St. Martins sea caves a slippery adventure

Calixte LeBlanc of Moncton is an avid outdoor adventurer who has been exploring the Canadian outdoors and travelling the world for the past 15 years, documenting it through photography and videography.

For his latest adventure for CBC Information Morning in New Brunswick, LeBlanc visited the sandstone sea caves of St. Martins on the Bay of Fundy.

"The tides were a little too high for us to go explore like we wanted [when we arrived], so what we did was, the Fundy Trail Parkway was just right there, so we went and drove the Fundy Trail Parkway."

LeBlanc says it's a beautiful drive with plenty of lookouts.

"It kind of reminds me of the Cabot Trail. It follows the coast line and you get to see the cliffs and the green forests, so it's really picturesque and beautiful."

To visit the sea caves, LeBlanc says people park their cars at the The Caves Restaurant, where you can see the caves from the parking lot.

"They don't look that big when you're at the restaurant but when you actually walk up to them, they're gigantic caves. It's really kind of deceiving. They're red rocks and they're all formed by the ocean. The erosion makes it really kind of round and really beautiful."

To get to the caves, explorers have to cross a little brook.

"I didn't bring any flip-flops or water shoes so we just went barefeet," said LeBlanc.

"Some people would maybe prefer to bring something to cross the brook to make it a little bit more safe because it is slippery there is some seaweed in the bottom."

When you get to the sea caves, LeBlanc says it's a lot offun to explore.

"You can go into the sea caves and it gets darker and darker and there's water dripping all over the walls, so it's kind of spooky in a sense."

Fundy Trail Parkway and St. Martin's Sea Caves

Length: Fundy Parkway: 16 km newly constructed road with walking trails ranging from.34 km to 2.7 km.St. Martin's Sea Caves: several kms of beach and cave access at low tide.

Difficulty: easy moderate/strenuous.

Hiking time: varies according to trail length.

Trail Condition: Fundy Trail Parkway: opportunity to enjoy beautiful vistas without evenleaving the comfort of your vehicle or follow well groomed and clearly marked trails, someboardwalks and stairs / St. Martin's Sea Caves: rocky beach, boulder climbing to accessmore of the caves and beautiful views (may be wet or covered with sea weed depending ontide schedule), brook crossing.

Access: From Sussex, take Main St (NB 121E) to Needle Rd (NB 111W) in Sussex Corner.Turn right, following Route 111W for 48.5 kms. Turn left onto Main St in St. Martins andcontinue for 1.5 kms. Parking is available just past the Caves Restaurant for access to thebeach and Sea Caves. Continue straight on Main St for access to the Fundy Trail Parkway.Cost for entrance to the Parkway is $6.00 for adults, $5.00 for seniors, $4.00 for children(12 and under) and $22.00 for families, plus tax.

The Trail:Check the tide schedule for St Martins at http://bayoffundytourism.com/tides/times/. Inorder to access St Martins Sea Caves, visitors must plan to be in the area at low tide. Beprepared to cross a small brook (either using water shoes or cross barefoot), after whichone can walk into the caves that have been created by the powerful tides of the Bay ofFundy. To view even more impressive caves and views of the bay, more adventurousexplorers can scramble over boulders which may be wet or covered with seaweed, makingthem rather slippery. Some narrow pathways have been created through the seaweed fromthe many tourists who visit the area daily.

The Fundy Trail Parkway provides several opportunities to stop at picturesque lookouts,enjoy secluded beaches as well as several open and covered picnic areas. Five trails offerexplorers easy to strenuous hiking experiences on very well groomed and marked trails.Gravel, boardwalks and stairs in some areas make the hike accessible for most visitors. Oneof the five trails is the Fundy Footpath (41km) and is only recommended for experiencedhikers. This strenuous trail begins at the suspension bridge (accessible from the Parkway)and hugs the coast line ending at Fundy National Park. This trail requires 3-4 days tocomplete and close monitoring of the tides is required. More information on the FundyFootpath can be found at http://fundytrailparkway.com/en/the_fundy_footpath/. A mapof the Parkway is provided upon admission.