Puffins and the Bonavista Peninsula

When we left Gros Morne NP on the west side of Newfoundland we drove east to a small town called Elliston, arriving late afternoon Thursday August 27th. It was a long two days of driving across the middle of Newfoundland, but we wanted to get there quickly before the puffins potentially left. Elliston is a prime location to see puffins as there is a colony on an small island just off the coast. We were staying in the small municipal campground with great views of the bay and just a mile from the puffin viewing area. After checking in, we headed to the puffin viewing area. On the way out we saw a young man walking back from the beach and asked if he owned the red Toyota parked in our campsite. Yes that was his and sorry he would sort it out with the office. Over the next few days we bumped into him several times and got some great tips for visiting St Johns. Funnily,  when we got back later someone else had put a large trash bin in the middle of the site with a notice saying reserved. Since we had paid for the site for three nights we knew it was ours so just settled in. This guy wasn't quite as happy when he showed up a little later. Site 8 sure was popular!

It's late in the season for puffins and we weren't sure they would still be there. That afternoon there weren't many puffins and John was really disappointed we had missed them. We spent several hours watching and taking photos and then returned to the campground for the night. We walked to a little cafe on the beach for dinner and a local person said the puffins were probably out at sea because it was such a hot day and they hadn't left yet. So the next morning we drove back and made the 20 minute hike along the cliffs to the viewpoint and there were hundreds of puffins!  We spent three hours taking photos and watching the puffins. At one point Sara saw some dirt flying, and using the binoculars saw a plump puffin bottom sticking up in the air with little orange legs scoping up dirt - a little burrow maintenance was in progress!

That afternoon because the weather was so lovely we went to the beach for a swim. The beach was beautiful sand all the way out, and even John took a dip in the ocean. After drying off and warming up in the sun (the water was a bit cold) we visited the little cafe again for ice cream. What a magical day!

Saturday August 29th was another lovely sunny day. We hiked back to the cliff top and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the birds and the ocean. One small downside were the biting black flies which we found out you don't feel when they bite you, but you do suffer the next day with large itchy bumps, normally on the neck. Surprisingly they don't bite John much but certainly do feast on Sara. It is normally the reverse at home with mosquitoes. A hoody sunshield worked well to keep the pesky things away! 

We enjoyed the morning with the puffins again. It was lovely just to sit and watch them busily feeding their pufflings as the young are adorably called. At one point hundreds suddenly took flight, flew out to sea, around the island and then back again. We imagined they got back to the island and one puffin sheepishly said "My bad, I thought I heard something threatening!". Getting flight shots can be a real challenge because the puffins fly fast like little bullets, so it was well worth spending the time to get the photos John wanted. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and planning our next few weeks. We finally booked the return ferry for September 19th. We don't like to commit too far ahead, but so many people had a sharp intake of breath when we said we didn't have a return booking we decided it was important. Good thing the 19th was about when we wanted to leave because the prior six days didn't have any availability at the times we wanted.

Sunday we sadly left Elliston, it was definitely a highlight of the trip so far, as well as perfect weather. We drove ten minutes to the small town of Bonavista for lunch and then further north on Cape Shore drive along side the coastline. There was a lighthouse and another puffin colony at the tip, and we planned to find a place to wild camp for the night. It was a beautiful sunny day, and very busy so we stopped in a small parking lot to replan the afternoon and evening. A local bike gang pulled in behind us, so we decided to wait for them to leave instead of asking the scary bikers to move! Turns out they were very friendly (of course) and we took a group picture for them.

We used iOverlander and identified some possible locations off the northern road of the peninsula. This would be our first time wild camping which is quite common in Newfoundland. We were hoping for a quiet location with a nice view of the ocean. After driving about 30 minutes we saw a pull-off with a large gravel area for parking, and a lovely view of Monks Cove. We were the only ones parked there, and the house about a hundred yards away looked uninhabited. We were treated to a beautiful sunset and enjoyed sitting together and enjoying the evening. The cats loved the area since it was so quiet, and had a wonderful time running up and down the shore area. 

After dark we were just settling inside for the evening when we heard a car come by, and someone saying "hello, hello". We immediately thought "oh no, we're in trouble now", expecting maybe an irate landowner who wanted us off his property. Turns out it was Gary who lived across the road on a hill and had noticed John with his tripod and camera earlier. An excellent full moon was coming up and he just wanted us to know it looked good in case John wanted to do some photography. What a pleasant unexpected surprise!

