Newfoundland NL August 8-12 2023

 

We arrived at Port aux Basques, lower left portion of the map. Since we did not arrive till 7 p.m., we decided to spend the night at a local hotel and hit the road in the morning refreshed from our ferry trip.  We concentrated our travels on the Western side of the island since Gros Morne NP is a major area that we wanted to visit. 

A stop on the way up to Rocky Harbor which would be our base for the next 3-days. 

Already enjoying the magnificent views of this great province.

You just don't see this view in Florida. 

Kathy all wrapped up in multiple layers of clothing.  We started out today in 52-degree temperature. 

One of many fishing villages along our route.  Many of the houses are brightly colored.  If you would see the fishermen's boat, you would see the same color. If it's good enough for the boat, its good enough for the house.  The paint provides much better water protection for the house. 

Our hotel in Rocky Harbour.  We decided this would be the best location for traveling out-and-back each day.  Gros Morne National Park headquarters is located in the surrounding area. 

We decided to have breakfast at Shallow Bay Motel in Cows Head about 30 minutes North of Rocky Harbour.  The French toast was excellent and needed it for our 330-mile journey. 

The roads get worse the further North you travel, but the beautiful shoreline gets more impressive We did get delayed at a couple of bridges on our way North.

Kathy driving.  We both always looked for Moose but never saw one during our travels. 

One of the local homes.   Thanks to the local marine climate, you won't have to contend with extreme temperatures.  The island has an average summer temperature of 61 degrees while winter hovers around 0 degrees.  Far North in St Anthony the winter temperature can drop to -30. 

Welcome to Norris Point.  

Lobster Cove lighthouse.  One of the 10 ten best lighthouses to visit. 

Lobster Cove is known as the perfect location for a great spot to enjoy sunsets. Even on a stormy day, it's an epic place to watch crashing waves. Who knows, you may just see a whale while you are at it.  

Speaking of marine animals, I thought I saw a couple of dolphins playing.  It was just rushing waves crashing the rocks that made it look like something.   Damn! 

The mountains of Gros Morne NP were magnificent.   Not many roads lead into the park.  You drive to a specific parking area and hike into your destination. 

This is just one view of the majestic mountains that surround Gros Morne NP.  

Another view of the mountains from the shoreline.  

You can see sections of lobster traps all along the road.  There are approximately 3500 licensed lobster fishermen in the Newfoundland Province. One third of these license holders are located on the west coast. Each fisherman is authorized a specific number of traps.

Overall, our experience traveling to, and from Newfoundland was a great. Although you had to ride a long way to see the next town, the sights you see along your travel is exceptional. We would have liked to have traveled to St. Anthony to visit that area as well. The weather was mostly cold for us and windy. We were smart to purchase chaps for Kathy at Daytona.  We wore our chaps every day and layered our clothing to deal with the weather.

Marine Atlantic Ferry - Highlander (North Sydney NS to Port Aux Basques NL)

 

All packed and ready for our adventure.  We carried most of our clothing in a soft bag on top of our tour pack. 

First look at our ship " The Highlander."  The ferry ride to Port aux Basques is 96 nautical miles and takes approximately 7 hours to complete.

We arrived early for our departure.  You can just see the trike alone in the upper right of this photo.

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Here is a video of us driving on the Ferry.   The Ferry has 2 loading ramps. We used the lower section of the ship. 

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This video shows other vehicles loading.  When we left Port aux Basques the entire parking lot was full of 18-wheelers. All 12 loading designations were full.  I could not believe that the entire lot was loaded onto the ferry.  

Our boarding Cards 

Kathy paid extra for reserved seating which was a great idea.  You need a key card to enter and exit this area.  The seats were extremely comfortable and had back and leg rest extensions to help you relax.  We had a great window view.

The ship even had a helipad for emergency medical situations. 

The sister ship was pulling into dock as we departed the port.  The sister ship goes to Argentia NL, 280 nautical miles and takes approximately 16 hours to complete.  We decided to tour the western portion of Newfoundland and visit Gros Morne National Park instead of the southeast section which is more populated.   Glad we took the shorter route. 

