Roaming North America in a 17 foot camper - Newfoundland

[Wander With Us]

4x4 isn't necessary at all. At least it isn't in the condition that we saw while we were on it. There are semis and large trucks that use the highway daily so its in pretty good condition. You shouldn't have a problem towing your hauler at all. You will actually have the most trouble with the paved section towards the end near Blanc-Sablon. There the pot holes were pretty bad. They seem to fix them as soon as the weather allows it though.

 

[redruby]

Thx for the update, drive safe and enjoy the scenery

 

[Wander With Us]

Monday, July 9th

We spotted this Snowshoe Hare feeding close to our Karavan before packing up and heading to the ferry.


As we were instructed we arrived at the ferry office two hours before the scheduled departure time to insure that we would be able to grab a spot on the ferry. The ferry ride was about 1.5 hours. This was our first ferry of our trip where we couldn't just wait in the vehicle during the crossing. We left our dogs in the truck with the windows cracked. I don't think they loved it but they handled it fairly well.


We landed in Newfoundland and immediately welcomed the paved roads that are in pretty good condition. We headed north up to Vikings RV Park, where we plan on staying for a few days so we can explore the northern part of the island.


Tuesday, July 10th

We headed to L'Anse aux Meadows, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the only known Norse settlement in North America, dating back to around 1000 AD. We were treated to our first moose sighting as soon as we parked.


The site is well worth checking out. We took a guided tour and found it fascinating. After you get finished viewing all the archaeological dig sites you get to check out reconstructed buildings. The first one is where the crew of the ship would have lived.


The next is what they believe are slave quarters, which probably would have been Irish at that particular time.

Next is a forge that they reconstructed.


View from the reconstruction site.


After we finished the tour we decided to take the long way back that goes along the coast. The views were great.



Sheep Laurel that we saw while out.


Next we take a boat out to do some whale watching. I will try and post that tonight or in the morning before we head down to Gros Morne National Park.

 

[redruby]

We where there in 2010 and just loved L'anse aux Meadows, the docents do a fabulous job and seemed to really enjoy their work. Besure to take the boat ride at Gros Morne, they have some very colorful names for the great sites.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

awesome, thanks for sharing thus far! I look forward to following along. Happy Trails & Safe Travels

 

[Wander With Us]

Wednesday, July 11th

This post is going to be pretty much all photos.

We took a boat out to try and see some whales and icebergs. It was just us on the boat and boy did we get a show. There must have been at least 20 humpbacks and they came up on all sides of us.

 

[Wander With Us]

 

[Wander With Us]

 

[Wander With Us]

Wednesday, July 11th continued.

After we did our whale watching boat tour we decided to drive out to Burnt Cape. Burnt Cape is an ecological reserve on the northern tip of the island. It is exposed to harsh climate and this allows the growth of dwarf flora that is normally just found in the arctic.


Luckily for us the weather was great while we were out there.



When we reached the end of the Reserve we parked and walked around for a bit. The coast was amazing.



After we got back to the Karavan we learned that the path that we took had us walking through an old growth forest


and that some of the tress were a few hundred years old.


This year we have been told that summer was very late to start so the Reserve didn't have as many of the wildflowers as it normally has. We were still treated to a few.

Bearberry Willow


and also Yellow Lady's slipper


The Reserve was a great experience and it's free. When we got back to the campsite we had a nice sunset, unfortunately the mosquitoes and black flies are now very much active so besides taking a few photos we enjoyed it from inside our Karavan.

 

[Billhilly]

Fantastic photo's! I've read a bit about that area. Another place on the wish list! Have fun.

 

[broncograveyard]

Great pics! Would love to travel there one day. There are so many great places for overland travel. The west side of our continent is awesome, but don't short change the East or you will be missing out.

 

[Mass_Mopar]

Great pictures and narration, makes us want to go back soon. If you’re still up north check out cape onion / onion cove. There is a cemetery at the top of a hill with a great view

 

[Wander With Us]

Sorry for the long delay between posts. Our cell coverage in Newfoundland wasn't that great so we are just now getting around to updating our blog and the post here.

Saturday, July 14th
We made reservations to take the boat tour of Western Brook Pond. The tour is a must do for anyone traveling to Newfoundland. From the parking lot it is about a 30-40 minute walk to the edge of the pond where you board the boat. On the walk there are some great views of the
"fjords".


The pond was created by glaciers and because the water is freshwater now and not salt water it isn't technically a fjord


There are four waterfalls that we saw while on the boat. This one is Blue Denim Falls.

and here is the second falls.

and another waterfall


The last falls that we saw is Pissing Mare Falls and at over 350 meters is one of the highest waterfalls in eastern North America.


It was a gorgeous day to be out on the water.




We took our time on the walk back to the parking lot. Unfortunately we didn't see any wildlife but the wildflowers were great.
Dragon's Mouth Orchids


and Blue Flag Iris with what I believe is a Long-Jawed Orb Weaver on one of the petals.

 

[brushogger]

Wow! We didn't miss you guys by much. We were in NL from July 2-11. We camped out of the back of our Subaru Outback. NL is an amazing place. It looks like you're now heading south. The Rocky Harbor area is very pretty. You HAVE to go to Norris Point which is close by and eat at the Old Store Cafe. We ate there 4 or 5 times. They have a meatloaf panini that will really make your day. Try the potato salad too. Down by the Bonne Bay Marine station, there is a trail head for a short (about 1 mile) hike. The trail goes up hill and gives some great views of the area around the point. In Trout River there is a place to get moose burgers. (Yes, we love to eat). There are several good hikes in the area also. In Channel-Port aux Basques, don't miss the Trailway hike. We went in the evening, and there were some great sunset views. A good portion of it is an elevated boardwalk.

 

[molanginaeda]

Awesome trip. I agreed with don’t miss the western brook pond tour. If you physical challenge, I would recommend the tour hike on western brook pond.

I was visiting NL in 2016. Would definitely return to this beautiful area.


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