Northern Wonderland
Written: Dec 27 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: the landscape and the people
Cons: long cold winter
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| ilselieve's Full Review: Newfoundland |
We had little idea what a magnificent and unusual place this Canadian province is when my father and I decided to make a road trip to the northern tip of Newfoundland in the summer of '97. We followed the highway up the west coast of the island and were treated to spectacular scenery and incredibly hospitable people. This is the land made famous in Annie Proulx's novel The Shipping News and affectionately referred to by Newfies as "The Rock". The dramatic fjords and misty coastlines are akin to the South Island of New Zealand.
GETTING THERE
We made the 6-hour crossing from Cape Breton Island on a large comfortable ferry that deposited us in Port Aux Basques early in the morning. We were glad to be making the crossing in August, because we heard of storms in other seasons that make the crossing dangerous. Newfoundland is also accessible by plane, but I think the approach wouldn't have quite the same mystique and suspense!
PLACES TO VISIT on the WEST COAST
With only a few days to spend, we decided to take the highway that goes north along the west coast of the province. Even with such a limited time, we enjoyed our itinerary thoroughly. However, I recommend planning at the least a week to see the West Coast.
Rocky Harbor
We picked a place for lunch in Rocky Harbor from a visitor guide's list of good spots to get local food. Parson's was a small place by the road that appeared from the outside to be someone's home. The cooking turned out to be homey, too. In fact, there was no menu, and we were simply served what had been made for lunch that day, which was very good, including our bakeapple (a local golden-colored berry) dessert. The elderly owner of the restaurant kept us company while we ate, and when we left, he joked with us to wash our car before leaving Newfoundland, so we wouldn't remove any of the island's precious soil!
Port au Choix
We made a side trip to see Port aux Choix National Historic Site, where in 1967, while renovating a theater basement, a cemetery over 3000 years old was discovered. After choosing a local Bed and Breakfast (Jeannie's), we were impressed to learn that during renovations of the basement over which we slept, additional ancient graves had been discovered!
St. Anthony
I was driving as we arrived in St. Anthony's; it was dark and rainy with a strong wind. Looking for a place to stay or a bite to eat, I accidentally passed the whole town without realizing it, and found us climbing a dirt road by the sea on the far side of town. I cautiously turned around and we found a Chinese restaurant that was open, with a pleasant waitress that served us (the only patrons) and gave us directions to "Howell Tourist Home" for the night.
Sharing our Tourist Home was a jade prospector, elated over his recent find, which he claimed was the largest piece of jade ever found in Canada. Indeed he let an enormous lumpy rock the size of a globe sit out on the front deck while he made some phone calls.
In the morning the cleaning woman recounted stories of the polar bears that have visited the town over the years. She herself had found one snoozing in front of her trailer one morning and had to call in to cancel work!
L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site
This site was used by Vikings a thousand years ago. The UN has designated it a World Heritage Site and it has an interesting interpretive center. I appreciated that the interpretive center employed a guide from the area. During our tour he revealed that he had grown up nearby, and had played on the mounds before they had been archaeologically discovered.
ILLUSTRATION of NEWFOUNDLAND HOSPITALITY
During a walk along a coastal path near L'Anse aux Meadows historic site, we enjoyed a conversation with a man from the area. When I told him I had been hoping to see icebergs and whales, he directed us to Fishing Point in St. Antony's. An hour or so later, with both an iceberg and a spouting humpback whale in the viewfinder of my binoculars, the same man reappeared, having caught up with us to let us know of another interesting spot he had thought of--a deserted old U.S. naval base that occupied the heights above the town. What I suppose had once been a good vantage point for watching for European invasions now makes a spectacular lookout on the ocean and the landscape to the south down the peninsula, from within the eerie cement shell of the military installation.
TRAVEL TIPS
We found the roadside visitor centers were very helpful in picking out our itinerary.
To get an idea of the weather conditions on the road at any particular moment, visit www.gov.nf.ca/roads/cameras/Default.stm, which displays images of the road conditions at several points along the highway.
The biggest threat to your safety while on the road in Newfoundland is likely the moose. Travelers are advised not to use the highways around dusk because of the high incidence of accidents involving these weighty animals. We drove very carefully, and stopped a few times to watch moose grazing in roadside gardens.
Crime does not appear to be a concern in the towns we visited on our trip. In fact, we observed that some drivers, apparently for convenience, simply leave their keys in the ignition when they park their cars!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
ilselieve
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Member: ilse ackerman
Location: Harrisonburg, Virginia
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 0 members
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