The next morning Gary brought us some cranberries and partridgeberries previously picked from our location, and invited us up for coffee.  He and his wife were so delightful and friendly and confirmed what we have experienced with all the Canadians we have met, they are lovely friendly people. 

After sawing goodbye to Gary and Eileen we drove to the tiny village of Trinity for lunch and an explore. Trinity is a picturesque fishing village with many colorful houses and a cove with a rugged rocky shore. We were still lucky to be enjoying sunny weather, and enjoyed wandering around the streets. There weren't any camping locations in Trinity so we drove to Clarenville, a town of 6,700 people, close to the Trans Canadian Highway. The Newfoundland coastline is full of rocky inlets from the ocean, often over 20 miles long. They are also called sounds, and are geographically fjords - deep valleys carved by glaciers and flooded by the Atlantic ocean. We found a great gravel pull off on one of these inlets with amazing views of the ocean. There was a small municipal park with a history of the area. Clarenville was the historic western terminal for the world's first submerged transatlantic telephone cable system, enabling the first instant voice calls across the ocean. 

We had a very peaceful night listening the ocean waves, and were treated to a lovely sunrise in the morning. We stayed until early afternoon since with wild camping there is no checkout time, perfect for us! The cats surprisingly enjoyed the area, even though it was close to the road, and Flash adventured down to the ocean edge and drank some water!

What a great time we had on the Bonavista Peninsula!  

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Newfoundland Fjords

Thursday August 20th it was time to head north for our ferry booking on the 22nd. We said goodbye to John and Shamus; what a great visit we had with them. We had one overnight stop before arriving early afternoon at the Arm of Gold campground in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, just 10 minutes from the ferry terminal. While at the lake we had a suspicion there was an issue with the solar not charging the batteries, and after the drive north also didn't charge we knew for sure something wasn't working. Quite a problem since we would have locations in Newfoundland without power. So it was time to move into fix it mode.

A few weeks ago we had identified the fuse holder that leads to the battery was suspect, but had held off replacing it since everything was working. After taking a look we determined yep that melted piece of equipment needs replacing! After a few hours of tricky work in a small area the new holder was replaced and working, hopefully that is the last fix needed.  

Saturday we had a easy 10am check-in for the ferry and were soon onboard. What a difference to the barge, just a simple drive on and into the hold. We had to leave the cats in the RV on the locked car deck for the seven hour ride to Port aux Basques in south western Newfoundland. Somewhat anxiously we settled them in and headed to the passenger deck. It was a smooth easy ride, except for being so freezing cold we had to buy expensive blankets from the gift shop. We will be better prepared for the return ride! The cats did just fine with the ferry ride, and we suspect slept the whole way, at least they were warm in the RV!

It was a beautiful evening and after a stop at the visitor center for maps and advice we had  just a short drive to our campground. We were treated to a gorgeous sunset; what a great start to Newfoundland.

Sunday August 22nd we both woke up with a sore throat and to a rainy day. We checked the forecast which predicted several days of rain, so changed our plans and spent a second night at Grand Codroy campground. It was a lovely location, had great facilities, including a good laundry room which is always convenient when traveling. It rained most of the afternoon, but we were comfortable in the RV, and John watched the Cowboys pre-season game. Finally at dusk it started to clear and we took the cats out before they went completely stir crazy. They had a great time running around and climbing up trees, thankfully burning off some energy.

The next morning it was warm and dry and we all enjoyed exploring the lake area of the campground. Rocket (yellow) and Zeke(red) particularly enjoyed gazing at the lake. Flash (purple) was more interested in the trees, probably trying to keep away from Zeke who has a tendency to stand on Flash's leash so he can't move!

We arrived at Gros Morne national Park late afternoon after a spectacular 200 mile drive. The scenery along the Trans Canadian Highway (TCH) reminds us of Alaska, big, beautiful and wild. We started in a lush farmland valley area and drove past mountains and dense boreal forests of small fir trees which can survive the cold winters and short summers. We left the TCH and headed into the national park on the northern peninsula, along a rugged coastline with 2,000ft mountains on the inland side. We were pretty tired by the time we arrived at our overnight location, but Sara went for a quick hike and found views of a lovely mountain lake.

We woke to heavy rain on Tuesday, Aug 25th. Really glad we only had one night at that site, since it had no electricity and was completely covered by tree branches. Very jungle like and close to other sites, even the cats were reluctant to stay outside long. The rain mostly stopped by late morning and we starting driving north, stopping at one of the many interesting lighthouses on the coastline. 

