Newfoundland: adventure in the great outdoors

Newfoundland offers all the challenges for adventure lovers – and loads of fun, says Charles Starmer-Smith.

By Charles Starmer-Smith Last Updated: 3:47PM BST 07 Aug 2008

"Time to pucker up, m’by,” said the Humber Valley fisherman in his yellow sou’wester as he shoved an ugly old trout towards me. As he was also brandishing an oar, I had little option but to brace myself for the wettest lips in town. I had heard much about the famous Newfoundland welcome, but this was not what I had envisaged when I popped into Sully’s pub for a quiet beer. Then again, when the locals have 50 different words for “snow”, live in towns with names such as Dildo, Blow Me Down and Pothead, and have their own time zone half an hour ahead of the Canadian mainland, perhaps I should not have been surprised.

The fish-kissing, along with eating unleavened bread and drinking Screech (the local rum), was part of a traditional ceremony to make me an honorary “Newfie”. But the gimmicky ritual was unnecessary, for in a week on this island off Canada’s east coast I had already seen enough to feel a strong affinity with the former British colony.

Telegraph Travel readers who enjoy the Tolkien-esque landscapes of New Zealand will love Newfoundland. In just seven days I had come face to face with towering icebergs, witnessed whales frolicking in sheltered bays, fished in salmon-filled rivers, cruised on placid lakes, hiked through volcanic hills and abseiled down sparkling waterfalls. And thanks to new direct flights from Gatwick with Monarch, all this lies less than five hours away.

Despite Newfoundland’s proximity to the British Isles and the close links between them — still heard in the difficult-to-understand Irish-cum-West Country-cum-Canuck accents — this land has barely registered on the consciousness of British and Irish holidaymakers. Some will have had their view of Newfoundland shaped by E Annie Proulx’s novel The Shipping News (subsequently filmed with Kevin Spacey and Judi Dench ) — a haunting portrayal of incest, abuse and life in a bleak, wind-swept landscape. Proulx claimed to have “liked this harsh, bony, bare, empty, cruel and beautiful place so much I could not bear it.” But many locals could not bear her novel: it may have put Newfoundland on the map, but not necessarily for the right reasons.

As I arrived in the verdant Humber Valley , I too found the desolate picture she painted hard to reconcile with what I saw. The sun was burning away the wispy layer of mist over Deer Lake, revealing pine-clad hills and pastel-shaded chalets that descended down to the water’s edge, while behind an emerald-green championship golf course snaked through the forests.

The Humber Valley Resort is the brainchild of Brian Dobbin, a Canadian businessman, and the island’s first major step into the luxury tourism market. Hot tubs, spa treatments, manicured fairways and fine dining have entered the Newfoundland holiday lexicon for the first time; while the 250 chalets, measuring up to 7,000sq ft, are huge even by Canadian standards.

Alongside the pampering, there are plenty of adventures on offer: caving, rafting, fishing, quad-biking, mountain-biking and more (in winter quad bikes and hiking boots are swapped for snowmobiles and skis as the slopes of Marble Mountain and the vast backcountry around Deer Lake become a snowy playground). It all sounded great — but I wished I had read up about canyoning before signing up. After a couple of hours of negotiating rapids, rock climbs and jumps, I found myself teetering at the top of a raging 60-foot waterfall, the current threatening to sweep me over the precipice. My guide gave the thumbs-up and I leaned back on the rope, my legs shaking as I searched for safe footholds, the water hammering around my waist. Inch by inch I lowered myself down. Terra firma never felt so good.

Seeking respite the next day from the adrenaline adventures, I waded deep into the Humber River to cast my line in search of the elusive Atlantic salmon , before testing my swing on the impressive River Course, created by the renowned Canadian golf designer Doug Carrick. I was joined by Mike Clewer, the resort director, who came here from London a few years ago — a move he describes as both a challenge and the best choice he has ever made. Just then, a black fox scuttled out from the bushes on the sixth hole, picked up the boss’s ball from the edge of the green and deposited it by the flag for an easy birdie. Clearly the locals were already attuned to their director’s wishes.

It was not easy to leave the creature comforts of the Humber Valley Resort, but the wilds and wonders of the west coast beckoned. It is 21 years since Gros Morne National Park earned Unesco World Heritage status, and since then it has developed a network of trails, activity centres and information points inviting visitors to hike through The Lord of the Rings-like landscapes, camp by the sea or kayak beneath the towering cliffs of fjords. The accommodation in these fishing communities is basic but surprisingly comfortable — Red Mantle Lodge, with its breathtaking views, and the Swiss-owned Neddies Harbour Inn, with its fine dining, were my favourites.

