Article Hopewell Rocks

The Canadian province of New Brunswick is one of the smaller provinces in the country. The area is slightly smaller than the Czech Republic, however, the whole area is burdened by only about 750,000 inhabi­tants. And, of course, just like everywhere in Canada, there is a lot of natural beauty and interest. One of them and probably the biggest attraction near the city of Moncton are the Hopewell Rocks. It lies about 40 kilometers south of the above-mentioned city on the road No. 114, which then continues to the National Park Fundy. As almost always in North America, the attraction is preceded by a large parking lot, which is free and then you have to go through the main entrance, where our wallet stays lighter by about $ 12 per adult. It is open from 9 am to 5 pm, but take this information as a guide, it may change during the year. Right behind the entrance turnstiles is the main building with a souvenir shop, an exhibition on the history of the place and also a restaurant, where you can relatively cheaply get a meal in the Czech Republic quite exclusive, namely lobster. The lobster plate, which is a whole lobster with a side dish here costs $ 28 plus tax. And now we will focus on the place itself. The biggest experience, there is actually a tide, which while, for example, in the morning allows you to walk along the coast under the rocks, in the afternoon you can swim in the same places on kayaks. Hopewell Rocks is a group of rocks formed by sandstone and sediments and 40–70 feet high, the lower parts of which tirelessly grind the sea during its regular „ascents“ twice a day. When you pay the entrance fee, you will receive a map with the route and descriptions of sightseeing points along the way. First we follow the trail with views of the individual rock formations. We move to the viewpoints, from which you can see the Cornices, the Diamond Rock, the Elephant Rock, the Great and Sea Caves, the Castle Cave and the Apple Rock. The whole trail measures about a kilometer and ends at a large staircase, which with its 101 steps will take you to sea level, so to the places from where you will observe these creations from below. From here you will first see the Arch of Love and the Bear Rock. From there we actually go back, only a few contours below and what we saw from the prospects we can see up close. In several places, the park rangers patrol to send all visitors to safety in time, because at high tide the water rises up to 16 meters higher. After the wet sand, you can walk to a place called The Ledges and back. However, it is an art to take photos without tourists moving forever. We return to the stairs, but continue around the cliffs and rocks named ET, Flowerpot and Stepmother. On the north beach we climb a few steps up and along a paved road we return to a large staircase. There is a toilet, vending machines and also a gathering place for those interested in a kayaking experience. And because we are in North America, there is also a train or a golf cart that will take those interested back to the main building for a fee. Well, we can manage that kilometer on foot. In addition to the fact that you can admire creations transformed by sea water, those interested can also observe numerous species of birds. Hopewell rocks are among the gems you simply have to visit if you move in the area, despite the fact that the elements are still deforming and may also gradually destroy them, as happened last year at the elephant rock, where it fell around 200 tons of stone. So maybe you'll make it.

Morning view from the viewpoint still on the sand on the beach. In about 4 hours, the whole place will be under water

Another color of the rock shows how far the water rises at high tide

Water transformed nature into interesting shapes. This rock, for example, is called ET