Press: Evening Standard - A wilderness for wimps

A wilderness for wimps
Evening Standard (London), Aug 16, 2006 by REBECCA FORD

THERE are still places here where no human has ever been," said my guide, as we watched an eagle surfing the breeze. I felt a tingle of excitement. Few things are more tantalising than wilderness - the word itself oozes promise. Trouble is, it also tends to conjure up images of an exhausting journey to a malaria-ridden corner of the globe - where you're expected to lug around a hefty rucksack and live on beetles.

But there are some wild places that are accessible. I was staying at the Humber Valley, a new all-season resort in Newfoundland, five hours' flight from Gatwick.
It is essentially an upmarket, and rapidly expanding, activity centre with a restaurant, smart chalets and special outdoor programmes for children.

But while it is extremely comfortable - my chalet turns out to be a sleek house with three en-suite bedrooms, a sundeck and a fridge as large as my car - it is surrounded by a landscape so unspoilt that sea kayakers frequently catch sight of humpback whales, and golfers often find moose wandering across the pristine greens of the resort's stunning course. Newfoundland is huddled against the eastern coast of Canada. On the map it resembles some primitive sea monster craning its neck across the Atlantic.

It has been settled by Europeans for centuries; John Cabot, an English explorer, named it New Founde Isle when he came here in 1497. It was thoroughly mapped by Captain Cook in the 18th century and he made such a good job of it that his charts can still be used today. The coastline is dotted with intimate communities that rely on whaling and fishing, but much of the island is still largely unexplored. It is a raw assortment of mountains, glacial lakes and dense green forests that is home to caribou, lynx and bears.

The resort has been built on Newfoundland's quiet western coast on the tranquil shores of Deer Lake, a 20-minute transfer from the airport.

Depending on the time of year you can go skiing and snowshoeing or try caving, and the sailing is inspiring.

But as I discovered, if you go between May and October, one of the best ways of enjoying the untamed landscape, and of working off the breakfast of pancakes with maple syrup, is to go for a walk.

I made for Corner Brook, a former logging community and the nearest town.
It's the starting point for one of a number of short, family- friendly trails close to the resort. An easy amble along forest tracks and I was soon standing above a gorge so steep that stunted trees clung grimly to the rocks, their branches pointing upwards as if they didn't dare look down. I felt as if I'd stepped into one of those expansive Caspar David Friedrich landscapes.

A short walk later and I was back in the comfort zone of Corner Brook raiding Tim Horton's (the local equivalent of a Krispy Kreme store) for coffee and squidgy doughnuts and marvelling, not for the first time, at the genuine friendliness and warmth of the locals.

But it's not all wilderness-lite. More adventurous walks can be had in Gros-Morne National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site with forested hills on one side and bare brown slopes on the other. These are the Tablelands, flat-topped mountains forced through the Earth's crust when vast geological plates collided. Made from a rock that is toxic to most plants, they remain lifeless and forbidding millions of years after they first appeared. My guide tells me it is one of the few places on earth where you can see the Earth's mantle.

The trail continues past stunted spruce trees, known locally as tuckamore, and then into thick forest, where a narrow path leads steeply down to the sea. This slice of paradise is known as the Green Gardens, a stretch of coast where lush meadows line the rocky shore and dramatic sea stacks jut defiantly from the water.

We sat down and looked over the Gulf of St Lawrence, stretching our eyes in search of surfacing whales, while a bald eagle soared lazily overhead. All this, and I didn't even need a rucksack.

HOW TO GET THERE...
Barwell Leisure (020 8786 3071) is the only operator to the Humber Valley Resort from the UK: seven-night packages from Pounds 658pp based on four people sharing a three-bedroom chalet with return flights from Gatwick. Two people in a three bedroom chalet starts from £924pp. For further information visit www.humbervalley.com or www.CrazyAboutNewfoundland.com

Evening Standard - Buy into Nature's Playground

Evening Standard article

Buy into nature's playground
Evening Standard (London), Oct 12, 2005 by CATHY HAWKER web-artilce

NEWFOUNDLAND, Britain's oldest colony, became Canada's newest province in 1949, and since then Canadians have enjoyed gently mocking this 42,500sq m island off their east coast as a cultural backwater. Now "Newfies", as the locals are known, are having the last laugh as British property buyers discover one of nature's more stunning playgrounds, only five hours across the Atlantic.


