Newfoundland - Day 10

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.

Adventure Tours in Twillingate - our ride for the morning

Some nice bergs lurking in Twillingate Harbour

You can get nice and close, especially if they aren't tall and top-heavy

I spy....

Beautiful blue streaks!

The far end of the monster berg...which took forever to get to!

A decent sized fishing vessel, for some scale

Bergy Bit for a pillow!

Sadly time to head back in

Hiking the Top of Twillingate Trail

Great views all around, except on the foggy sides!

Beautifully rugged trail too!

Long Point Lighthouse from below

Foggy view from the lighthouse cliff - we boated around that one earlier today!

Newfoundland - Day 9

After a long travel day, we opted to sleep in a bit - the tent was extra dark too, with the added tarps, and DRY....at least on the inside. The original plan had been to catch the ferry to Fogo Island today, but between fatigue and crappy weather, it seemed like a better idea to stay put and explore locally.

We headed into Twillingate for coffee, and ended up at our third choice, after the first two places weren't open....serendipity! Not only were the coffee and chocolate brownies excellent at the Blue Barrel Gallery Cafe, but we also ran into Arthur and Sarah again - we had met them on the Western Brook Pond tour several days earlier on the west coast.  

We sat and chatted for a while - they were staying upstairs in the historic Hodge Premises. Sarah was even distantly related to famous local opera singer Georgina Stirling.

After a lovely chat, we headed off to drive the various arms in the area to small villages like Merritt's Harbour, Herring Neck, Salt Harbour, Cobbs Arm, Too Good Arm and Pikes Arm. We did the steep hike up to the scenic panorama atop Pikes Arm - one of us may have even done it twice as the first trip up was merely a scouting mission. While the overlook on the far side was fogged out, there was still a great view looking down on Pikes Arm.  

Driving back to Twillingate, we took a right at the main fork and explored the other side of the harbour and neighbouring Durrell, before stopping at the end to hike one of the many Rock Cut trails in the area - this one to French Beach Cove. We also stopped for a quick and cheap lunch of ham on baguette! 

We tried our luck again at the Long Point Lighthouse, but the heavy fog persisted out on the headland. We did stop for coffee and a warm-up at the Crow's Nest on the way, and ended up buying a lovely piece of driftwood art from a gallery (White's Emporium) in the upstairs of the lighthouse.

Killing time to combat the weather (and delay the inevitable tenting), we stopped into Split Rock Brewing for a pint. After chatting with a nice couple from Windsor and trying out a flight of beers....Arthur and Sarah walked in and joined us for a beverage! (and very generously also picked up our tab on the sly!) We agreed to meet up for dinner some time in Kingston.

After looking around town a little more, we stopped for a warm dinner at R&J Restaurant overlooking Twillingate harbour - great burgers!

Back at Dildo Run, we chatted again with Stent Guy from the Kingston area, who advised that he HAD gone to Fogo today and it had rained heavily, ALL day. We also met another couple from Huntsville camping at a nearby site. We hunkered into the tent for another cool night (3 C) and some audiobook before drifting off to sleep.

Gut Arm

Salt Harbour

Pikes Arm overlook

French Beach Cove hike

Looking back towards Durrell

Looks like a great place for lunch!

Stilted building off the back of Long Point Lighthouse

Back to Dildo Run

Past the trees - our back yard view

Newfoundland - Day 8

The next day was pretty much a blur - quite literally. We left Snorri Motel in the rain, and made a brief but necessary detour into St. Anthony for proper coffee and breakfast for the long drive. From there, we followed a bus out of town and pretty much only saw its tail-lights in the rain and fog for the next few hours as we drove south on Route 430.....though Jane did spot another moose at the side of the road near the airport!

Other than a quick washroom stop at Western Brook Pond and fuel stop in Rocky Harbour, we soldiered on until we hit Deer Lake after about four hours. We took the opportunity to have Mary Brown's for lunch and a good stretch for the legs. Then we jumped on the Trans-Canada eastbound for a few more hours, until the Road to the Isles (Route 340) finally appeared.

Once through Lewisporte and some of the other built-up areas, we started encountering the causeways that connect the various islands and arms in the Twillingate area. We made a quick stop at a hardware store in Summerford for some additional tarps, rope and zip ties, before arriving at Dildo Run Provincial Park for three nights of soggy fun after about a nine-hour day in the car.

