When Ed and I started planning our trip to New Brunswick we studied the tide charts for the Hopewell Rocks and planned our trip around the day that had both a low tide and a high tide during 9am and 5pm (the current open hours for Hopewell Rocks) or close enough. Today was one of the days --- hide tide was at 8:52am and low tide was at 15:29. We arrived at the park just after 9am so we were able to see the rocks just after high tide.

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This photo was taken between a half hour and an hour after high tide.

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The rocks at about 12 noon, 3 hours after high tide. The beach was starting to be accessible. The water is just on the far side of the rocks.

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The rocks at low tide. The beach was out at least one hundred yards. While studying the tide charts we also learned that not only the time of the tide changes but also the height of the tide. Today we saw one of the lower high tides (33.8 feet) and higher low tides (11.5 feet). In September high tides can be as high as 41.3 feet and low tides can be as low as 4.3 feet.

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We walked the length of the beach about 2 hours before low tide so we had to scramble over a lot of rocks. It was less than an hour before low tide we when walked back up the beach and we were able to avoid most of the rocks.

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At either end of the rocks were mud flats. The mud flats are home to a tiny shrimp that birds, especially the Arctic-breeding birds I mentioned in the blog two days ago, love to eat.

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Standing at water's edge looking back at the rocks.

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The chocolate waters of the Bay of Fundy. The colour comes from the rocks on the floor of the bay.