Why Newfoundland will steal your heart (and how it stole mine) — Part 1
In truth, I never planned to go to Newfoundland. I knew about it, I had read things and seen pictures, but it wasn’t until early 2016, did I feel the pull to go. I mean, when you see some of the pictures, learn about its people and check out the fabulous trip planner on their website, you’ll want to go.
My main goals for Newfoundland were: to visit Gros Morne National Park, to see icebergs, whales and puffins, visit St John’s and to do some hiking wherever possible. Oh, and also to get ‘Screeched-In’. Bonus points would be to visit the viking settlement of L’Anse aux Meadows, to hike in Terra Nova National Park and lastly, and something a local would tell me halfway through my trip, would be to visit the ill-fated B36 bomber that crashed near Burgoynes Cove in 1953.
I had two weeks to do it all, and would fly in and out of Deer Lake in the west. Why Deer Lake and not St John’s, some might be wondering? Well, I had managed to snag a $160 flight from Deer Lake to Calgary (my next stop) and thought I could start in the west, drive my rental car across the province, then drive back. This would turn out to be a headache, but more on that later.
How is Newfoundland different to other Canadian provinces?
Other Canadian provinces often distance themselves from Newfoundlanders — sometimes referred to as ‘Newfies — citing accent, tradition, cultural and geographic differences. But in many ways they’re not wrong— Newfies are different, but they are the kind of differences that will pique your interest. This is the good stuff!
The Newfie accent is a curious one — a thick colloquial mix of Irish, Scottish and North American/English. Then chuck in a generous French influence too, and you’ve got the recipe for some interesting conversations and some head scratching your end.
With quirky accents, come quirky sayings. And Newfoundland is chock full of them. “Get in the lun!” was a funny one that my Couchsurfing host, Kaila, told me about. It means, get out of the wind/draft — or words to that effect.
Kitchen parties are all the rage there too. Exactly how it sounds — a bunch of friends bring round food and drink and hang out in the kitchen. So simple and old-fashioned — I just love it.
Whilst fishing stocks are nothing like what they were, much of the industry in and around the coastlines of Newfoundland still encompasses fishing. It’s a source of social and cultural identity for many, and with that comes another reason to visit. Traditional sea folk music can be heard everywhere — not least in St John’s.
Day 1 — Deer Lake to Norris Point
I arrived in a chilly Deer Lake, with snow still on the ground, at around 2pm on April 27th, 2016. I’m not going to lie — I was apprehensive at what this part of the world would bring. Whilst I had seen pictures and had a rough idea of what I wanted to see, everything else was a complete mystery. Not to mention the weather, given how early I was visiting. I’d heard that the winters could be long and harsh.
First stop, car rental! First problem: they wouldn’t let me rent the thing! This was because I didn’t have a ‘credit card’. WHAT?! I had rented cars before in Nova Scotia; something had to be wrong? But no, the young lady stood firm and wouldn’t let me have it. In a bit of a panic, I called my Couchsurfing host, Kaila, and explained the details. Luckily she was just minutes away and offered me a ride to her place, where I could take stock and figure out my next move. Hero!
Kaila was in the throws of moving to Norris Point in the heart of Gros Morne National Park, for a new job. Looking out and across the water to the ‘Tablelands’ mountain range from the beach, the setting of her new home and the views were nothing short of sublime.
Kaila and I went for a short hike that afternoon so I could get my bearings. This really helped me feel settled and forget the airport car rental fiasco. Only a short while into my stay with Kaila, I felt a real sense of calm and ease come over me. The tranquility really catches you off guard at first, as it is so silent. You get the feeling that at any moment a whale could breach or some wildlife will suddenly stir and puncture the silence. I soon felt my body rhythm naturally slow down and give into the surroundings. Peace found.
Day 2 — Norris Point to Western Brook Pond
The next day, Kaila was kind enough to let me borrow her car. Even though the weather was still a bit changeable and chilly, I was super keen to get to the Western Brook Pond. Curious name for a 16km long fjord! Anyway, this serpent-shaped fjord truly has to be seen to be believed — ideally by at least the boardwalk hike to ‘entrance’, and where you can catch a ferry. There’s also a longer hike you can do (I couldn’t due to high water, weather and snow) that will take you around and up to the top of the mountains where the views are, from what I can see and imagine, mind-blowing.