But first you have to survive the drive. The journey from Humber takes you deep into moose country. In the 130 years since a pair of these giant deer was introduced to the island, their numbers have swollen to 130,000. The park is said to have the highest concentration of moose on earth; judging by the number I spotted lolloping near the roadside, and the signs warning drivers to be wary of these “Newfoundland Speedbumps”, I can well believe it.

Once in the park, I set off on the trail of whales: on an evening boat trip around Norris Point. As we left the mooring I wondered if I had misunderstood the shock jock in charge of the microphone, as he screeched (with plenty of Screech inside him): “If you want to get naked. Get naked!” Judging by the nervous looks on the faces of the septuagenarian cruisers around me, it seemed I had heard right. But thankfully the cagoules and cardigans stayed on, despite the free-flowing alcohol and a band below deck belting out George Jones’s If Drinking Don’t Kill Me. Instead there was a more inviting spectacle on offer, as minke whales, back from winter in the Caribbean, surfaced time and again in front of the prow.

Early the next morning I headed to the Tablelands. When I arrived, the giant slabs of red peridotite rock — forced up from the earth’s mantle as a result of tectonic collisions — rose above the dawn mist like a set of giant mahogany tables. Cape Town’s own Table Mountain, by comparison, seemed like a flat-packed Ikea version. But the park’s showpiece is Western Brook Pond, a 19-mile freshwater fjord reminiscent of New Zealand’s Milford Sound. Our boat chugged along the foot of 2,000-foot volcanic cliffs, past giant waterfalls cascading down to the glassy surface of the lake, as condors and bald eagles swooped high above. Few returned with camera memory cards less than full.

Back in the car, I rejoined the coastal road, heading towards the Great Northern Peninsula . The land flattened out. Forests of twisted spruce and balsam fir appeared to have been given the hairdryer treatment, the trees almost horizontal from the winds. Yet as I thundered through these bleak, plains, I passed small communities that seemed to have sprung from nowhere, of houses whose front doors were decorated with huge antlers, isolated fishing huts with smoke billowing from the chimney and lone cyclists straining at their pedals. In this harsh landscape it is no wonder that humour and hospitality are such important facets of life.

As I approached the tip of the northern peninsula, I stopped at L’Anse Aux Meadows , site of the first European settlement in the New World. Leif Ericson and his band of Norsemen arrived here from Greenland in around 1000AD, and established a base on this sliver of land in order to explore farther south. Today the site includes a reconstruction of the traditional sod huts, complete with a few locals dressed in character. But the harsh realities of this landscape proved too much even for hardened Norsemen, who remained here for barely 20 years.

In fact northern Newfoundland is littered with ghost towns, including the former fishing community of Quirpon Island . As an old sea dog ferried me over from the mainland in an even older wooden boat, the powerful North Atlantic surf did its best to slam us against the craggy rocks. The first sight of the Cape Bauld lighthouse and its guesthouse, perched high on the windswept cliffs, underlined the hardiness of generations of lighthouse keepers. I was thankful for a few rays of sun as I joined Ed English, who now runs the place, on a kayak expedition. The waters are a prime viewing spot for whales — orca, minke and beluga — and are known as Iceberg Alley, for good reason: giant boulders of ice, carried from Greenland by the Labrador current, pepper the skyline.

You have no real concept of their size and beauty until you get up close. As we rounded the corner of a bay, there it was: iceberg, dead ahead. Bobbing and swaying gently on the swell, we paddled gingerly until a wall of ice, shaped like the hull of a cruise ship, towered above us. Blue transluscent streaks ran like arteries through the layers of hard-packed ice; overcome by an urge to touch it, I paddled ever closer — until Ed warned me that the icebergs have a tendency to flip or even explode.

Back at the guesthouse I found the other guests sitting on the wooden helicopter platform that juts out over the ocean. Silhouettes of these glacial fragments speckled the horizon; orca whales and seals breached and frolicked in the swell as a blood-red sun set over the Labrador Sea.

As it grew dark, music drifted out from inside. In a region where electricity and television arrived late, Newfies have always made their own entertainment. We packed in for a “kitchen party”: out came the guitar, and Ed’s family and friends took turns to sing haunting tales of life at sea, followed by rollicking country numbers. The guitar was soon passed on, and guests invited to perform songs from their homeland. With scarlet cheeks, I managed just a few verses of a U2 cover — which would have had Bono thinking malo — before passing the guitar back, cursing my English reserve.

