What can I say about Newfoundland? It’s not describable – you have to go. I absolutely loved everywhere we went and would go back in a heartbeat.
8/7 – The boat announces when the boat is 30 minutes from port so we were up at 5:00 AM, and while I was so excited to be there, we were more than a little worn out so it proved to be a rough morning. We were tired and cranky.
We got off the motorcycles off the ferry and needed to stop to repack. It had been a wild scramble to get down to the bikes, load up, and ride off. We had breakfast at Tim Horton’s after an aborted attempt at finding a regular restaurant. It was too early in the morning for much to be open anyway.
Don’t forget there is a 30 minute time change when you get to Newfoundland. 30 minute? Don’t ask me…
We followed Trans Canada Highway 1 to Corner Brook where were stopped for groceries. You could tell we were tired because we certainly weren’t holding a consistent speed on the way there. We did a lot of speeding up, slowing down, speeding up. Fortunately there was no traffic.
People were amazingly friendly in the parking lot when they saw our loaded motorcycles and then saw the Texas license plates. I had more than one person ask where we were headed and then apologize for the condition of the road out to Lark Harbor where we would be going to get to Blow Me Down Provincial Park. It took us a long time to get out of the parking lot, which probably wasn’t good as tired as we were.
I was worried that the road would be terrible and it was fine. It still was a long 45 km to get to the park.
While Jean-Francois was sitting at the picnic table after lunch a chipmunk was down by his feet looking for crumbs. I got a couple pictures.
I inflated my sleep mat, put it down by the picnic table and took a nap. Jean-Francois set up the tent and crashed in there.
I woke up when the chipmunk decided to make a run over me and decided to stay up so I would sleep well that night. I walked around the park and down to the shore to take pictures. Jean-Francois slept the entire afternoon. I crashed shortly after dinner.
8/8 Absolutely poured all day. We brought snacks into the tent and spent the entire day reading. We each read a book that day. The storms ended around 4 that afternoon so we rode into Lark Harbor for dinner at Captain Cook’s Galley and the road around the area before going back to camp.
8/9 Up before sunrise to get pictures over the water. It was gorgeous.
Pictures from ferry to Blow Me Down Provincial Park:
http://winding-road.net/motorcycle/trips_2009/canada/newfoundland/blow_me_down/index.html
We stopped at Arches Provincial Park and then went on to Gros Morne National Park stopping at Western Brook Pond to check on boat tours. It was around 1:00 PM and we had to be back at 3:00 so we decided to find a campground and set up camp beforehand.
On the way north on Route 430 we had our first chance to see moose. They were on the left side of the road and then crossed to our side after we had stopped for pictures. It was great.
We set up camp at Shallow Bay and returned to Western Brook Pond which is a fjord that has been closed off from the ocean. It’s supposed to have some of the purest water in the world. The tour on the boat was beautiful, but a bit disappointing as far as information. I guess we’d been spoiled by all the interpretive centers and this was a far more commercial operation. So go for the view, not the education. I would still do the tour again, but there wasn’t any wildlife either. I think I’d do a wildlife thing the next time.
A pond in Canada isn’t what I would consider a pond in US – aren’t they supposed to be small? In Canada the ponds are huge.
Port aux Basques to Blow Me Down Provincial Park:
http://motorcycle-journeys.com/past/canada_2009/photos/newfoundland/blow_me_down/index.html
Pictures of Gros Morne National Park and Western Brook Pond:
http://motorcycle-journeys.com/past/canada_2009/photos/newfoundland/gros_morne/index.html
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