During our travel we passed an oil tanker on its way West.  

Since we don't arrive at Port aux Basques till 6:45 p.m., we decided to have dinner at the ship's main restaurant.  

Kathy decided on the Cod au gratin, which was delicious.  I had the chicken dinner which was also very good.  There was another smaller fast-food area that served sandwiches, pizza as well as drinks and other items for your eating pleasure. 

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Our first video look at Newfoundland. 

The shoreline of Port aux Basques.  

It was a little tricky getting into the port, however the captain did an excellent job docking.  We were very pleased with the ferry experience. 

  

Prince Edward Island

You can see in the map that Oyster Bed Bridge where we stayed, is at the top middle of the island.   We put just under 500 miles on the trike, so we just scratched the surface.  We didn’t make it to the North Point Lighthouse.  We did make it to the eastern tip of the island at North Lake.  We concentrated our rides in the north central region of the island.  North Rustico area was a favorite. 

 

All setup in our Campground in Oyster Bed Bridge.  Our campground 30-amp power was a little iffy due to a “heat wave” with temps reaching into the 80’s.  Weather for trike riding and sleeping was perfect!  It did rain during our 5-day stay but it was nice enough to just rain at night. 

Oyster beds are located throughout the waterway.  They thrive in brackish water from 2-26 feet deep.  

It can take up to 18 months to grow a 3" oyster.  They dredge oysters and clams.  85% of the lobsters are sent to the U.S. and overseas. 

 

 Lots of agriculture here.  Really surprised by how much field corn is grown here with such a short growing season.  What I thought were bean fields were mostly potatoes fields like this one.  Also, what I thought was wheat was most likely barley. 

 

Fishing villages are colorful and plentiful along the shoreline.   Roads are in pretty good shape but since road repair can only be done during the summer months delays were common.  

Another beautiful fishing village.  You can see the bright colors of the houses.  We thought the terrain would be flatter, but it is mostly rolling hills with lots and lots of water and not just on the perimeter of the island. 

 

There are a lot of Churches on the island, many of which have stunning views.

 

East Point lighthouse, one of the many lighthouses we visited on the island.  

We did purchase an annual national park pass so that we could visit both Prince Edwards and Greenwich NP parks. The beaches and dunes were charming.  Many of the dunes were damaged when Fiona hit the island in 2022.  The fierce winds knocked down millions of trees and the crashing waves eroded hundreds of miles of coastline.  

The beaches were packed when we visited the parks.  

Many of the dunes were marked with red tape which meant "stay away."  It will take many years for them to recover or be rebuilt.  

A look at Cavendish beach which you can see is full of people.  The water temp was about 67 degrees, but it did not deter the Canadians and from enjoying their day at the beach.  Kathy and I did take walks along the beach at other locations while watching the waves.   

Lobster roll is a mainstay for lunch and dinner, 

Side note:  There are no longer any large animals such as moose, deer or elk on the island.  The locals told us the largest animal we might see would be a fox or coyote. 

Confederation Bridge to Prince Edwards Island Canada

 

The Confederation Bridge is a box girder bridge carrying the Trans-Canada Highway across the Abegweit Passage of the Northumberland Strait, linking the province of Prince Edward Island with the mainland province New Brunswick.  Opened May 31, 1997, the 12.9-kilometre (8.0 mi) bridge is Canada's longest bridge and the world's longest bridge over ice-covered water.    

The speed limit on the bridge is 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph) but can vary with wind and weather conditions. When travelling at the speed limit, it takes about 12 minutes to cross the bridge.

Tolls apply only when leaving Prince Edward Island (when travelling westbound). The toll rates since January 2022 are $50.25 for a two-axle automobile and $8.50 for each additional axle. Motorcycles are charged $20.00.

Construction took place from October 1993 to May 1997and cost Canadian 1.3 billion.