There were many points of interest on the way up and down from Norris Point too. I must have stopped about ten times on the way back to take in some of the small communities, crags, beaches and deserted fishing gear. I kept looking out to sea in the hope there would be some icebergs or a lone whale, but no luck.
Day 3 — Norris Point to Corner Brook
Day three would take myself and Kaila to the city of Corner Brook. Kaila had some business to attend to whilst I was going to use the opportunity to explore and hopefully drive down to Lark Harbour — another area that I had read was worth a visit. I couldn’t have asked for better weather — blue skies and barely a cloud in sight. “Crisp”, you might describe it as.
Anyway, we rocked up to Corner Brook at about midday. I decided that whilst we were in the centre, I’d try my luck at a different car rental place. This time I asked the question straight up — will a debit card work? They said no, and that I needed a credit card. Upon walking out, something hit me — the girl had said the card needs the person’s name on it. And my UK Visa Debit had my name on it. In I marched once more, asking them to a least try it. They duly obliged and guess what, it worked! It cost me an arm and a leg but essentially my trip plan was back on track!
Jubilant after things had worked out, I said goodbye Kaila for the day and headed off to Lark Harbour. Again, I had no idea what to expect — I’d seen no pictures; I’d just heard that was worth a drive. And boy, was it worth it.
I think it would be fair to say that many of my working holiday visa compatriots head for the high mountains of Banff, the powder capital of Whistler, or maybe even hipster central, mountain surrounded, Van City. I adore mountains, I really do, but I chose to start my journey on the east coast instead — hardly well-known for its mountains. You can imagine then, how giddy I was to be amongst the mountains of the region, of which I had no idea were here! Ok, they’re nothing compared to the 2000+ metre monsters of The Rockies, but they are mountains, nonetheless!
The drive down to Lark Harbour is nothing short of superb. You will find yourself stopping numerous times to take picture-postcard snaps.
My destination was Bottle Cove, west of Lark Harbour on Little Port Rd. Kaila had recommended some short to medium length hikes, some stunning scenery and beaches to be had down that way.
The coastline turned out to be rugged, impressive and very windy! A boardwalk took me around and up the cliff to a little memorial, where I nearly got blown off the clifftop at one stage, but it was worth it. In some ways, the blue shades of the ocean and the sheer cliffs reminded me of where I grew in Devon, and especially that of the Cornwall coastline.
I attempted the Lighthouse Hike here, but sadly there was too much snow, which made it very precarious on the slopes, so I called it a day and headed back to Corner Brook for pizza and what turned out to be a quiet evening.
Day 4 — Corner Brook to Norris Point
Day four would take me back to Norris Point for a night before heading farther east. This was a good time to explore a little more of the Tablelands region, and take in some of the stunning scenery that I had been looking out on from Kaila’s pad.
My goal was to reach the little community of Woody Point and to do the Lookout Trail hike — a short but steep hike offering panoramic views of the surrounding area.
Driving there seemed to take forever, but the scenery all the way was stunning and the skies, once again, were as blue as they come.
As soon as I hit the Lookout Trail, I could see it wasn’t going to be as straightforward as I first thought. Because it was so early in the season, it was a little overgrown in places, but worse, there was still plenty of snow around — to the point where I completely lost the trail (it was buried). I then had to take a ‘detour’; basically guessing where the trail went. I ended up scrambling up the hill, but gave up when my entire leg kept falling through the snow. It was actually getting fairly dangerous at one point — deep snow can easily obscure a drop down to a ditch and it’s so easy to twist an ankle. Nonetheless, the views from here were gorgeous.
After doing the hike, I headed into Woody Point to see what I could find. It was so idyllic down by the water, looking out towards the mountains and Norris Point.
I came across a bunch of fisherman and thought it would be fun to find out what they were up to and what they did. It turned out they were lobster fisherman and were trying to launch their boat down a ramp. It was hilarious listening to the accents and watching them use a truck to try and push the boat into the water. It brought a whole new meaning to the phrase: “Pushing the boat out” ;)
Day 5 — Norris Point to Botwood
A very uneventful 4 hour drive to Botwood and a night at the HI hostel on my tod. A very dull place that I only chose because it had a hostel was on the way towards my next destination of Twillingate. Incidentally the hostel is decent enough, and great for a stopover, though something of a comedown in terms of the stunning scenery I’d been privy to on the west coast.
