Newfoundland Trip Summary 2014

Transcription

1 Newfoundland Trip Summary

2 2 Newfoundland July-August, 2014 This Trip Summary is an edited version of our periodic s to Family and Friends. NL Report #1 Well, we have finally arrived! It has taken us seven days to reach the southern tip of Newfoundland (NL). It was six days, and 1,000 miles from Ottawa to the ferry in North Sidney Nova Scotia, and six hours today on the ferry to Port aux Basques NL. We are now spending a night at the St. Christopher s Hotel in Port aux Basques since the ferry arrived too late to set up camp. Our NL adventure will start tomorrow, after a good night s sleep. If we see all we want to see in Newfoundland, we will travel 2,500 miles on the island! Our first sighting of Newfoundland Port Aux Basques from our hotel NL Report #2 We are now some 3,000km from home and 800 miles up the west coast of Newfoundland, at the extreme north end in St Anthony and L'Anse aux Meadows. We spent seven days in Newfoundland to get this far with several in-out detours for special sightseeing. Newfoundland is affectionately called "The Rock" but the west coast is NOT! We have been treated, at least as far as the northern part of Gros Morne National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site), to lush evergreen mountains and valleys, with the road ascending and descending, sometimes steeply, between them. We have fallen in love with Newfoundland! The west coast reminds us of Scotland and the weather of UK holidays! We have had hot, sun, cold, rain, high winds and sea fog (but no snow!). En-route to St Anthony, we have toured/detoured very picturesque fishing villages, hiked cliff tops, eaten fabulous off-the-boat 2lbs lobsters at a restaurant in the fishing village of Trout River, then joined the locals celebrating Canada Day, with music and dancing, while

3 3 the kids competed in tug-of-war on the beach. At Tablelands, in the Gros Morne National Park, we walked the only place in the world where the Earth's mantle bubbled up a gazillion years ago, and remains exposed on the surface. We have taken a boat ride into a rare now inland fjord, Eastern Brook Pond, also in Gros Morne, visited Interpretive Centres on the first inhabitants the Maritime Archaic (Port au Choix) and the first European settlers (French) on the west coast. Today, our big treat was a boat tour, out of St. Anthony, to view icebergs up-close-and-personal, plus humpback whales. Tomorrow, if the hurricane heading up does not arrive, we will visit the circa 1,000CE Greenland Norse (aka Vikings) Settlement Historic Site at the L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site. Lark Harbour Same cliff top hike at Bottle Cove, near "Blow Me Down" Provincial Park where we stayed for two days

4 4 Tablelands, Gros Morne, Earth's Mantle - a very windy box canyon at end of guided hike View from Canada Day campsite Rocky Harbour

5 5 Gros Morne fjord called Western Brook Pond - but it is NO POND! One of the several icebergs we saw all were some 100 feet high (our tour boat guide told us that 7/8th's of an iceberg is under water and it has taken 2 years to get here from Greenland but will melt here in just 2 months! Report 2a: A Unique Newfie Collection! So, we were on a beach in Twillingate, watching the locals catch Capelin (small fish that shoal near the shore like sardines but bigger), and chatting with Fred (Newfoundlanders are great chatters), when Fred said "Oh you should visit Melvin who has a boat house across the bay, it is red with a blue door. He is a retired fisherman who loves visitors, and has a collection of stuff. So we went in search of Melvin. No sooner had we parked the

6 6 camper than Melvin stopped helping his son build a boat house, and welcomed us to his hut. A few years ago, he had a visitor from Germany who left his ballpoint pen, after signing Melvin's guest book, and so started a collection! He now has more than 3,000 pens from all over the world, plus unusual rocks, shells, and memorabilia he has collected. He also had several stories of course. One related to a Newfoundland WW1 soldier writing home from the trenches who began his letter "Dear Mum, I am writing this slowly because I know you don't read fast..." Photos of Melvin and his collection below... Melvin's boathouse and son's in progress to right Melvin and his pen collection NL Report #3 Melvin's security system! During the past seven days, we have visited the Norse (Viking) site at L'Anse aux Meadows where our guide gave us a fascinating account of his life growing up in this remote NW corner of Newfoundland, and of the Norse who were briefly here. We then travelled back