After saying our goodbyes the next morning, we headed back to the main island with the same craggy-faced mariner. As I left the dock and wandered back to my hire car, an old man emerged from his ramshackle fishing cottage to greet me. Leaning against his postbox, Bill Bartlett told me he belonged to the fifth generation of Bartletts to have been involved with the lighthouse, his family had guided mariners into the harbour for 200 years. I told him that half my family were also called Bartlett — no lighthouse keepers among them, unfortunately, as they come from a small village in Somerset. He blinked a few times — and said, with a chuckle, that his relatives hailed from the same area.

Could it be that in the farthest-flung corner of Newfoundland I had family? I am checking it out with the genealogists...

Source: Telegraph.co.uk By Charles Starmer-Smith

ARTICLE: "A good walk - with a grand view"

A good walk - with a grand view
Canada’s ‘best new golf course’ a stone’s throw from a fiord, caves and a national park

HUMBER VALLEY, N.L. It appears on the surface to be an almost ludicrous statement. Nevertheless, here it is: to do nothing but play Canada’s best new golf course repeatedly during a week’s vacation would be a huge mistake.

The River Course at the Humber Valley Resort is most deserving of winning Score Golf Magazine’s best new course in Canada award last year. It’s a spectacular design by Doug Carrick, who seems to top himself with every new course. It’s a fun and challenging course with spectacular views, including at least one tee shot that will take your breath away.

You can chase after foxes, as they trot onto the green and nonchalantly steal your ball, then have to wait to tee off the next hole as a moose slowly saunters across your fairway. Why, then, wouldn’t you play this course every day? Simply, it’s because this part of Newfoundland, an area not as well known by visitors from the rest of Canada as St. John’s and the east coast of The Rock, has so much else to offer.

In about an hour from Humber Valley, you can be in Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and take a boat ride down the length of Western Brook Pond, Canada’s only fiord, looking straight up at cliffs that tower thousands of feet over your head And only half an hour or so from the resort in the opposite direction, you can try your hand at salmon fishing, kayaking, rappelling, river rafting, hiking and caving.

During a trip to the resort last year with a group of golf writers, I was moved almost to tears by the majesty of Gros Morne and Western Brook Pond. I also surprised myself when two teenage guides for My Newfoundland Adventures helped me overcome a tendency toward claustrophobia and through a caving experience that was way beyond anything I expected
or thought I could accomplish.

But first the golf course. Built on the side of a mountain, the course flows down to the shore of the Humber River and Deer Lake and then back up again . The clubhouse, for example, sits 400 feet above the 18th hole. And from the tee on the par-4 10th hole just outside the pro shop door, your ball will fall 180 feet before it hits the fairway. The 10th will easily become one of the most photographed holes in Canada.

“To me, one of the big things here is that it’s so tranquil,” says Jamie Digby, who moved out from Ontario to become Humber Valley’s head pro and has fallen in love with not only the course but the lifestyle. “You don’t see too many people when you’re out there. You feel like you’re alone on the golf course. And the views are so panoramic.”

The course can be played from four sets of tees — 5,484, 6,441, 6,858 and 7,199 — and it doesn’t really eat you up. Carrick is known for designing courses that are forgiving off the tee and Humber Valley is no exception. The fairways are wide but the changes in elevation — and this course is all about elevation changes — can trick your eye and your judgment of distance. That
makes the shots into the green tricky.

Humber Valley is not your typical golf resort, either. Guests stay in large chalets each located on a one acre, heavily forested lot. That provides a real sense of privacy. The resort has an Aveda spa and restaurants and can provide guests with a myriad of activities on and off the property. “Fundamentally, we’re trying to make sure that we’re not just seen as good golf,” says Mike Clewer, managing director of Humber Valley resort. “We have some class-one salmon rivers here that are a major attraction, and touring and sightseeing are the others, with the main one being Gros Morne.”

The drive up to Gros Morne from the resort is about an hour, taking you up and over tree-covered hills and along the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In May and June you may even see icebergs floating by.

