We enjoyed a light breakfast in the inn and then headed out to buy tickets for the Western Brook Pond boat tour in Gros Morne park. Here is a picture of the Sugar Hill Inn. It's very nice inside, but obviously spending any money on the outside is not high on their priorities. No sign, no flowers...maybe it's early in the season!
After buying our boat tickets, we headed to the Visitor Centre to see what information they had. We met a young couple from Europe who are hitch hiking to St. Anthony. If we could have helped them, we would have, but we have folded down the backseats to make room for all our "necessities." Hope they have good luck.
All our favourite Newfoundland things...icebergs, whales, lighthouses, Vikings...
My life size teddy bear...
We had a bit of time to kill before the boat tour, so we drove to Lobster Cove Head. Until the late 1800s, there was no lighthouse at the entrance to Bonne Bay. Each resident of Rocky Harbour donated a pint of oil a week to keep a lamp burning in a local house. In 1898, this lighthouse went into operation. Each lighthouse has its own signal (flash) and this one can be seen from 19 km away. It is still used but Parks Canada now owns the house.
After wishing for good weather for our boat tour, it appears that we are in luck! It is very windy and quite cold, but it's not raining. The boat tour takes you through Western Brook pond (which really isn't a pond, but a land-locked inlet) and requires a 3 km walk to get to the dock. So off we set...part of the walk is gravel and the parts that go over bogs or marshes are covered by boardwalks.
Fiddleheads!
The little pond beside the boardwalk had waves on it...it was really windy. Did I mention it was cold?!
The trail is well maintained but it's still 3 km. There doesn't appear to be any alternative for those with handicaps, although we did see one guy with a wheelchair with huge tires on it.
We're halfway...I managed to coax a smile out of Jim. Wind and cold...not a good combination for asthmatics.
And we made it!
There are over 100 people on the tour, so these two boats will be taking everyone out. It's looking a little choppy...
One of the reasons for people walking in is to preserve the fragile purity of the lake. You can see the area on the right where the boat will take us. Looks like a tadpole! Our guide said "You might wonder how we got these boats here as there are no roads." Actually, I hadn't wondered, but it was a good point. The smaller boat was brought in on the same trail we walked in on, except in the winter. And the larger boat was dismantled and brought in by helicopter in pieces. Hmphhh...who knew!
I'm glad I brought a hat and gloves and I had no problem putting them on! The people outside were getting a bit wet. I'm waiting for calmer waters before I head outside.
We're heading towards the inlet...
One of the many crevasses...
A gorgeous day!
Our sister boat is leading the way...
Boat ahead is stopping at a waterfall...
One of many waterfalls...
Some of the peaks are 2000 ft...
You know it's cold if Jim has his hood on!
Can you spot the outline of an old man on the top left?
Yet another waterfall...
At the end of the inlet...another waterfall flowing down on the right. The tiny speck in the water is the boat ahead of us.
On our way back...
A great tour...
Lot of trees growing in the rocks...amazing...
Our sister boat is following us on the return trip...
And here we are back at the dock. There were no permanent facilities here until the 1970s.
And now...the 3 km walk back! This reminds me of Ayers Rock in Australia!
How could you not enjoy this walk? It was so pretty...
It's still windy, but not nearly as cold as when we were going...
And we made it back after a wonderful day. We checked out restaurants in Norris Point. There aren't a lot! Passed this pretty spot...
Bottom of the map shows where Norris Point is in relation to the boat tour we took...
We heard good things about Earle's restaurant so we headed in...
Jim is having a well deserved local beer after his walk. It's Quidi Vidi which is pronounced "kiddy viddy."
And when in Newfoundland you have to try toutons. They are tasty morsels of bread dough fried in pork fat served with molasses. Good grief, but yummm....
An excellent day! Tomorrow we're off to St. Anthony in search of icebergs...
After buying our boat tickets, we headed to the Visitor Centre to see what information they had. We met a young couple from Europe who are hitch hiking to St. Anthony. If we could have helped them, we would have, but we have folded down the backseats to make room for all our "necessities." Hope they have good luck.
All our favourite Newfoundland things...icebergs, whales, lighthouses, Vikings...
My life size teddy bear...
We had a bit of time to kill before the boat tour, so we drove to Lobster Cove Head. Until the late 1800s, there was no lighthouse at the entrance to Bonne Bay. Each resident of Rocky Harbour donated a pint of oil a week to keep a lamp burning in a local house. In 1898, this lighthouse went into operation. Each lighthouse has its own signal (flash) and this one can be seen from 19 km away. It is still used but Parks Canada now owns the house.
After wishing for good weather for our boat tour, it appears that we are in luck! It is very windy and quite cold, but it's not raining. The boat tour takes you through Western Brook pond (which really isn't a pond, but a land-locked inlet) and requires a 3 km walk to get to the dock. So off we set...part of the walk is gravel and the parts that go over bogs or marshes are covered by boardwalks.
The little pond beside the boardwalk had waves on it...it was really windy. Did I mention it was cold?!
The trail is well maintained but it's still 3 km. There doesn't appear to be any alternative for those with handicaps, although we did see one guy with a wheelchair with huge tires on it.
We're halfway...I managed to coax a smile out of Jim. Wind and cold...not a good combination for asthmatics.
And we made it!
There are over 100 people on the tour, so these two boats will be taking everyone out. It's looking a little choppy...
One of the reasons for people walking in is to preserve the fragile purity of the lake. You can see the area on the right where the boat will take us. Looks like a tadpole! Our guide said "You might wonder how we got these boats here as there are no roads." Actually, I hadn't wondered, but it was a good point. The smaller boat was brought in on the same trail we walked in on, except in the winter. And the larger boat was dismantled and brought in by helicopter in pieces. Hmphhh...who knew!
I'm glad I brought a hat and gloves and I had no problem putting them on! The people outside were getting a bit wet. I'm waiting for calmer waters before I head outside.
We're heading towards the inlet...
One of the many crevasses...
A gorgeous day!
Our sister boat is leading the way...
Boat ahead is stopping at a waterfall...
One of many waterfalls...
Some of the peaks are 2000 ft...
You know it's cold if Jim has his hood on!
Can you spot the outline of an old man on the top left?
Yet another waterfall...
At the end of the inlet...another waterfall flowing down on the right. The tiny speck in the water is the boat ahead of us.
On our way back...
A great tour...
Lot of trees growing in the rocks...amazing...
Our sister boat is following us on the return trip...
And here we are back at the dock. There were no permanent facilities here until the 1970s.
And now...the 3 km walk back! This reminds me of Ayers Rock in Australia!
How could you not enjoy this walk? It was so pretty...
It's still windy, but not nearly as cold as when we were going...
And we made it back after a wonderful day. We checked out restaurants in Norris Point. There aren't a lot! Passed this pretty spot...
Bottom of the map shows where Norris Point is in relation to the boat tour we took...
We heard good things about Earle's restaurant so we headed in...
Jim is having a well deserved local beer after his walk. It's Quidi Vidi which is pronounced "kiddy viddy."
And when in Newfoundland you have to try toutons. They are tasty morsels of bread dough fried in pork fat served with molasses. Good grief, but yummm....
An excellent day! Tomorrow we're off to St. Anthony in search of icebergs... 
1 comment:
Been forwarding your e-mails to Randy so he can share. By the way, his Dad is from Bishops Falls.
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