The tent was still wet from Gros Morne, and after waiting with several other people just to check in (the attendants were missing for about twenty minutes on a Friday night), the rain started again just as we started setting up. We added extra tarps on top of the wet tent fly, and did our best to mop the tent floor with dirty clothes before setting up the air mattress. The "charged" inflation pump got the mattress to about 80% before it died. Now tired, wet and hungry - we plugged it into the Jackery and resigned ourselves to going for dinner while it charged.

We headed into Twillingate and had a lovely dinner at Annie's overlooking the harbour. Jane had turkey soup followed by cod and fries, while I had a Greek salad and seafood chowder - delicious and just the thing to warm the belly. I also enjoyed a local cream ale from Split Rock Brewing up the street. There were quite a few icebergs evident in the harbour, and rumoured to be many more around. We tried to check out the stunning view from the Long Point Lighthouse atop the cliff at Crow Head, but it was solidly fogged in - we saw nothing, and heard only the constant blare of the fog horn.

Returning to camp, the semi-charged pump finished the job and we set up for another cool and wet night in the tent, though the extra tarps did at least help keep some heat in. A neighbour wandered by and it turned out that he had a stent put in his heart at Kingston General Hospital and raved about the nursing staff. Once again, small world....camping on the New World Island.

A brief break in the rain heading south on Route 430

More bergs starting to appear in the Twillingate area

Home Sweet Home....for three nights

Site #8 at Dildo Run PP

Public area over by the comfort station

Battening down for continued rain

The view from the back of our campsite

Newfoundland - Day 7

With light drizzle overnight, we began packing up a damp tent. Being clever and not yet having coffee in my system, I decided to put the car keys in a safe place, before flopping onto the air mattress in order to encourage the remaining air to depart. No sense puncturing our bed!

After rolling up the tent so well that it actually fit back in the bag, I handed the bag to Jane....just as I realized that the keys were now rolled firmly in the tent pocket inside. No problem says Jane, we'll use my keys for now and get yours out of the tent later......until she went to open the car to get her keys, and the doors were locked. In rolling up the tent with the keys inside, I had also managed to lock the car!

So we unrolled the tent, fished out the keys, and re-rolled the damn thing. Now fairly wet, we finished pack up and headed off to regain the 430 north, stopping in Rocky Harbour along the way for fuel and coffee. It rained off and on as we made the roughly four hour drive up the Great Northern Arm, following the Long Range Mountains all the way. Temperatures fluctuated madly from 7 C to 16 C seemingly around every turn.

Things got a little dramatic north of Western Brook Pond, where a family of Canada Geese wandered the road. Dodging well around the babies attempting to cross the road, I honked at them to deter them from crossing. The adults became incensed and reared up, hissing at the Juke like it was some threatening giant golden goose. In the end, nobody was hurt, and we warned oncoming traffic as well.

A little north of St. Barbe, where the ferry leaves for northern Quebec and Labrador, we started spotting icebergs in the Strait of Belle Isle. We counted quite a few along the coast before turning east to cut inland across the tip of the peninsula and taking the 436 N to St. Lunaire, where we stopped for fuel and a washroom break. We also started tracking a few specific icebergs using an app, including larger bergs in St. Lunaire, Gunners Cove, and Norstead.

We then visited the main destination for the day and main reason for the long trip up the peninsula, the UNESCO World Heritage site at L'Anse aux Meadows - an excavated Viking ruin from the year 1000. After walking the grounds and the recreated village, complete with actors in costume playing their parts, we hit the gift shop for a locally made version of an old Viking chess game.

With only a short night before heading back, we opted for a local motel (Snorri Cabins), with a handy restaurant just across the street owned by the same people. We had a late lunch at Skipper Hot's before settling into our room, delicious ground beef and gravy on fries (me) and dressing and gravy on fries (Jane). Great food and friendly people! We later returned to the same restaurant for takeout dinner to enjoy in our room. 

With tornado warnings for back home, our hopes of Northern Lights were sadly dashed by cloud cover.

Icebergs ahoy!

More bergs off the northern tip

L'Anse aux Meadows historic Viking site

Excavated Viking ruins from over a thousand years ago....

....and some recreations of the village that once stood on this site

Living the Life!

The Forge

Longing for longhouses

Scanning for ships

We bought Viking Chess hand made by a local!

Early explorers

Statue of Leif Erikson at Norstead

Our lodgings for the night near Straitsview

A few local offerings!