Grand Codroy RV
Trip Start
Oct 01, 2007
1
31
34
Trip End
Apr 28, 2009
Doyles,
Newfoundland,
Canada
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Our long anticipated trip to Newfoundland began with a 6-hour ferry ride. There was nothing much to see once we left port - just open ocean and heavy rain. However, we were mightily entertained in the lounge by a typical Newfie musician and comedian couple, "The Bugs & Debbie Greene" show. After the show Bugs joined us at our table and gave us several tips on what to see and do.
By the second night we had arrived in Kippens outside Stephenville and spent four nights at a very nice campground. It was a good place for a home base while we did several day trips. Among these were: Cape St. Georges, Long Point, the Port au Port Peninsula, an Alpaca/Lama farm and the town of Lourdes. Another day we went to Clarke Harbour - spectacular scenery- and then into Larke Harbour to include a visit to Captain Cook's monument at Bottle Cove.
Our next campsite in Rocky Harbour in Gros Morne National Park (a UNESCO heritage site) was our base for another five days. Our first chore upon arrival was to turn around and drive back to Corner Brook (246 km. round trip) the following day to take care of an electrical problem. Fortunately, it was covered by our warranty but took a chunk out of our day. Another Newfie group was playing at a local pub and we took that in one night. They were very talented. During the evening, they polled the room to see from where everyone was visiting. There were six different groups from BC, including us. We took a tour to Western Pond which entailed a 2 ˝-hour boat trip up a fiord. (We were told that it is technically not a fiord because it is fresh water.) The scenery was unbelievable! Other day trips included Cow Head and The Arches (natural arches formed by wind and wave erosion). We treated ourselves to Moose burgers as we left Gros Morne.
Twillingate was our next destination. Our campsite was the former home of the last Beothuk, a first nations people totally wiped out by the white man. We were delighted to have a site with ocean views of Back Harbour. There is a great deal to do in the Twillingate area. It is incredibly scenic and typically Newfie with the descendants hailing from Devon, England. We discovered that the many different Newfie accents are attributable to the area of the UK that settled them originally. The accent in Twillingate, for instance is very like the West Country accent of England, whereas in other parts of Newfoundland, they sound much more Irish. The area is surrounded by many tiny islands, coves and fishing villages. Gary was in shutterbug heaven! Twillingate is also the iceberg capital of the world. Day trips from here included: the Auk Winery, Crow Harbour, Long Point Lighthouse, Durrell, Morton's Harbour, Tizzard's Cove, Taylor's Room (so-named because the Taylor family were fishermen and a "room" is the family co-operative, open to only members of that family) and Prime Berth Fish Museum that tells the story of the codfish industry before its demise. Fogo Island included a 45-minute ferry ride from Farewell. We hiked up to Marconi Hill where the first transatlantic wireless message was received and then climbed Fogo Head and on to Middle Head. The steps in the photo numbered over 300 and that does not include the paces between the steps which would be about another 300. We found spectacular views from the Heads of Fogo, Tilting (an original Irish settlement still living the old way), Joe Botts Arm and Stag Harbour.
After one night on the move, we found ourselves in ancient St. John's for a week. Five of those nights were spent in Pippy Park which is a municipal RV park in the middle of St. John's. It is well treed and one would never know that it is in a city. We visited Fort Amherst, Signal Hill, the tiny community of Quidi Vidi (pronounced kiddy viddy) which houses a micro brewery at which Gary had a personal tasting and tour, Cape Spear and Witless Bay (another extensive hike vainly in search of puffins).St. John's abounds in pubs. Our choice was the Celtic Hearth where they served Strongbow for Carie - hard to find.
After four weeks on the "Rock", in our opinion Newfoundland is not to be missed. We spent the last two nights in a former provincial campground in the Codroy Valley with yet more spectacular scenery. One would think we would tire of it. Nuh-uh!
This morning we caught the 9:00 am ferry 36 km away in Port aux Basques to sail to North Sydney, Nova Scotia.
Hope you are all well. For a change we are!
