Over 160 tonnes of water rush through the Bay during each tide cycle every 12 hours. The difference between high and low tide in some parts of the Bay of Fundy can be as high as 50 feet. Part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is a popular spot for whale watching (you can see eight different species from Humpback to Right Whales), sourcing some of the best scallops from the Digby area, and the highest tides in the world. Those wishing to stick around afterwards can hire one of the park’s cosy woodland cabins and while away days hiking and birdwatching in the stunning riverside location.įrom scenic road trips to UNESCO-listed cities, Nova Scotia ( plenty more to offer travellers.Located between the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick on the eastern side of Canada is a fairly large bay know as the Bay of Fundy. The Tidal Bore Rafting Park in Urbania (tel: +1 8 offers rafting tours from May to October every year. Operators include Enterprise, Budget and Thrifty. Hiring a car is the best way of getting around Nova Scotia.

Icelandair ( flies to Halifax from Heathrow with a free stopover in Reykjavik. Because it doesn’t give a hoot about your career or your relationship status or the economy – and it’ll make sure you’re too busy clinging on to care either.Īir Canada ( flies non-stop from London Heathrow to Halifax, Nova Scotia four times a week. Forget golf or yoga or frying on a beach, if you really want to escape on holiday, come and pick a fight with the Fundy.

Tidal bore rafting is madness, but it’s also intoxicatingly good fun. The brute force of the Fundy whisks me along like a piece of driftwood trees along the riverbank pass by in a blur. “There are no rocks.” Already drenched I leap from the boat where I become a passenger to the tide. The waves gradually dissipate until all that’s left is a fast-flowing river. Somehow I manage to stay aboard, but others are thrown over – in the brief respite between breaks we fish them out of the torrent. We whoop and laugh uncontrollably, until our mouths fill with salty water. They crash over us relentlessly, each one stronger than the last. And I mean filling it only the rubber bow and outboard motor are visible, the rest of the boat is submerged.Īs the Fundy continues its surge, the waves get stronger. I knot my brow and wait for the waves, which break over the inflatable dingy, filling it with brown seawater. He smiles a mischievous smile and explains that we need the weight of the water onboard so we don’t flip over. “What do you mean fill the bloody boat with water? It’s a boat they’re not supposed to be filled with water.” “We’re going to fill the boat with water and then…” “Hang on a minute,” I interrupt. “Okay,” he says, preparing us for the next assault. You could see it in his eyes: he wanted to fight the tide and we were here for the ride. He talked timidly about the unique geology of the region and pointed out the menacing figures of bald eagles in trees along the riverbank.īut in the same way the tidal surge had transformed the previously calm Shubenacadie River into a torrent, it had also turned Travis into a lunatic. “These are the biggest waves so far this year.”īack on dry land I had thought Travis to be a calm, unassuming kind of guy. “You’ve picked the best day to come rafting,” says our captain, Travis MacPhee, grinning as the next set of waves bear down on us. It is those waves that make tidal bore rafting possible, those waves we have come to ride today. This experience might sound like an unfolding maritime disaster – the tormented memories of a shipwreck survivor, perhaps – but in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia this is a sport, and they call it tidal bore rafting.Įxclusive to Nova Scotia, tidal bore rafting is made possible by unique environmental conditions in the Bay of Fundy, which conspire to create the highest, most powerful tide in the world.Įvery day, approximately 200 billion tonnes of water gushes in and out of the bay, an unstoppable torrent that hits a bottleneck at the Shubenacadie River estuary where it surges upstream like a giant tsunami.Īs this tsunami rolls over sandbars in the river, monstrous waves are formed, some as big as 3.5m (11.5ft). I reach out and drag her aboard as the waves continue to rain upon us. Scanning the swirling mess around me I spot her bobbing in the water next to the boat, her face etched with a mixture of excitement and terror. I rub my eyes clear and realise the girl who had been sitting next to me has vanished the monstrous wave appears to have carried the poor lamb overboard. Gavin Haines reports from the brutal Bay of Fundy.Ī wall of cold, muddy water hits me square in the face. Tidal bore rafting is testament to the timeless appeal of mindlessness.

Nova scotia tidal bore