27August, 2017, Blog Post No. 11

27August, 2017, Blog Post No. 11

15 August On to Newfoundland:

Quite a performance to board the ferries with the dogs, We drove to North Sidney to catch the ferry to Port aux Basques. Had a fleeting visit with Eileen, a 4^th cousin of Rona’s (Levin, NZ). Rona is part of the world wide Clan McLeod who include the famous Norman McLeod as one of their own. The McLeod clan has long time connections with Cape Breton thru the exodus of the McLeodites to Waipu Cove in NZ. The meeting was fleeting because Marine Atlantic, the ferry operators begin loading 2 hours before. Loading the dogs was a bit of a performance, but a couple of the female crew were very helpful and they were both duly stowed in the animal quarters. They didn’t really enjoy the cruise, Phil sat with them for an hour or two until they calmed down and went to sleep. Cooped up in their wire cage for 6 hours with only a complaining westy for company they were very pleased to reach dry land. The trip was uneventful, the ferries are very large and well set up with cabins and restaurants. We had decided to return to from NFL to CBI on the long, overnight ferry, thus saving 1,000 km of return driving. However we couldn’t get passage for the dogs on the days we wanted to travel so had to cut our visit to NFL shirt a couple of days. We stayed the night at J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park, no services but very comfortable and scenic.

16 August Drove to the world renowned Gros Morne Park, found a camp site actually in the park. This park is probably Canada’s most loved park after Jasper and at this time of the year was still very busy. Had a takeout dinner of fresh haddock and stayed the night at a very comfortable KOA campsite in the park. Poured with rain and was decidedly cool. We stocked up on food and got ourselves organized for the next day’s activities, which were a hike and boat trip up the length of the Western Brook Pond. In NFL it is normal to call lakes “ponds”, so the Western Brook Pond is actually a lake about 17 km long, with a maximum depth over 500 feet.

17 August Gros Morne Park is very well organized for walking and other activities. We started the day with a walk along the ocean, which was a very good run for the dogs. We then drove to the marshalling point for the 2.5 km hike over marshlands to the dock from where the boat departs. On the drive to the lake we saw our first and so far only moose, it looked like a cow moose and was making a run to cross the road ahead of us when it changed its mind and turned back into the scrub. Just was well too, We braked hard, normal moose avoidance procedure but the motorist behind must have assumed we were braking for hallucinations and pulled out from behind us and roared past at full speed. He/she would have hit the moose, certain death and destruction for all concerned. I didn’t see whether it was local or visitor plates.

The boat takes about 50 people. The lake catchment area is composed of igneous rocks with relatively thin soil, so the waters feeding Western Brook Pond are low in nutrients and the lake is very clear. The tour boat operators were required to take special precautions to ensure the boats did not pollute the lake. The boats themselves, (there are two or three) were brought in by helicopter in sections or sledded across the frozen bog in winter. The trip was spectacular, see the pix, very much in the same class as Milford Sound, or the Leaping Tiger Gorge. We had a leisurely walk out across the marshes and took time to read all the very informative signs about plants and ecology We rewarded ourselves for our exertions with Purdy’s Sweet Georgia Browns given to us by Catherine.

18 August - Early rise and departure for the Twillingate area, the iceberg viewing centre. No icebergs unfortunately, we were a little late in the season. Had a very nice walk with the dogs off leash, which dissipated a lot of pent up energy from their confinement while we did the boat trip. Unsuccessful search for breakfast en route, eventually found a tiny remote little “Mom’s Diner” which featured moose burgers as the house specialty. We settled for eggs however, the burgers looked a little too hearty even for a late breakfast. Drove across the centre of NFL in steadily deteriorating weather, all the while keeping a sharp lookout for these pesky moose on the road. For non-Canadians, these moose are very large, up to 1200 pounds and a collision with a car is often fatal for the car occupants. Three moose were introduced to NFL in 1904 and there are now about 150,000 loose moose. Actually it is surprising there aren’t even more; there are no predators and the whole of NFL appears to be perfect moose pasture. We looked for a camp in the Twillingate area to give us a setting off point for a trip to the legendary Fogo Island and found Dildo Provincial Park, a nice treed setting, no services but a real bargain at $13.10 with seniors discount. The young man on checkin tried to assure us that the bad weather was the by product of a Caribbean Hurricane but the day time temperature of 10 degrees and frost predicted convinced us the NFLers practiced deep denial about winter’s arrival.

19 August – Early start to catch the small ferry to Fogo Island, which departed at 08:30 hrs. When we got to Fogo we found there was un-unadvertised RV camp, with a vacancy and a delightful seaside location at Brimstone Head. The camp had just hosted the annual Fogo Folk Music festival. With more time on our hands we were able to more thoroughly explore this tiny little outpost island. Interesting little, still active fishing communities. We duly climbed Brimstone Head, with the dogs, for a magnificent view of the surrounding island. We had a full seafood lunch at the local restaurant so settled in for snack food and a view of the sunset. While we were walking on our little bay shore some locals came inshore on dories and began to net capelin, a smelt like fish that comes close inshore to spawn. Those on the dories used a round casting net and would bring in a pound or two with each successful cast. One of the fishers gave us a half pound of these fish still alive, so we popped them into a pan with butter and garlic and made short work of them. The temperature plummeted when the sun went down so Kirsty and the dogs retreated to camper. I stayed out to watch the final sun’s rays disappear below the horizon, (for NZ believers, no green flash!!). The capelin fishing intensified as the evening progressed. Locals were scooping up a pound at a time with dip nets wielded from gumboot depth at the shore. One keen harvester filled a large cooler with these wriggly fish in about half an hour. Then the most amazing sight was the Atlantic cod began to chase these small fish, so that entire small bay was boiling with fish milling around the dense swarms of these capelin, Too dark for effective pix unfortunately.