Day 6 — Botwood to Twillingate
Twillingate is one of the hotspots for whales and in particular, icebergs, during the summer months. But muggins here was turning up early though, wasn’t he? So the chances of seeing some ‘bergs went from a 95% chance, to 15% (figures completely made up but I like to think fairly accurate). Nonetheless, I kept a beady eye on Iceberg Finder, as there were some icebergs off the coast.
The ride up to Twillingate was really nice. Cute communities and attractive scenery. My first stop was Prime Berth — a fishing museum and fish and chip stop — to have a chinwag with some locals about the chances of seeing anything. They were ever so nice yet a little bit surprised I was in Newfoundland so early in the year. They said that the chances were slim ;(
Putting the bad news behind me, I headed off, hoping the scenery and hikes would make up for the lack of ice and whales. My next stop was south Twillingate. Quite what I was to find, I was unsure, but something told me that if I drove through the centre and east, I’d come across some hiking trails. I embarked on a short hike, thinking it would take me to the coastline. Asking some locals seemed to confirm my suspicion that it would. And guess what? Iceberg dead ahead! Well, not quite. In fact, it was way out to sea but was so white that you could see it from where I was.
I met two sisters on the hike, who had lived in Twillingate for donkey’s years. They were a good laugh and filled me in on a load of facts and things to do in the area. One of the sisters had a daughter who lived in Fort McMurray. Only the next day, a fire of biblical proportions swept through Fort McMurray and the whole town was evacuated. I couldn’t help but think about the sisters when I found out about the fire, and hoped that their family were okay.
The sisters recommended heading up to north Twillingate to checkout the lighthouse and the views, so I duly headed that way after saying goodbye. It would also serve as an opportunity to see if any more ‘bergs were in the vicinity. The views at the lighthouse were panoramic and really beautiful. More icebergs could be seen, but again, were way off the coast.
My quiet evening in Botwood allowed me to send out a few Couchsurfing requests for the area and do a little trip planning. To my surprise, a Canadian chap called Jon from BC replied super quickly. Jon was a search and rescue helicopter pilot based in Gander. It was a perfect spot — not too far from Twillingate, but also a little closer to my next destination. And I’d get to meet another great person from the CS community! Great!
I rocked up to Jon’s place at about 7pm. Minutes after I had pulled in, Jon returned home from work. We had spag bowl that night and some Guinness. It was great to spend some time with a ‘local’ and find out how their life had brought them to Newfoundland. It was Jon that informed me of the B36 wreckage that you could hike to, and I would run into him again on the return leg back to Deer Lake.
Day 7 — Gander to Trinity and Bonavista
My first week in Newfoundland would end with a trip first to Trinity and then up to Cape Bonavista in the far north. John Cabot supposedly landed in Bonavista in 1497 and it is believed he and his crew were the first Europeans to land in what is now known as North America.
I’d read that the Skerwink Trail was worth a look on the Newfoundland trip planner, so this was to be my first stop. Trinity was a cute village but very quiet and under wraps until the crowds would arrive from June/July onwards. I did get to chat to some blacksmiths however, who gave me some advice on where to see the puffins up in Bonavista. They also said there were icebergs in the area!
The Skerwink Trail was nice — it rounded the cliff-face and afforded great views of the sea and coastline. In many ways, it was more impressive for the trail building work and maintenance that had obviously gone in to making it accessible for all.
A mere half-hour drive, I rounded a corner onto a long straight, and there it was — the iceberg the blacksmiths had talked about. In terms of vivid, white things in nature, surely nothing comes close to an iceberg? I shouted out loud in the car, “WOWWWW!!”. What a treat to be so close to one of nature’s great marvels.
On a high after seeing my first ‘berg, I continued on to Bonavista, taking a quick detour to see if the puffins were in town. Sadly there was only one or two and none were nesting as it was too early in the season. However, there were two more icebergs just off the coastline and the scenery was again, rugged and impressive. I met a nice Swedish family here and two German friends that were driving across Canada on route one for six weeks, starting in Newfoundland.
The last leg of the day was up to a very rainy and grey Bonavista. I drove straight through the town to Cape Bonavista — where the lighthouse stood.
I felt a great sense of accomplishment getting this far. I’d travelled solo (and lived in Canada) up to this point for nearly a year. I had done solo travel travel before, but only for a week or two at a time — nothing like this. I was breaking new, personal ground. And here I was; up in Bonavista — a place I never imagined I would have visited, some twelve months prior.
