Newfoundland: West Coast to Bonavista Peninsula

We took the five-hour ferry from North Sydney in Nova Scotia to Channel-Port aux Basques in Newfoundland. Three weeks later, we caught the ferry in Placentia, Newfoundland, for the 16-hour overnight ferry trip back to North Sydney. I’ve split the province into two long posts. As well as exploring Newfoundland, we visited Saint-Pierre and Michelon in France, and I’ll cover that area in a third post.

Boarding the ferry

We were surprised to see several rows of truckless transport trailers tucked up tightly to each other. They must have been driven on and dropped on board earlier in the day and would, presumably, be driven off by trucks awaiting their delivery at the other end.

Arriving in Channel-Port aux Basques

Rugged coastline greeted our arrival in Newfoundland and continued to impress us as we drove up the coast for our first night’s stay. We wanted to stop and take more photos, but would have been late for our pre-booked dinner.

Cape Anguille

Since the ferry arrived late in the evening, we booked accommodation not too far up the road and pre-paid for the optional dinner as an anniversary treat. This removed the challenge of finding a place to eat late at night and gave us time to enjoy our surroundings before tottering off to bed.

Gros Morne National Park

Woody Point and Rocky Harbour

Gros Morne National Park provides 1,805 square kilometers of protected wilderness. The park’s landscape is defined by the ancient Long Range Mountains and the unique exposed mantle of the Tablelands. An hour’s drive from Rocky Point, where we were staying, south and around an extended inlet was scenic Woody Point and the park’s visitor’s center. From here, we drove the Bonne Bay Road and marveled at the contrasting dry red hills of the Tablelands. We didn’t attempt a hike there, and I don’t have a single photo. If I remember correctly, we were unable to pull over anywhere so just enjoyed the view ourselves.

We returned to Rocky Harbour, driving to the end of the road to check out the views in that direction. I’m pretty sure this is where I picked up a slew of nasty bites different from any I’d had before. They ran up my neck and face on both sides and into my scalp with several outliers, and those bites lasted a good long time. Ugh.

Lobster Cove and Shallow Bay

The next day we drove north from Rocky Harbour into Lobster Cove and as far as Cow’s Head and Shallow Bay. We drove back through Rocky Harbour and down the little Norris Point peninsula where we stopped for a glass of wine accompanied by stunning views.

Twillingate

From Gros Morne we drove east to Grand Falls-Windsor where a pre-booked a night of Newfoundland music at the Queen Street Theatre really put us in the mood for the rest of this Newfoundland leg. Next up were the Twillingate Islands for a couple of nights and lots of exploring followed by a short visit to Gander where Ken checked out the North Atlantic Aviation Museum. On our way out of Twillingate, we stopped in at the Beothuk Interpretation Centre for some insight into the indiginous history of the area.

Bonavista Peninsula

After visiting friends in Glovertown, we continued east through Terra Nova National Park and then up into the Bonavista Peninsula. We stayed for two nights in Bonavista and one night in Trinity so we had plenty of time to poke around.

Dungeon Provincial Park

Dungeon Provincial Park features a massive, twin-arched crater that was once a sea cave along with other examples of nature as architect. Over time, the roof of the cave widened and the roof collapsed, exposing the arches.

Puffins

After trying to see puffins in a few known locations, we finally found a wonderful viewing area near Elliston where the puffins popped right up over the edge of the cliffs at our feet.

Trinity

South of the puffin area was the pretty town of Trinity. At a brew pub for lunch, we met a friendly couple from Ferryland, a town we would be visiting later. They invited us to join them at a dinner theatre event in their home town where we were scheduled to arrive on the night that they were already planning to attend.

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TripBits

• Marine-Atlantic Ferry: North Sydney to Port aux Basques, $97.36; Argentia to North Sydney, $514.45 (including Deluxe Cabin)
• Beothuk Interpretation Centre: A provincial historic site, entry is $6 for adults, $4 for seniors 60+.