7 7 down the west coast with a one night "hotel fix" in Rocky Harbour, and the first of now three delightful Newfoundland musical evenings. This one was by the group called Anchors Away. As we crossed the Central region we left the sometimes rainy weather behind, and have been treated to beautiful warm sunny days. We spent three days in Twillingate. The area is renowned for its Icebergs, and we were not disappointed. From our campground we could see three large icebergs, and we could not resist another boat ride to circumnavigate two really BIG icebergs. In and among, we have learned of the first aboriginal people of Newfoundland, the Maritime Archaic, and the more recent Beothuk (who were driven to extinction in 1829) and the Mi kmaq who have survived. We are very seriously considering immigrating to Newfoundland the island and its people are truly amazing. Everyone has more than one story to tell (it was how they kept themselves entertained during the winter and many of the stories are actually true!). We are now on historic Fogo Island for three days, after a 45 mins ferry ride for the grand total (including campervan) of $15.70 return. The campground is at the northeastern tip, in a beautiful cove, and we are looking at seven icebergs as we write this. I enquired about Happy Hour ice but there was none available. Later a local having overheard my enquiry drove up with a bag of iceberg ice as a gift. This is so typical of Newfoundlanders! For exercise, we hike up Brimstone Head where the campground is located. Today, we visited the historic fishing village of Tilting, and then had lunch at the architecturally unique and becoming world renowned Fogo Island Inn at $600+ per night we did not stay! Photos below. Newfoundlanders, especially those in the more remote communities (Outports), like their grandparents are remarkably resourceful, and self-sufficient. They obtain permits to log the nearby forests, and stack their firewood by the road to dry (often 10 miles from home). They have kitchen gardens, and if the soil is no good on the coast, they create them inland, again by the side of the road. They stock their freezers for the winter with cod, salmon, trout and moose. An impressive Log Pile!

8 8 This one was about 200m long by 25m across with 25m sticking out of the water. View from our campsite in Twillingate Hiking up Brimstone Head, Fogo Island (campground behind Jay our camper on second level).

9 9 NL Report #4 The iconic Fogo Island Inn There is a lovely story behind this Inn. Basically local girl goes away and makes a lot of money. Then realizes what she had on Fogo Island. She had the Inn built to attract tourists and artists. We spent an extra day on Fogo Island - it is so beautiful - and paid our respects to the Canadian Marconi Co Maritime Wireless Station historic site, before hiking a scenic meadow and cliff top 5.5km trail, and visiting the first of now several Fishermen's Protective Union historic buildings. The trail from the Marconi site on Fogo Island We spent two days driving to Cape Bonavista (the Bonavista Peninsula is the pointy bit before the Avalon Peninsula travelling east). Though we stuck to the coastal roads (one gravel), and through the Terra Nova National Park, the scenery was not as captivating as we have been seeing, except perhaps Newtown billed as the Venice of Newfoundland (a town built on islands connected by bridges - in NL these waterways are called Tickles).

10 10 Newtown - the Venice of Newfoundland Jay's photo of the week a Newfoundland Dory that a fisherman told us "Sat on the water like a seagull" We stopped at Cape Bonavista, for guided tours of the unique and historic lighthouse, the John Cabot Legacy Site (he landed in 1497 and claimed NL for England), and a Poole (Dorset, UK) Fishing Merchants Enterprise before proceeding a short distance south to the community campground in Elliston. The oil fired lamps of Cape Bonavista Lighthouse - the mechanism and lamps are original and were acquired from a lighthouse in Scotland in the 1840s Elliston, which bills itself as the Root Cellar Capital of the World (100+ with some still in use) was a treat. A short walk from the campground brought us to a trail to a cliff overlooking an island just some 50m away, which is the summer home of Puffins. That evening, and the next morning, we had up-close-and-personal views of these pelagic birds (and to think we had paid $$ for a boat ride in Nova Scotia 2 years ago to see just one puffin in the distance!).

11 11 Our next stop was Port Union, the birthplace of the Fishermen's Protective Union. Then, it was on to the scenic and historic township of Trinity for 2 days, and from where this comes from. We have visited lots of historic buildings, attended a play, musical and a dinner theatre (two in one night and all much fun and professional) - of note: with the demise of the fishing industry NL Outports are having to re-invent themselves to survive, and they are doing a great job in restoring buildings, and putting on events to encourage tourism. We also hiked the fabulous 5.5km highly acclaimed, and with good reason, cliff top Sherwink Trail. Though we now realize that 5.5km with ups and downs is our limit and we needed our usual afternoon nap after the hike! - getting older does have some downsides. On the Sherwink Trial near Trinity Just one of the many views from the Sherwink Trail During the past few days we have learned much about how the fishermen were treated by their UK "Merchant" masters and why in the early 1900s the Fisherman's Protective Union was formed - more on that in Graham s eventual book! NL Report #5 St. John s Our last started with us saying we stayed an "extra" day on Fogo Island. This time, we start with we came to St. John's one day "early" having arrived ignominiously in the cab of a

12 12 tow truck with our beloved Roadtrek rear-end hoisted in tow for 40km - the engine coolant system having failed! So this comes from St. John's where we had planned a "hotel fix". The week other than the breakdown was a "WOW". From Trinity we travelled mostly inland, and SE and we can confirm that very few Newfoundlanders live in the interior! There were beautiful forests, and grasslands, for as far as we could see. We overnighted at Cape St. Mary's, on the SW tip of the Avalon Peninsula where the next day we were treated, after a hike, to a Northern Gannet colony of some 11,000 Gannets. It was then to Portugal Cove South/Mistaken Point, where there is a unique site of fossils of the earliest known life forms of 575 to 542 million years ago. They are marine creatures known collectively as Ediacaran biota. The community is working with authorities to submit a proposal for this to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site of which it is deserving though access (via a guided tour) is a 8km drive on a gravel road, then a 2km hike ending with a difficult (for us oldies!) climb down to the unprotected portion (for tourists) of the 5km fossil site. It was/is extraordinary. The hike took us through an Eastern Hyper-Oceanic Barrens ecoregion (rare in North America and similar to the coastal region of northern Scotland). Example of two fossils at Mistaken Point Two Fossils on a Fossil bed! After Mistaken Point we headed north to a campground on a cliff top with great views, halfway between historic Ferryland and Bay Bulls on the east coast of the Avalon Peninsula. Our plan was to stay for three days until the engine cooling system failed.