To get to Western Brook Pond from the highway, you have to hike three kilometres along a trail through bogs that have peat three metres deep. It’s not uncommon to see moose and caribou grazing along the path. Interpretive boards along the way explain how the Canadian fiord was
created by glacial activity over millions of years and how 11,000 years ago, when the last glacier retreated, the land that you’re crossing actually rose from the ocean bottom, cutting the pond off from the sea. The boat trip, which is heaven for photographers, runs the 16.5 kilometres down the length of the lake with huge cliffs rising almost straight up from both sides. There are also several spectacular waterfalls dropping over the cliffs, including Pissing Mare Falls, which has one of the highest single drops in Canada.

Most of our group chose to take the trip to Gros Morne but there were only a couple of us who picked caving as one of our optional activities. Caving, I thought. I mean, how hard can it be?

I’ve been in big caves in the U.S. before. You pay your fee, go down a flight of stairs onto a platform, look into the well-lit cave and then walk back up the stairs into the gift shop. We got an idea this would be different when our two young guides, Mike Wakeman and Jamie Harnum,
outfitted us with rappelling gear and then drove us into the woods.

This cave, it turns out, was caused by an underground river — which still runs through the caves — eating through the marble and limestone. We entered through something called “the back door” and hiked in. Not surprisingly, it got dark fairly quickly, but that wasn’t a major problem because we hadlights on our helmets. Other than having to bend over a lot, it wasn’t a bad hike — even for someone like myself, who is overweight, has bad knees and is claustrophobic.

When we got to the cavern we had to rappel down. “You have to trust me,” said the young guide. “You have lean back, step out on to the wall and just walk down.” After a brief picnic in the darkness of the grotto, we started to hike back out. That’s where things took an unexpected twist. “Do you want to go back out through the back door, the way we came, or go out the side door?” asked the guide. He chose the latter when we left the call up to him. The side-door exit involved climbing over, under and around a lot of rocks into some spaces that were a lot tighter than I ever thought I could fit into.

After a couple of minor miscues, including one where I was briefly given the lead and headed the
whole group crawling down a dead-end tunnel, we finally popped up through a hole into the light. “You’re never going to forget going into the caves or going to the mouth of a 1.2 billion-year-old fiord. “It’s all part of the intrinsic value of being here,” says Martin Hanzalek, who operates My Newfoundland Adventures. (www.mynewfoundland.ca caving)

That and the best new golf course in Canada makes a trip to western Newfoundland pretty
special. Garry McKay - gmckay@thespec.com The Hamilton Spectator View PDF

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Visiting a place that so few will ever get to ... The Sinkhole

Humber Valley and Newfoundland continue to provide amazing sights and memories ... This week we joined a tour to "Snowshoe to the Sinkhole in Gros Morne".

Its a 45 minute drive from Humber Valley, up past the Jack Ladder to Wiltondale, and then 10 minutes to Lomand, and snowing all the way! We're quickly out of the jeep and with snowshoes on, venture off with great purpose in to the woods.

We're heading for the Sinkhole and are told its a 6km walk, aided by a snowmobile with a towed sled. The guides whizz by on the snowmobile with loads of gear, and then return to take those in the group that are not quite as fast as others.

It felt all up hill, but was a good walk, and we made it to through Gros Morne National Park and to the locally known "Sinkhole". There we met Marty from My Newfoundland Adventures, who explained what was going to happen next, and then after a quick sandwich and hot chocolate, we're climbing down into the Sinkhole.

The ground has eroded creating an area the size of 1-2 football pitches with 150 foot cliffs all the way round, a waterfull crashing into the middle from above, and the resulting water disappearing into a cave system. In winter the waterfall dramatically freezes up creating amazing ice sculptures. Apparrently in full winter the water is totally surrounded by the ice, and flows through the middle of the frozen pipes.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFSFUZ7MaEs
The snowshoe walk was long but worthwhile. When we got to the Sinkhole, there is a particular spot where the cliff drop has given way to a climbable incline.

The guides had sorted a rope system to help those that needed it - so even the more fragile in our group - made it to the bottom ... and WOW what an experience.


We definately felt like the "special ones", visiting a place that so few will ever get to.

2007-12-30 Sinkhole Photo Album

More photos at Webshots album and Picasa album and videos on youtube

Trip organised by My Newfoundland Adventures, at Marble Mountain www.mynewfoundland.ca/video

Where sky, land and water embrace, outdoor enthusiasts arrive in anticipation and leave in awe. Come and experience the unexpected.

