We were again up early in the tent, and given the light rain we headed into town for coffee rather than making our own at the campsite. Returning to the Blue Barrel, we again ran into Arthur and Sarah for the 4th time - granted, they were staying there - but still! After another nice chat, we grabbed more coffee to go and headed over to wait for our boat tour.
We had booked an iceberg excursion with Adventure Tours, featuring a smaller boat with fewer people and that could get up closer to the bergs, when safe to do so. Waiting to board, we met some nice couples from Oakville and Grand Rapids, on either side of us back home. We had already bundled up for a chilly day out on the water (close to zero) in the open boat, plus they gave us extra gear to wear.
Everyone had also heard the media reports of a tourist couple caught camping on an iceberg in the area, so that became a common joke throughout the day.
Once we were all suited up, we headed out with Captain Chris and Guide Jeff, through a harbour filled with lots of ice chunks. We circled several good sized bergs in the bay, before heading further out where a few larger ones had grounded in the outer harbour. They also kindly circled each berg in both directions, so that everyone on each side had their chance for photographs.
As we circled a nice berg, we could hear the Long Point Lighthouse fog horn and feel the cliffs looming nearby, but in the fog we couldn't see either. Jeff also regaled us with aspects of local history and culture.
After surveying a few lovely icebergs, we headed out a bit further to the back side of Burnt Island, where rested the largest iceberg we (or they!) had ever seen - it was roughly a kilometer around (400 m long), and just kept going and going and going. There was no way to capture it all in one photo, at least not from up that close.
As the two-hour tour wound down, we headed back to Twillingate, pausing for Jeff to net a bergy bit along the way to pass around the boat, which they also broke up back on shore for souvenirs - Jane had some in her pop as we enjoyed a beverage at on-site bar The Wharf!
After the boat tour, we paused to make our three Father's Day calls from the car to folks back home - given the time difference, we hadn't wanted to call too early......and then we were out on the boat.
We then drove up to the Top of Twillingate, another of the Rock Cut trails in the area. After a quick lunch of ham sandwiches at the parking area, we hiked up and over and around to several scenic overlooks....about half of which were fogged out, sadly the ones on the side facing the town and harbour. Views notwithstanding, the hiking was good too, in a gorgeous and rugged wooded setting.
We drove back to town and rewarded ourselves with wings and beer at Split Rock Brewing, then headed back up to Long Point for a third attempt to see....anything. The main viewing platforms were again fogged out, but a short hike down to the cliff past the lighthouse allowed us to glimpse one berg lodged on the rocky shore far below.
After grabbing takeout burgers and fries from R&J, we headed back to the campground where things were still wet but at least not getting any wetter. With impending departure in the morning, we also started packing up whatever was no longer needed for the night.
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