13 13 Happy Hour at the campground halfway between Ferryland and Bay Bulls We spent a delightful and educational day at the archeological site in Ferryland (settled in 1622 under commission of Lord Baltimore whose family would later establish Maryland, USA) and a picnic lunch catered out of the Lighthouse a tricky gravel road drive away for our Roadtrek. The next day we were on Capt. Wayne's 8 passenger boat he had built himself for a fabulous time viewing Humpback whales very close in Bay Bulls. We got some reasonably good photos despite a fogged up camera lens but the real joy was just seeing the whales playing so close. Later we saw yet more Puffins and other seabirds. Humpback Whales It was when we were within 1km of the campground that the Chevy engine cooling system failed. We risked the last 1km with an overheated engine, and called the CAA and our garage in Ottawa (who confirmed the camper should not be driven but towed - Oh! Well

14 14 stuff happens!). Fortunately a garage in St. John's was able to fix the problem the next day - a coolant system hose had a hole caused by rubbing against an engine belt, and cost was only $130, what a relief. We are enjoying our "hotel fix" in St. John's. Historic Water Street was a bit disappointing (needing a bit of a facelift but this is a working port after all). But the Provincial Museum called The Rooms is fantastic and the residential areas away from the downtown core have attractive houses. Today we went to historic Signal Hill, where Marconi's first wireless signal was received, and Cape Spear the most eastern point of North America which means we have now officially covered Canada Coast-to-Coast, though we still have lots to see in Newfoundland, and maybe a side trip into Labrador. Also today we visited the charming small cove community of Quidi Vidi. Also, home of the craft Brewery of the same name where we tasted and stocked up on iceberg beer! The adventure continues... St. John's harbour from "The Rooms" museum with Signal Hill in the far left of centre Quidi Vidi with the Brewery to the right

15 15 Happiness is!!! NL Report #6 Our weekly is delayed since we have been without Wi-Fi for 8 days - yikes! How did we manage? For 7 of the past 10 days we just stayed put, at a small private campground in the coastal village of Kingston (on the east coast of the Baccalieu Peninsula, another pointy bit across conception Bay from St. John's). From here we did day-trips throughout the Peninsula visiting places such as: Brigus (hometown to Capt. Bartlett who guided Robert Peary to the North Pole); Cupids where there is a very interesting archeological site of the first European (English) settlement in Canada led by John Guy in 1610; Bay de Verde at the extreme northern tip of the peninsula; the Newfoundland and Labrador Wooden Boat Museum in Winterton and the Trans-Atlantic Cable Station Historic Site in Heart's Content both on the west coast of the peninsula. Again we learned a lot!

16 16 Brigus What made the week so special, and why we stayed is that the grassy (our first in NL) campground is owned, and operated by Brendan (a seasoned commercial fisherman), and his wife Jean whose lovely home is on the property. They deliberately do not advertise and for most of our 7 days stay we had the place to ourselves. We spent many an hour chatting, and learning about Newfoundland life, its history and the fishery, from a couple whose ancestors came to Kingston in the 1700s. It is now the 3 weeks recreational cod fishing season, and we had caught-that-day cod 4 days in a row thanks to Brendan. On our last day Brendan took us out in his small recreational fishing boat (he built this and his 40 footer himself which seems normal practise here), and we had great fun catching cod. It was a very special week. Like most Newfoundlanders Jean has a vegetable garden. She hurt her back fishing with Brendan so Jay was more than happy to help in the garden! Brendan's commercial fishing boat (named after eldest daughter) that he built 33 years ago and is still going strong. His main catch since the ban on cod fishing in 1992 is crab (as with all on this coast - lobster is on the west coast) which he says is very profitable.

17 17 Jay caught the first cod and was tempted to kiss it which is the initiation to become an honorary Newfoundlander but it was still alive! Graham's cod - between the three of us we caught 8 cod. During the "recreational cod fishing season" (3 weeks late July early August and 2 weeks in Sept) you are allowed to catch 5 cod per person per day). We are now in Gander heading back west (we've done 90% of NL) to revisit some places on our way to the ferry to Labrador - we are so close why not? FOOTNOTE: We did not make it to Labrador since a family emergency meant we had to head back to Ottawa (while serious at the time all was eventually well).