Thursday, August 27, 2015

Avalon - Not Just a Roxy Music Song

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Wednesday 19th August
Our easterly progress is coming to an end as we enter the famed city of St. John’s.  Pippy Park is a massive natural park not far from the St. John’s centre.  In the middle is a camping/RV park where we’re booked in for a couple of nights.

There are several Ponds (lakes) within the park and we walked round Long Pond that is close to the Confederation Building, Newfoundland’s Legislature.


On the walk we heard what sounded like random music.  It was produced by children playing with this interesting feature.


Each instrument produces a pleasant xylophone-like sound.

Thursday 20th August
The weather is kind of cloudy and cold again but it’s time to hookup with more sailing friends, met down south.  We’ve spent time with Vic and Marilyn Greeley in a couple of places in Florida and even the Bahamas.  They were in town for a speech by one of their daughters and offered to pick us up and show us the sights.


First stop - Signal Hill a well known St. John’s landmark.

From the top there are panoramic views of the harbour entrance;


and the city (note the cruise-ship that had disgorged 5,000 tourists into the city that morning).


Carol and Vic.


After a tour of the tower commemorating Marconi’s first transatlantic radio transmission it was onto Cape Spear, the most easterly point in North America.


Picture courtesy another tourist.

From the headland you can see Signal Hill and the harbour entrance in the distance.


By now it’s lunchtime and Vic suggests fish and chips in his home town.

Petty Harbour hosts Chafe’s Restaurant who have, justifiably, a high rating for their fish and chips - Outstanding!  How is it possible to make batter like that?

Petty Harbour is another picturesque Newfoundland fishing village where Vic says, that when he grew up, the Catholics lived on one side of the harbour;


the Protestants on the other.


And never the twain did meet - that’s all changed.

On our walk round Long Pond the previous day we passed a building called the Fluvarium.  Vic and Marilyn told us that was worth a visit so when they dropped us off we took a gander.


Looks like an aquarium, right?  It’s actually a view into a brook and the fish are free to go wherever they wish.

They also had wildlife in and tanks and this one is a dead ringer for Moe from the Simpsons.


Friday 21st August
Time to leave Pippy Park and visit more Newfoundlanders in their habitat.

Vic and Marilyn live in Greens Harbour and we parked in their back garden.

That night we walked up the road to Vic’s daughter Joanne’s place.  She has a free library on the road outside her house.


We had an evening round a camp fire, Vic and I talked to Terry (Joanne’s partner) while Carol talked to Joanne (the electrician) and her two visiting friends about women in the workplace and men’s bad attitudes (and behaviour) towards them.  Joanne played guitar and sang a few songs.

Saturday 22nd August
An absolutely gorgeous day and just as well.  Marilyn was involved with a garage sale on behalf of their church.  I lent a hand setting up (and taking down) and Carol did some selling.


Sunday 23rd August
When people you meet tell you about a ‘must see’ then you should.

St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve is on a peninsula south of where we were.  On the way down couldn’t resist driving through this place.


It's just another fishing village.


When we got to St. Mary’s it was quite foggy and although we hiked out to Bird Rock visibility was limited.

Sheep in the mist.


I’m not usually into rocks but I thought these lichen covered beauties were worth a pic.


I took a walk with Buddy down to the lighthouse.


Apparently they have fog most days here where the warm Gulf Stream meets the cold Labrador current.

In hope of a better day on the morrow we stayed overnight in the parking lot listening to the foghorn from the lighthouse every 30sec.

Monday 24th August
The following morning the fog lifted some.


I took another walk out to Bird Rock.

To get there you walk along cliffs that are 300 metres above the Atlantic.  This is looking back at the Interpretation Centre where they have knowledgeable park people, a movie, pictures and description of the bird life. 


The building on the headland is the Interpretation Centre where we were parked.

You can hear the birds (and smell them) before you get to the best vantage point to see Bird Rock.


The white speckles are birds.

The rock looks a little crumbly.


And to get the best view of The Rock, the path leads out onto a promontory with a staggering drop on either side.  


However, you can get really close.

 

The birds you see on the top are all gannets but way down below there are strata of other birds, murres being near the sea as they’re not great fliers.

Fluffy chicks are everywhere.


The noise is cacophonous and the smell is not good.

Moving on through Placentia and Argentia (where the other Nova Scotia ferry leaves from) we made it to Bellevue Beach leaving the Avalon Peninsula.

Not obvious from the pic but over the cliff edge behind us the surf was pounding on the beach and made a fabulous lullaby. 


Tuesday 24th August
Back on the Trans Canada and to Notre Dame Provincial Park where we stayed before.

Wednesday 25th August
Back to the infamous Howley but this time to the right campground.  What a difference this place is.  Friendly, lovely washrooms and site with a lake view out of the side window.


When we were in River of Ponds I went for a swim in the lake.  I lasted about 30 sec - it was frigid, so when the campground owners told me their lake was quite warm, I didn’t believe them.  I had a go anyway and swam across the lake which apparently is 90km long.


Tuesday 25th August
Last leg to Port Aux Basques for our Saturday ferry sailing.  A stop in Corner Brook for odds and ends and then back to the J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park where we started our Newfie adventure. 


Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Go East Old Man

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Sunday 9th August
Time to leave what the guide book refers to as the Western Sector and move on to the Central.

First it’s back to Deer Lake for propane and groceries and then back on the Trans Canada heading east.

Not very far though, Howley RV park just east of Deer Lake.

Monday 10th August
Not our favourite campsite, full of seasonals and ATVrs.  Not only that, they screwed us.  It was supposed to be $15 for an unserviced lot, however, they don’t have any unserviced lots so they charge $20 for using a serviced one with no service.  Didn’t find out until we were leaving - should have just driven off.  And let’s not even talk about the washrooms.

It was day we should stayed put and would have done if not for the above.  Torrential rain all day and unbeknownst to us the vent above the bed opened itself with predictable results.

Final stop for the day at Notre Dame provincial Park.  Yet another secluded spot in the trees.


Tuesday 11th August
Weather change!

Rain and clouds gone - it’s a gorgeous warm sunny day.
Water, water everywhere.


A shorter run today, away from the Trans Canada towards Twillingate.  Here’s the galley slave clearing up to go.


Next stop:


‘Nuff said.

After checking in and doing a bit of laundry we set off for the big tourist attraction in these parts - Twillingate.

The best lookout is actually Crows Head beyond Twillingate itself.

The views were magnificent that are not really capable of being captured with the camera.  However, you can see the attraction.


Sailboats drifting by (2 actually).


It’s also supposedly a big iceberg viewing spot but nary a one on the ocean blue.  The white things are boats, one appears to be a shrimp boat, it had outriggers anyway.


Someone (from Windsor, Ontario) offered to take a rare shot of the three of us. 


Twillingate itself is another fishing village.


Wednesday 12th August
A morning walk to the washrooms with the sun twinkling on the sea.


Trouble in Paradise.  When I went to start the truck to move to a different spot, it wouldn’t!!  The engine barely turned over and would not fire.  Further investigation showed that both batteries were down near 11Volts - very bad!

Good Sam Roadside Assistance to the rescue yet again  A boost to the truck and we’re mobile again.  A move to the other site, unload the camper and take the truck for a spin.

The problem isn’t the truck alternator - phew!  Don’t have a clue what the problem is though but suspect it’s yet another aftermath of the day on the road in torrential rain - won’t do that again, the camper isn’t submersible.

Thursday 13th August
Batteries down again.  This calls for drastic action.  This time we got a jump from one of the park rangers and we made the 1 hour backtrack to Lewisport and a tiny little Canadian Tire.  I took in the lowest voltage battery and it’s mortality was confirmed.

New battery in we headed to our next destination.  When down in Marathon, on the boat, we have a friend Bill Watson longtime friends of Ernie and Dianna who live in Gander Bay, just up the road. We were invited to visit and so that’s where we headed.

This is where Bill stays (at the bottom of their garden) when he visits them.


They used to be serious cruisers and have sailed the Atlantic and the Med.

They have chickens (lots of wonderful eggs for us) and a garden of vegetables.


Friday 14th August
A day hanging out around the house with a visit from neighbour Claude and wife.  When he spoke to just her, couldn't understand a word.


(Claude, Dianna, Carol, Claude’s wife and the back of Ernie’s head.

We had another unusual visitor - can never resist a bug pic.


Saturday 15th August
Eastbound we continued to Gambo and the David Smallwood Park.  However, for the first time there is no space, not even for unserviced.

The guy at the gate was very helpful and told us just to park on the other side of the road with other unfortunates.


Best part - no charge!

Carol was not feeling up to a hike so I went off on my own.  Everywhere in Newfoundland there are hiking trails.

This one was by the side of a salmon river.
 

Because someone thought at this point the river was a little tricky for the salmon to ascend to breed they made a salmon ‘ladder’.


Doesn’t look like much of a ladder but beneath the grills is a series of steps of a about a foot high.  You can stand on top and see the broiling water below.


Everyone in Newfoundland has a an ATV.  The owner of this deluxe version told me you can travel from St. John’s to Port Aux Basques on the bed of the old narrow gauge railway track.


Sunday 16th August
Moving yet closer to St. John’s, on Ernie’s advice we took a side trip to the Bonavista Peninsula.

Lockston Path Provincial Park has a couple of hiking trails so we we are at the summit.


Monday 17th August
Elliston (via the worst road yet) is a must see in this area for at least two reasons.

One is that it’s the world capital of root cellars, boasting 137 in number.


In the days before refrigeration this was the preferred storage for vegetables and anything else you wanted to keep cool.  Why they had so many here we’re not sure.

The other reason is seabirds.


More specifically the most absurd of seabirds, puffins.


They live on an island just off the shore that you really can’t get to so the pic is not that sharp, need a 20x lens not a 5x.

Neat rock formations too.


After Elliston we we went to Bonavista itself which has a candy lighthouse.


John Cabot made his landfall here on a somewhat forbidding coast.


Tuesday 18th August
On our way out in the morning we took a detour to a big tourist draw - Trinity.  Full of old historic buildings.
.


Next stop Butterpot Provincial Park only 30km from St. John’s