THE DO LIST: HUMBER VALLEY, NEWFOUNDLAND

NEXT STOP
A TONIC FOR THE SOUL
By Michael Cowton

As a boy I would wander along the southern shore of the Humber, watching the ferry plough across the waters from New Holland to Hull, keeping a ready eye out for the white elephant that my grandfather told me lived in the muddy banks of the river. The irony would not be lost on him now, as a white elephant did indeed eventually emerge – in the shape of Humber Bridge. And now, years later, I find myself once again wandering the banks of the Humber, but I am in a different place, a different time zone, and indeed a different world entirely.

Once upon a time, the thought of a long-weekend hop to Canada would have been laughable. Economy flights and ease of access have since made that a reality. For in today's competitive global marketplace, with tourism a strategic growth factor in many a country's economy, the promotion of multi-season activity is big business. Newfoundland is a good case in point.

With high levels of snow and breathtaking scenery, the west coast is an ideal place to enjoy winter attractions, including a fine network of groomed trails of snowmobilers and first rate destinations for skiers. Yet it is as a summer location that I was interested this time round. I was soon to discover that Newfoundland has so much to offer in terms of outdoor activity. So how do you get to do it all? Better ask yourself, how much time do you have? For while businesses and community groups have been working to develop new products and extend the season, the government has been busy providing funding to a number of businesses and non-profit organisations from Deer Lake to the tip of the Northern Peninsula, thus helping promote the province as a multi-choice, multi-season destination.

Woven around a spectacular golf course, the award-winning Humber Valley Resort is located on the west coast of Canada's most eastern province, and is less than six hours' flying time from the UK. The Humber Valley stretches 70 kilometres from Deer Lake airport to the seaport of Corner Brook. Cutting across this idyllic terrain is the mighty Humber River and the 30 kilometre long Deer Lake. The resort is 20-minute drive from the airport along the Trans Canada Highway, offers luxurious private accommodation and holiday rentals nestling in boreal forest on the north side of the lake.

The splendid wood-built chalets range from three to five bedrooms. There are currently 200 on the sprawling 2,200 acre site, with plans to potentially grow to a thousand. Each chalet is set in a secluded spot with generous pine decking areas surrounded by Canadian Spruce. There is a choice of locations to choose from, including standards. Interestingly, approximately eighty per cent of owners are from the UK and Ireland.

From HVR-KDG

Eagle's Perch, the resort's clubhouse, overlooks the valley and offers spectacular views of the surrounding area. This forms the heart of the resort with recreational facilities, a restaurant, bar and reception area. Lower down the hill the Beach House provides further dining opportunities and nightly entertainment, with both a casual restaurant and a pub eatery (Sully's). It also offers a splendid terrace area with direct access to the sandy beach on the lake shore, from where you can launch your kayak or canoe and follow the lower Humber River as it winds for 19 kilometres through the valley and empties into the stunning Bay of Islands.

You can strike out from the resort for Newfoundland's thousands of miles of coastline, ancient mountains and glacier carved fjords, providing breathtaking contrasts and landscapes. A 90-minute drive away is Gros Morne National Park. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Gros Morne [photos] offers more than 100 kilometres of marked hiking trails, from leisurely strolls to challenging treks through dramatic rock formations, and it is possible to summit the Gros Morne (806 metres). It is recommended to start your park visit at the Discovery Centre in Woody Point, or the Visitors Centre in Rocky Harbour, where Parks Canada guides will help you plan your tour and identify the waterfalls, marine inlets, sea-stacks and cultural activities available.

From kdg-in-hvr

Ten minutes' drive from Humber Valley Resort is Marble Mountain, which opens its lifts to skiers from mid December for four months. Within easy reach of here is Corner Brook, the second largest city in Newfoundland. Marble Mountain is also home to My Newfoundland Adventures. In the seven years since the activity company's launch, Newfoundland has witnessed &' progressive change, from being primarily a resource extractor with fishing, forestry and mining at its core, to where it sits today, its focus underpinned on an emerging tourism industry. My Newfoundland Adventures has successfully ridden on the back of that wave.

Marty Hanzalek relocated to the Humber Valley from the west coast of Canada and its mature tourism industry, and was taken aback by the multitude of rivers, mountains, beach and ocean venues, very little of which had been utilised. "The opportunity was there to showcase the area to the outside world, offering outdoors enthusiasts from every age group the chance to partake in what this place has to offer," he says.

"My Newfoundland Adventures received a fantastic reception. Newfoundlanders are well known for being friendly, synergistic, and helpful, and that has been tried, tested and proven in our seven years here. We would not have been able to do or be where we are without the help of the locals, who have really identified the opportunity with us."