20 August – Another early start, this time to get the 07:30 ferry off Fogo. Retraced the scenic coastal drive, calling in to visit the North Atlantic Aviation museum at Gander. A modest little display, but lovingly done by obviously enthusiastic local supporters. Well worth it as a compact history of Gander glory days, when it played such a key role in early, trans-Atlantic travel. Also of course its amazing hosting of the passengers stranded by the 9/11 tragedy. We planned to tour the Bonavista Peninsula, but roads proved daunting so we settled instead for a visit to Trinity, a beautiful little NFL village which had some sort of town fair going on. Lovely small cottage architecture. The dogs continue to be a source ofintense interest wherever we go. They were mobbed in Trinity – we couldn’t have been more popular if we’d turned up with Marilyn Monroe! Finally arrived at Jack’s Pond Camp at Arnold’s Cove to spend a rather chilly night, in preparation for the run to Argentia to catch ferry to back to Cape Breton Island. Neither a pleasant nor memorable stay at the camp ground. Our neighbor was using a very noisy weed wacker on his site for a couple of hours and the facilities were amongst the worst we have encountered.

21 August - Up early to drive to Argentia to board the 16 hour ferry to North Sidney, NS. They required us to report 3 hours before hand, we were even earlier so took the opportunity to have a last lunch of NFL cod in the terminal cafeteria, actually one of the best cod meals we have had so far. Time to step up BC ferries!! The ferry is huge, 203m long and has very nice facilities. We had a very comfortable 4 berth cabin to ourselves, with spotless and comfortable furnishings and our own bathroom. The passage was not rough, but Kirsty foresook the evening buffet for something lighter just in case. We had a very comfortable trip. Not so the dogs however. They were confined to their cage in a special locker for dogs and for some reason did not really settle at all. On the much shorter trip over on the Port Aux Basques Ferry they eventually settled down after Phil sat with them for a while but on this trip they did not. Maybe the ride was noisier and/or rougher, maybe they didn’t like their shipmates, a Westy and a very upset puppy. Come morning they were beside themselves to get out and off the ship.

22 August, after a hearty breakfast for Phil and a more modest yogurt and muesli for K we disembarked at 09:00. First stop was a run for the dogs. The first park we found had a strictly no dogs sign. We explained the situation to the park attendant and he said fine, provided we picked up afterwards we were OK. The dogs had a quick game of chase the cookies between us and were much happier for the start of the drive. We visited the craft centre in downtown Sidney, then the Miner’s Museum in Glace Bay, which included a visit underground led by a retired miner to a very realistic reconstruction of a working coal mine . Then on to Joanne and Graham, Catherine’s friends who have a summer house on the banks of the Mira River. An idyllic setting, great hospitality and conversation and a much needed spa visit for the dogs, who spent all evening jumping in and out of the river. K2 now has a large brown spot on his chest, a rust stain from his collar caused by the salty water in the river estuary. Our host was the son of a CBI miner, so filled us in on any details we missed from the mine visit.

23 August – Drove to Louisberg to visit the reconstruction of the famous historic fort which occupied the site from approximately 1720 to 1770. This is regarded by Canada as a major historical site. The reconstruction is one of the largest in the world and commenced in 1961. The works were undertaken by a team of archaeologists, historians, engineers, and architects who appeared to have paid careful attention to authenticity and social and archeological details. The reconstruction was aided by unemployed coal miners from Cape Bretton, many of whom learned French masonry and carpentry techniques from the 18th century to create an accurate replica. Where possible, many of the original stones were used in the reconstruction. Local actors and volunteers dressed in period uniforms play the part of contemporary residents, including responding to your questions. The site is huge and we were quite exhausted when we finally departed. That night we stayed with Eileen and Don at Ben Eoin on the Bras D’Or lakes. Our hosts were long time residents of CBI, he was a historian, knowledgeable and well connected in CBI politics so we had a very entertaining evening.

24 August – Drove to down the Northumberland Shore Drive to one of the more beautiful camps, Seafoam RV Camp. This was one of the prettiest drives we have made, and compares favorably with our other favorite drive through the Annapolis Valley. Lovely sea views, summer cottages, immaculate farms. Took the dogs for a nice off-leash run thru an old graveyard.

25 August – A few more miles of scenic coast then crossed into New Brunswick and the expressways to St John, where we once again enjoyed the hospitality of our friend and one-time dog minder Catherine and her mother Rita, this time at Rita’s home in St John. Catherine had looked after our first keeshonde, Kaiti. Her mother had stayed with us in Vcr many years ago and had also got to know Kaiti. Thus they were both delighted to make the acquaintance of K2, who was selected because of his similarity to Kaiti.

26 August – Rest day in St John, explored downtown with Catherine as an able guide and went out in the evening to a very unusual restaurant. Quiet night getting ready for what is now our homeward run.

27 August – Set off to drive to Campbellton on the Quebec Border. However we decided to take a longer route thru St Andrews, blundered into a camp with a site which overlooked the sea, so delightful that we decided to stop for the night and up date our long neglected blog. Tomorrow we head for Quebec and the Gaspe Penninsula which is the first stage of our return journey.

A la prochaine

P & K