Shy & Opinionated: Cape Enrage, New Brunswick

We have been visiting Cape Enrage for years. I grew up in New Brunswick and frequently visit Hopewell Rocks and Fundy, this place is tucked away between the two. When we first started going it was to enjoy the view of the lighthouse and walk along the rocky beach. They now charge a fee to enter this area.

The Picture of the lighthouse below is from a few years back - before they added fences and built stairs everywhere.

This shows the cliffs on a nice day.

Here is a picture of the same location, only from above and with the tide in.

There are rock cliffs which are interesting to look at and you can find fossils everywhere. The first year we went and had to pay we were overcharged, which, at the time, I overlooked as an honest mistake as it was a child in the booth. I don't know if I still believe it was a mistake after our last trip there.

They have made a lot of upgrades since they started charging an entrance fee, such as better stairs and bathrooms. Not all of the upgrades are good. They have so much fencing now that the view is marred and you cannot get a good picture of the lighthouse anymore. Here is a picture of the new stairs.

This is what the stairs looked like a few years ago.

Also, they have added a small zipline which has added to the amount of beams, steps and platforms marring the view. The zipline does not go across water, just across some alder bushes. They are very conscious about safety which is a good thing. The bad thing is that you have to wear a hairnet under your helmet – awful! If you have never ziplined before this would be a good starter one as it is very short and they have put every precaution possible in place so you feel very safe. Here are a couple of pictures from the year I tried out the zipline.

Over the years they have added three little buildings besides the main building that housed the restaurant. One building has a gift shop, one has the washrooms and is where we paid and got ready to zipline a couple of years ago. When we went this year they had added yet another little building with the word adventures on it. For years I have been wanting to try the repelling there and the timing never worked out. Below is a picture of the restaurant, behind it you can see the corner of the souvenir shop and in the background the zipline stand. To the left of the zipline is where the new adventure building is and behind me is the lighthouse and the building with the bathrooms.

This is a picture of the booth you pay at when you enter the area.

This was the year to repel and I was very excited.

I checked the website and tried to book ourselves for the repelling/zipline package. There was no number to call just an online form to fill out and at the end it said someone would get back to me. I received an email confirming they had received my request from cape Enrage and that someone would contact me shortly. I assumed it would be by phone as I had left two numbers, as requested, but someone named Greta sent me an email saying she was the CEO. She said if we wanted to confirm our reservation I would have to send my name, address and Visa number via email. I was very leery of this is not secure at all. I did finally decide to do it as I really wanted to go and I could not find a number to call. A week later I still had not heard anything back so I emailed the original Cape Enrage email asking if I had sent my information to a legit person or if I had been hacked. They got back to me quickly saying they were legit and we were confirmed. I had asked several questions in my email as requested on the online form – none of those questions were answered except for one, that we would have to pay an entrance fee on top of the adventure cost. I was also told we would only be able to repel, not zipline. Why I do not know. I was also told to wear old clothes as the repelling equipment could stain them - good to know.

The day arrived and we left our hotel excited for this newest adventure but as we drove the temperature dropped lower and lower. I stopped in Alma and bought the cheapest long sleeved shirt I could find to wear under my t-shirt and I was still frozen. Then the winds came up and the rain started coming down in sheets. The fog was so thick you could barely see. I thought, we have wasted our time, there is no way they will let us repel in this terrible weather as it cannot possibly be safe.

On the way there a truck was following us at very high speeds, he almost lost in going around a corner and when a rabbit came out on the road and we had to brake, he almost ran into us. We pulled over at the beach and let the terrible driver pass – he was one of the staff when we arrived. We arrived shortly before our start time of 10:00. There was no one in the information booth when we arrived but there were some cars in the parking lot. We ventured out in the rain but all the buildings were locked up, there were only a few tourists venturing out to take a picture of the lighthouse.

We waited and waited and finally saw some workers. They assured us that someone would be around shortly. About 10 after 10 we saw some more staff and went to the building where we had been set up for ziplining the year before. They sent us to the main booth – in the pouring rain I might add. We assumed the repelling would be cancelled and were told, no it was a go and so we asked how much it would cost us to cancel – since it seemed really unsafe at that point and we were freezing. We were told we would still have to pay half if we cancelled. Since I had wanted to go for years and I didn't want to loose that much money, I decided we would go – storm or not and it would be what it would be.

We fought our way back through the driving rain to the building we assumed we would be suiting up at but we were wrong, it had moved to the newest building. None of the staff we had spoken to so far had given us any information as to where we should go. So away we went to sign waivers and get geared up. I had to wear my rain jacket (which was white) – as my teeth were chattering and I was shivering. I was actually fearful that it might snow as the temps were in the single digits. We had to wear the horrendous hair net again – one reason I will never spend money there again.

Then we followed a short path through the woods, did some basic training on a shed and from there we went to the rock wall. The rain was easing off by that time, thankfully, but it was still freezing and everything was wet and slippery. The repelling itself was easy and quite fun. I enjoyed that part quite a lot. If you have done any type of thing were you are relying on a harness you would have no trouble at all. I have done several ziplines in the past, as well as treego, and found this very easy and I’m proud to be able to say I did it. I actually did it a few times because if you do it quickly you can go down again, it is all dependent on the tides.

Two people can repel at one time. You are “controlling” one of the lines holding you but they have a second one that the guides are lowering you on so it is kind of a false pretense that you are actually doing the work yourself. The second trip down one of the guides came down on the rope beside me. I asked which side was the easiest to go down and she said she didn’t know as it was her second time down it. Seriously – I cannot make this up!

The hardest part about repelling, for me, was the walk back up the hill. I am quite fit but I do have cold air induced asthma and it was very cold on this day (even though it was July). It is a very steep path through the woods. I was desperate for some water and wished I had thought to take some with me. That would have been helpful advice.

When we left my husband asked me how much we had paid and I told him – we had been charged for the repelling/zipline experience instead of the repelling package – a difference of $92. I had to send several emails to get the money refunded as they ignored me until I told them I was writing about my experience in a blog – then they were very prompt to give me the money owed.

I’m actually very sad about the whole thing, I'm glad I had the experience but I will never go back.They have destroyed a very beautiful area with a mess of scattered, useless buildings and lots of very ugly fencing. I was so excited to try repelling but the bad service, difficulty making reservations and overall experience in the rain made a very negative impression. They are very much in need of new leadership there. I frequent the area in the summer and from now on I will visit the two beaches between Fundy and Cape Enrage, one is sandy perfection and the other is a very interesting rock beach with cliffs on either side.