s company”. For those of you like me, who hadn’t a clue what she was talking about, she is referring to Emmet Blois of Big Brother Canada fame. There are many companies to choose from, and from what I can tell, most would be similar although according to my “captain”, Emily, “we are the best because we have pirate flags!” (And mud sliding!)

As I left Truro fairly early, I went up to the town of Maitland. It is exceptionally small, but has the longest running General Store (since 1839). I had a tea to kill the time, and chatted with an older couple from New Zealand and another from the States. Both were in town to watch the tidal bore, which is the initial wave of the incoming tide.

Once it was time to go, I made my way to the River Wranglers sight, over a huge bridge. It is a bit hidden, and myself and a family from Ontario had to double check that we were in the right place. We signed our forms, got our life jackets and headed down a very muddy slope to the riverbed. The bridge to our left is very impressive, and when you see the water levels on the old bridge supports, the magnitude of the tides starts to sink in. When we started, the water was only a few feet deep, and it rises at least 6-8 feet in a few hours. (To the top of the eroded part of the old piles.)

Once on the water, we headed towards the mouth of the river. Along the way, we stopped for a clean freak’s worst nightmare, mud sliding. It is exactly how it sounds. You trudge through knee deep mud, making certain that you don’t stand in one place too long. Once at the top, you run and slide down the hill. (This area is covered with water during high tide). Good fun!

After a quick rinse in the red/brown waters of the river, it was back in the boat and onwards once more to see the tidal bore. Emily informed us that despite the higher tides (full moon), the actual tidal bore (first wave of the incoming high tide) would likely only be 6-8 inches high. She was correct, it was quite tiny and unimpressive, but the waves that followed were fun! When the waves are good, it is similar to white water rafting, however, the waves are very short lived and meant that we had to chase them down the river. At one point, it felt like we were sharks circling our prey, as all the zodiacs circled the waves (from the many companies).

Needless to say, the 2 hours went by quickly, and I decided to extend my tour to the full 4 hour experience. I switched boats and we headed down to the lower half of the river. The waves were rougher (or Emmet is a crazier driver) and we got knocked around more than before. (There were also now only 3 of us on the boat instead of 8). My camera battery was dying, but I didn’t have as much of a chance to film anyway, as I had to hold on with both hands just to stay in the boat. To finish off the tour, we hopped in the river and floated down for a bit. I am glad that I ended up doing the 4 hour tour; by that time I had had my fill!