The Appalachian mountain range and dense pine forests stretch across the island, itself scarred by spectacular gorges and fjords carved by ancient glaciers. Wildlife, such as moose, caribou and eagles, call the forests home, while in spring, humpback whales cruise off the coast en route to their breeding grounds.


Newfoundland's natural beauty is complemented by more practical considerations: it has a low crime rate and cost of living, and its small population (485,006) is known for its hospitality.

Newfound Developers, owned by local businessman Brian Dobbin, has got behind the island's potential and created Humber Valley Resort on the island's west coast, 10 minutes from Corner Brook, its second city. Chalets are set around Deer Lake and the resort includes an 18- hole golf course, three restaurants and an activity centre.

The lake is known for its summer salmon fishing, and residents can also go hiking, mountain biking and kayaking during the warmer weather. An average winter snowfall of 16ft makes alpine and cross- country skiing at nearby Marble Mountain some of the best in eastern Canada; winter temperatures average minus five degrees Celsius, making Newfoundland one of the country's warmer spots.

If you need a rest from all this outdoor activity, you could take in the view from the balcony of one of the resort's attractive, clapboard chalets - each set in one- to two-acre plots with an average of 2,000sq ft to 4,000sq ft of living space.

Otherwise, you could buy a plot of land - with either lake, forest or mountain view - and choose one of the 15 chalet styles available. All the 321 plots released in the first phase have been sold; the resort's 10-year master plan is for 1,000 chalets in 2,400 acres. Plot prices range from £156,000 to £735,000; building costs are between £173,500 for a threebedroom lakeside chalet and £382,000 for a 5,000sq ft Cedar Falls-style chalet. Entry- level prices, including land clearance, average £350,000.

Early buyers have seen profits of up to 150% in three years, and now there is a weekly charter flight from Gatwick into Deer Lake airport, 20 minutes away, returns could be higher.

Margaret Budgell, director of property sales, says prices are lower than comparable fourseason resorts elsewhere in Canada. "We plan to sell only 100 properties a year and expect an annual 10% capital appreciation for the coming years," she says.

Most buyers place their property into a rental pool to avoid paying 15% harmonised sales tax (HST), a tax which limits personal use of the chalet to 10% of the year. "We predict a 30% to 45% rental occupancy, which - with average chalet expenses around £5,900 per annum - should see most owners breaking even," says Budgell. She anticipates a four per cent to six per cent rental return, but not for at least 18 months.

New plans to build 24 condos priced from £176,500 have attracted the current crop of owners. Future plans include a spa and second golf course, but it is the area's natural beauty that will entice many.

Newfoundland bills itself as "God's secret"; the secret is out.


Buying at Humber Valley Resort.

• Capital gains tax is 25%.


• Harmonised sales tax, a tax of 15%, is payable in Newfoundland on buying a property for private use. If homeowners put the house into a rental pool, using it only for 10% of the year, it is classified as a commercial property and not subject to the tax.
  
• Financing is available for up to 65% of the price.


• Newfoundland has no estate duties.


• All properties are freehold.

For more details on Humber Valley Resort, (from UK) call Newfound Property International on 020 8605 9540, or visit www.humbervalley.com.


'Within 24 hours we fell in love - first with the resort, then with the people, and then with the area' WHEN Daniel and Kate Gray chose to downsize from London to St Albans two years ago, it gave them the financial freedom to buy a second home abroad.

The couple considered destinations as diverse as France and Antigua before visiting Humber Valley Resort and knowing it was for them. "We looked at Humber Valley Resort determined to make a hard- headed business investment," says Daniel, 42, a telecoms marketing manager.

"Within 24 hours we fell in love - first with the resort, then with the people, and then with the area."

Daniel and 47-year-old Kate, who owns a courier company, are building a five-bedroom Lakeside style chalet, which is due for completion by Christmas next year.

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