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Surf ‘n’ turf are on the menu in St. Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick — long before you even think of dining.
The appetizer is the unique chance to drive, cycle or even walk across the exposed ocean floor to Ministers Island, courtesy of the highest tides in the world in the Bay of Fundy. Dramatic as the water levels are — rushing torrents quickly drop a third of a metre per minute to reveal a half-kilometre gravel-like causeway — the tides can reach 10 to 15-plus metres elsewhere in the bay due to its “sloshing bathtub” effect.
From the circular observation bathhouse tower built by railway visionary William Van Horne at his summer residence of Covenhoven, both the Atlantic and our greenest province, 85% of it untouched trees and wilderness, begin to unfold.
Reverend Samuel Andrews preferred the seclusion when settling here in 1790, among hundreds of British Loyalists who’d crossed the newly defined border with Maine after the American Revolution. While challenged to visit his flock in the town (named for St. Andrews, Scotland) with his home cut off every six hours and 13 minutes on average, Van Horne came from Montreal each year and stayed put, hauling rocks at low tide to build a two-storey 50-room mansion, now a 200-hectare National Historic Site.
When not away linking Canada by rail — the iconic Last Spike photo of his team completing the Canadian Pacific dominates first-floor reception above the first of 11 fireplaces — Chicago-born Van Horne engaged in livestock, horse breeding (a three-storey 1898 barn is also on the self-guided tour), geology, painting and music. Such boundless energy to get up and see the world each day required just four hours sleep and so not to disturb his wife, kids and 33 servants, his private bedroom is a main floor anomaly.
Paintings by Van Horne, whose famous friends included Rudyard Kipling, and artifacts saved from renovations to the Algonquin Resort in St. Andrews are displayed with late 18th-century furnishings throughout Covenhoven. One staircase in the mansion is among the first to have glass steps to allow natural light, while the winding stone staircase from the tower to shore leads to remnants of a pool Van Horne had carved to catch and heat warm tidal waters.
There are 20 kilometres of hiking and bird watching on the pet-friendly Ministers Island, with staff sounding an alert for guests to clear off before access is flooded. When the water recedes, squeeze a handful of rock weed — its shoots have a clear liquid with skin cosmetic properties.
Leaving the Algonquin lobby, its conical red Tudor roof is where vacationing Maine writer Stephen King conceived the Overlook Hotel in The Shining, stroll 15 minutes downhill past clapboard churches and homes with Royal British street names and lawn-munching deer to Water Street in St. Andrews.
On the tiny peninsula’s north shore is the War of 1812-era Blockhouse with waterfront cannons that deterred Americans and pirates. It’s now preserved by Parks Canada as a small military museum, a great photo op of the harbour, capped by afternoon tea at the Niger Reef, one of many tasty restaurants that quickly fill for lunch and dinner on Water St.
Spoiler alert: Delicious seafood abounds around town at the Kennedy House (seared scallop salad), the Salt Blight (lobster mac ‘n’ cheese), Gables (tempura haddock), and William and Water (Fundy lobster toast). Nestled right on Market Wharf where whale watching, fishing charters and sightseeing boats come and go are The Herring (a fine international beer selection) and Seasons-by-the-Sea (Parmesan salmon bake). The cozy craft Saint Andrew’s Brewing Company permits outside food on its deck and most restaurants have a stack of blankets for cooler evenings.
After perusing shops and galleries, Water Street leads to Pendleton Lighthouse on the tip of Passamaquoddy Bay, where there’s a beach, oceanfront camping, the Pagan Point Nature Reserve and bike trails to Kingsbrae Gardens and the Bar Road to Ministers Island.
“How’s this compared to city noise?” teased Captain Chris Leavitt, cutting the engine near the lighthouse at Campobello Island for open water silence, broken only by sea birds and the far-off exhale of a humpback.
It was a little break in our two-and-a-half hour Island Quest Marine whale watching cruise with Chris and biologist daughter Nicole providing expert commentary for 10 guests. Sharp-eyed Nicole is also handy with her camera to snap bald eagles, seals and porpoises for us before the real stars of the show — humpbacks and their smaller cousins, finbacks and minkes.
Chris was a seventh-generation lobster, herring, scallops fisherman before his tour business and with his on-board depth sounder knows where whales gather for their favourite sardine feast. Nicole times the 100-metre dive of two playful humpbacks we’ve tracked, Chris brings us in behind from a safe distance and almost on cue about five minutes later, 30-plus metric tons surfaces to flash its fluke in the Fundy sun.
Nicole explained one of our humpbacks was untangled from a fishnet just a day before by the Campobello Whale Rescue Team, who zip in close in their Zodiac with special gear. While some of the returning whales are nicknamed based on their tail patterns, others are newcomers, with Nicole sharing any pics and info with the Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogue. Her Canadian and American colleagues on the bay always hope to spot the endangered right whale as its numbers dip and some bypass Fundy for the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The Leavitts’ whale tour generally runs June 10-Oct. 10, weather permitting. As Chris began encountering more sharks on his trips, he added them to both his fishing charters and research work, helping Nicole and the University of New Brunswick tag them.
We were on the water the day of a “super” tide, from a full moon that increases gravitational pull on Fundy and gives the Old Sow whirlpool near Deer Island, second largest in the world, an even more dramatic churn. We got a closeup of its immense power before Chris’ 400-horsepower engine cut through on to picturesque Head Harbour lighthouse on Campobello and the rocky outcrop of White Horse Island’s rare bird sanctuary.
Once we’d been informed a single tide change in Fundy can fill the Grand Canyon twice, it piqued interest to learn more of this natural wonder and the ecosystem that creates “places with two faces,” as our expert New Brunswick guide Neil kept reminding us.
A short drive from town, surrounded by active research buildings, the Huntsman Marine Science Centre annually welcomes 40,000 guests, scientists and the kid in all of us who wants to see harp and harbour seals frolic at feeding time, an ocean touch tank, and the many fish and lobster species in an environment replicating the tides. There are indoor/outdoor education programs for local students and a one-day young visitors’ program to walk the beach or take a cruise.
Saint John is the closest city airport to St. Andrews by-the-Sea, a bit more than an hour west, with daily flights from Toronto and Montreal. If exploring the Maritimes by car, it’s about five hours west from Halifax, N.S. and six and a half hours east from Quebec City.
Like Island Quest Marine, most whale watching companies operate late May/mid-June until mid-October.
For more information, go to standrewsbythesea.ca.
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