50 Day Tour - June 1 to July 20, 2014

PART 2: NEWFOUNDLAND FOCUS ON NATURE
Starts at St. Barbe ferry from Labrador
Ends on Port aux Basques ferry to Nova Scotia

See also Part 1 - Quebec to Labrador - June 1 to June 25, 2014

Newfoundland has the picturesque allure of Alaska, the quiet remoteness of an island, and the friendly–often comical–culture of nowhere else.  Entering from Labrador at St. Barbe we will head to St. Anthony to view the sculptured icebergs floating in the bay.  We will visit L’Anse aux Meadows, the 1000-year-old Viking site, and explore Gros Morne National Park and its colorful array of spring flowers in marshlands.  Witless Bay boat excursions will take us close to Atlantic Puffins, Razorbills, and Humpback Whales.  At Cape St. Mary’s, we will get amazingly close views of a colony of 11,000 pairs of Northern Gannets on the cliffs overhanging the Atlantic Ocean. 

Your tour is being led by an experienced Wagonmaster team, with one person focused on tours, museums, and shops and the other person, a published book author and nature writer, leading nature walks where he can help you identify mammals, birds, trees, wildflowers, and other natural history.  This team has lead 30 caravans focused on nature and spanning North America from Costa Rica to the Arctic Ocean, as well as Australia and New Zealand.

We should reach St. Anthony at the northeastern tip of Newfoundland in time to see icebergs before they drift off toward Greenland.  We'll also make an early morning visit to a site where we found an amazing 24 moose on a previous trip.  One late afternoon and early evening, we'll attend the Viking Feast:  while dining on an array of scrumptious local dishes not found just anywhere - have you ever had moose stew? - you will be entertained by a humorous look at Viking life. Held in Leifsburdir, a replica of Lief Ericson’s home in Newfoundland, complete with sod roof, you will be transformed back 1000 years to a time when the Vikings roamed the land.  And, we'll visit the original site of the Viking landing at L'Anse aux Meadows, which turns out to be a good wildflower and birding spot as well.  We will also tour Norstead Viking Meadows to get a real feel of what the village looked like a millennium ago.

Gros Morne National Park - mountains and valleys, the remnants of past ice ages - looms tall away from the coastal shore and on a hike to 540-ft deep Western Brook Pond we can wonder at the 2200-ft. massive rock walls where Herring Gulls nest on crevices.  Nature's floral gardens of wildflowers will be in full bloom: Forget-me-not, Showy Lady's Slipper, Bog Candle, Dragon's Mouth, and dozens more which our naturalist will help identify.  This Newfoundland tour involves some hiking, although not too difficult nor lengthy, and conducted at a slow pace.  It also includes more ride-sharing than other tours, due to the focus on nature, rather than city tours.

You'll be entranced by the charming seascapes viewed from our next campsite at Twillingate.  Even the village name sounds magical.  Along the beach, tide pools collect tiny fish, sand shrimp, periwinkles, and urchins.  On one visit we found both Blue Mussels and the larger, redder Horse Mussels, tough cream-colored Greenland Cockles, large rotund Moon Snails and a type of brain coral that adheres to small rocks and mussels.  Learn about the fishing industry at Prime Berth Fishing Heritage Centre and about other local history at the Durrell Museum.

Following the Atlantic Ocean shore we'll camp at Terra Nova National Park and then tour the coves and coastal shores of Bonavista Peninsula, terminating at a tiny rock island where Atlantic Puffins stand erect like tuxedoed penguins next to their earthy nesting burrows and others return from the sea, carrying fish in their bills, gliding in for a landing like bulbous bombers.  Here too, we learn why Elliston considers itself the Root Cellar Capital of the World: it boasts 133 documented root cellars, some over two centuries old.

Continuing to southern Newfoundland we'll cross Avalon Peninsula and spend a day at Cape St. Mary's Seabird Sanctuary, perhaps the most memorable birding stop in the province because of the densely nesting gannets, razorbills, murres, and kittiwakes that cling to the high seaside cliffs.  

On a boat trip through Witless Bay Ecological Reserve puffins will be plentiful and likely to be observed at the same time we are watching Humpback Whales.  Here is the largest Atlantic Puffin colony in North America, estimated at 260,000 nesting pairs. 

Next stop is St. John's, a wonderful place to enjoy Newfoundland's culture in the heart of dozens of good coastline nature spots all within an easy drive of our campsite.  We will tour the city by bus, see Signal Hill, Quidi Vidi, and Cabot Tower, enjoy the Tattoo, and much more.  If you haven't yet learned of tickle, tinker, tuckamore, and turr, you will find out now the meaning of these Newfoundlander English words.

Along the eastern coast of Newfoundland you will enjoy the dramatic scenery of Bonavista Peninsula, especially at the famous lighthouse and the Dungeon, a huge circular sinkhole eroded from two large sea arches by pounding sea.  Also at Bonavista, we will learn the history of the cod fishing industry at Ryan Premises, beginning with the story of Michael Ryan who went into business with his son in 1857.  We will learn the history of John Cabot while viewing a full-scale replica of the 65-foot caravel called the Matthew which Cabot sailed to Newfoundland in 1497.