Everybody we talked to recommended taking the boat tour of Western Brook Pond, and we had a booking for 3pm. The weather was less than ideal with heavy fog and clouds, and when we checked in there was doubt the tour would go. However the weather started to improve  and we enjoyed a fun and interesting two hour tour. Western Brook Pond is a massive land locked fresh water fjord, with a long narrow passage, steep cliffs and numerous waterfalls. Some of the rock formations were millions of years old. The tour commentator was excellent and very humorous and we learned that in Newfoundland a pond and a brook can be any size. This one was ten miles long and over 500 feet deep. 

After a quick stop for some delicious seafood chowder we spent the night at a different campground which was much more enjoyable. It was walking distance to a beautiful sandy beach. It was quite warm and we both considered swimming, but it was almost sunset and we didn't want to walk back along the trail in the dark; maybe in the morning. 

The next day was chilly, and even Sara decided it was too cold to swim. We will need to stop here on the way back! We had decided to cut short our time in Gros Morne so we could drive 400 miles to Elliston on the east coast of Newfoundland. John really wanted to photograph puffins, who only come ashore for a few months to raise their young. We were right at the end of the season before they head back to sea and were hoping to catch them before they left, that will be the next post. For now enjoy these photos!

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Nova Scotia Bays

Saturday August 15th it was time to head to Nova Scotia. Our first night was on the opposite side of the Bay of Fundy, in a location called the Five Islands. It was just 40 miles as the crow flies from our starting point, but the drive itself was 110 miles. First we had to go inland 30 miles to cross the tip of the Bay of Fundy, before we could drive south. We learned again not to fully trust Google maps after it sent us down a 20 mile gravel road; yes it was the most direct; no it wasn't pleasant!

Diamond Shores campground was mostly seasonal campers who all know each other and were amazingly welcoming. We were invited to home made pizza night, followed by a great selection of home made desserts. We really enjoyed chatting to everyone and had a great evening. What a lovely experience. 

The next morning we watched the “Not since Moses” race across the mud flats at low tide. This race can only safely happen a few days a year during extremely low tides in the Minas Basin of the Bay of Fundy. The tides in the basin drop 50-52 feet, and the race course is across the seabed with a challenging terrain of thick mud, wet sand, slippery seaweed, tidal pools, and exposed rocks. Because the tides return rapidly and aggressively participants have a 90-minute cutoff time to complete the course of 10K or 5K, before the water rushes back. We had front seats to the event, and it was quite a fun morning. We had never heard of the race, so it was quite a surprise fun experience.

After the race we said goodbye to everyone, and drove to the south shore of Nova Scotia just past Halifax to King Neptune campground. The small campground had amazing views of the ocean and was just 2 miles from Peggy's Cove which has a well known light house and quaint fishing village. It was on John's list to photograph and we spent several hours before sunset walking around the village and taking photos. 

Monday Aug 16th we took it easy and enjoyed the nice weather and views at the campground. John worked on processing photos and Sara wrote the blog entry for Chebeague Island. Both take quite a bit of time and we are always on the go enjoying the trip so get behind on updates! The campground had a tiny little beach and Sara enjoyed an afternoon swim. The water is on the chilly side, but not too bad once you are in and keep moving!

The next day we woke to a wet rainy day; note to self put the outside rug up at night if there is a hint of rain otherwise you have a wet soggy mess!  We drove 60 miles further south to the town of Lunenburg and met up with John's eldest son John who was visiting his good friend Shamus in Nova Scotia. Very sadly sons John and Chris had just lost their mother Margaret, (John's ex-wife). John is proud of both his sons for the care and devotion they took looking after Margaret the last few years. Even though we were all very sad we did enjoy seeing each other and it was great we were able to connect so far from home. 

Shamus drove us around to see the beautiful Lunenburg area, a port town founded in 1753 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We enjoyed a great lunch of fish and chips and then headed to his off grid lake front property. It was a lovely location and blissfully quiet. Although it was still raining a bit, or drizzling as the English say, we enjoyed sitting under a tent canopy watching the fire that son John somehow managed to get alight!

We spent the next morning planning our first few campgrounds in Newfoundland. We had booked the ferry a few days previously which was a relief. In peak summer season the ferry has to be be booked months in advance, and most people had a grimace when we said we hadn't yet booked. Since we couldn't get the exact day we were planning we decided to drive the Cabot Trail when we returned, so as usual it worked out. 

The weather cleared to a beautiful sunny afternoon and Shamus kindly drove us around exploring Lunenburg, a tiny fishing village called Blue Rocks and Mahone Bay. We spent at an evening under the stars by the fire pit - what a great few days!

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