The business specialises in a mix of water-based and 'high angle' activities such as canyoning and rock climbing, as well as leading groups into the subterranean world 50ft below Corner Brook, and its spectacular cave system. Rafting has also been a popular activity since the outset, taking place on one of the biggest Atlantic salmon producing rivers in the world. The Humber sees upwards of 70,000 salmon swimming upriver every year.

From Humber River ...

Currently on offer are over 40 unique adventure activities that take place in the Humber Valley. The mandate all along has been to offer high-end accessible adventure, from beginner level, although there is room for every genre to come to Newfoundland and have a fantastic, world-class experience. "From time to time we do get experienced individuals that want to avail of a more advanced programme, and we have those in place, but 90 per cent of what we do is beginner accessible," says Marty. As a result, many enthusiasts return, either wanting to experience other activities or further their skills level at one particular pursuit. That has helped the business grow its more advanced programmes.

As the accent on adrenalin sports grows worldwide, so My Newfoundland Adventures is constantly launching new product. "We can build your skills, grow with you, and with your experiences, and provide years of unique adventure activities," says Marty. "If we were not in this location, it would be very difficult to find another place in the world that would be conducive to so many different outdoor sports in one zone."

Conscious of environmental stewardship and conservation, My Newfoundland Adventures primarily offers non-consumptive, self-propelled activities like dogsledding and backcountry skiing during the winter, and tries to include an educational component in everything it does. Therefore, not only does a participant leave having had a great experience, but also with a few tips or ideas to hand that would otherwise would not have been available to them.

Accessibility is such a great thing. With the advent of cheaper flights, it is possible to fly from Gatwick to Deer Lake on a 'Tuesday or Friday, and enjoy a long weekend or week of fun in the sun, or in the snow. That accessibility has opened the door to the UK and mainland Europe. "In the UK, people seem to be money rich and time poor. There are those out there that would love to participate and can afford it financially, but cannot afford it time-wise," says Marty. "That has changed with the advent of cheaper flights.

"We always ask our visitors why they come here, and they tell us every time, it is the things that they can do. We work hard so you now get a chance to come and play hard, and experience those things that you always dreamed about, in a wonderful environment. Come to Newfoundland, because nobody wishes they spent more time at work."
SCANNED PDF Article from the magazine Outdoor Pursuits Sept/Oct07 (Magazine has now closed)

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Visit & Blog - 5th Sept - Gros Morne Tour

Wednesday 5th, a misty damp morning, and we're off to Gros Morne - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - with breath taking views so I've read. Its a pleasant hour drive back around Deer Lake and then up the "Viking Trail" (also known at Route 430, but without the charm!).

Once in Gros Morne, we stop to look across to water to Woody Point. This stretch of water includes "two arms, and a (the) tickle" - only in Newfoundland!

We explore the Lobster Cove lighthouse and enjoy the views, and then drive back to Rocky Harbour, and stop at the "Fishermans Landing" cafe, which is a favourite for Dan & Kate, and we enjoy a "Newfie Mug Up" - which turns out to be a large mug of tea and toast with molasses - it was VERY good - a real treat!

Then we drive a short distance up to Western Brook Pond - or rather the start of the trail to Western Brook Pond! Its a 3+km walk including the detour with extra views, to get to the boat tour, but we're up for it. Its an easy and safe walk, with lots of opportunities to enjoy the view and areas - along with frequent information signs, giving well written background on whats going on.

We get to the boat area, and though we'd packed a small lunch, there is a kiosk selling the BEST hot dogs- really the best I've had, ever! Add to that a welcome hot chocolate, and I'm happy and not noticing the mist and damp. We could see that the visibility was not as good as it should be ... and had already decided to come back another day to get maximum impact, when the captain declared that they weren't going to sail that day, for the same reasons.

Shame, but the walk alone was worth the effort. Looking forward to coming back.

On our way back down the Viking Trail towards Deer Lake, I spotted a moose grazing between the road and the beach. What a treat!

I've now seen a moose, just need an eagle to tick all the boxes!

Back at the chalet, Kate cooks a huge fish pie ... another really good day.

_________________

Day 7 - Quad Bike Tour
Day 7 - An honourary Newfie
Day 8 - Fishing & the 35lb cod !!!

2007-09-17 Gros Morne - Western Brook Pond - Newfoundland