From Bonavista we head inland to central Newfoundland, stopping to see Gander's North Atlantic Aviation Museum, and sightseeing the boreal forest and open barrens of The Exploits region.  Then we visit the western part of the island, stopping at Deer Lake where a highlight will be the Newfoundland Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion.  We will pass through the Codroy Valley, where the birders in the group will thrill to see Black-headed Gulls at one of the few places they reside in North America.  At Cape Anguille, the most westerly point on the island, fishermen prepare their boats and equipment for cod fishing and lobster harvesting.  We might ask a Newfoundlander to demonstrate how he distinguishes male lobsters from females.

Our tour price includes your fare on the ferry to Nova Scotia.  Wave good-bye to Newfoundland on July 20.  Or, if you want to explore more on your own, stay longer on the island and choose another date of your departure.  We will book it for you.

The "short" ferry from Port aux Basques takes 5-7 hours.  All the better for nature lovers, as you can view pelagic birds, whales, and dolphins throughout the Atlantic Ocean ferry ride from the deck or, if you prefer, enjoy the comforts inside the spacious ship. 

Part 2 of Quebec-Labrador-Newfoundland Tour includes:

Camping fees (25 nights)

Viking Feast Dinner in a Viking Long House

L'Anse aux Meadows admission fee

Norstead Viking Meadows admission fee

Naturalist-led tours of St. Anthony sites

Grenfell Museum admission fee

Naturalist-led tour of thrombolites at Flower's Cove

Gros Morne National Park entrance fee

Naturalist-led hikes at Baker's Brook, Berry Hill, and more

Barbeque dinner at Rocky Harbour

Durell Museum admission fee

Prime Berth Fishing Museum admission fee

Naturalist-led walk of Twillingate's Long Point

'Split Peas' Live Local Musical Performance

'All around the Circle' dinner theater

Terra Nova National Park entrance fee

Naturalist-led walk at Blue Hill

Cape St. Mary's Seabird Sanctuary tour

Naturalist-led walk at Cape St. Mary's Seabird Sanctuary

Witless Bay Ecological Reserve

Whale and puffin scenic boat trip

City bus tour of St. John's historical sites, including admission fees

Ryan Premises & Bonavista Museum admission fees

The Matthew Legacy tour

Cape Bonavista Lighthouse tour

Dungeon Provincial Park fee

Elliston / Port Union lunch

Port Union Historical Site entrance fee

Naturalist-led visit to Elliston Puffin Sanctuary

Newfie Screech-In

North Atlantic Aviation Museum admission fee

Naturalist-led tour of The Exploits

Newfoundland Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion admission fee

Farewell Party

Hitch-up continental breakfast

Ferry passenger and RV transport to Nova Scotia (see below for large vehicles)

Many additional excursions led by naturalist/wagonmaster

Wildlife presentations and talks led by naturalist/wagonmaster

Wildlife photography and computerized photo-editing seminar

Bird and mammal checklists

Road logs

Canada National Parks Pass

Social activities and parties

ITINERARY (subject to change)  

Day	Location	Sites & Activities
1-3	St. Anthony	Viking Feast Dinner, L'Anse aux Meadows, Norstead Viking Meadows, Pistolet Bay, Cape Onion, Boat Harbor, Dark Tickle, Grenfell Museum
4	Port au Croix	Flower's Cove (Cambrian thrombolites), Nameless Cove, Ferolle Peninsula
5-7	Gros Morne National Park	Interpretative Center, The Tablelands, Baker's Brook, Berry Hill, Parson's Pond, Sally's Cove, Trout River, Western Brook
8-10	Twillingate	Historic Long Point Lighthouse, Durell Museum, Prime Berth Fishing Museum, 'Split Peas' Live Local Musical Performance, 'All around the Circle' dinner theater
11-12	Terra Nova National Park	National Park, Blue Hill
13-14	St. Brides	Cape St. Mary's Seabird Sanctuary
15-19	St. John's	Witless Bay Ecological Reserve whale and puffin scenic boat trip, Signal Hill - site of Marconi's First Transatlantic Message, Signal Hill International Tatoo, Cabot Tower, Petty Harbor, Quidi Vidi, Cape Spear Lighthouse - most eastern point in North America
20-21	Bonavista	White Rock Murals & Lookout, Ryan Premises & Bonavista Museum, The Matthew Legacy - John Cabot's boat, Famous Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, Mockbeggar Plantation, The Dungeon Rock, Lunch with local color, Port Union Historical Site, Elliston Puffin Sanctuary, Newfie Screech-In
22-23	Grand Falls-Windsor	Gander Aviation, The Exploits
24	Deer Lake	Newfoundland Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion
25-26	Grand Codroy	Codroy Valley, Cape Anguille, Farewell Party, Hitchup Continental Breakfast, Port Aux Basque ferry to Nova Scotia

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