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!  

Click here to see the photos and videos!