Tablelands and Bonne Bay

 We arrived at Tablelands - a place I've heard about for years - early in the morning, following a breakfast of grilled hot dogs (I'll get to food on a future post).  The "regular" tourist trail is a short, easy hike with perhaps 100m of elevation gain.  It's unique.  And beautiful in its own way.  By the time we were ready to leave the area (and we did not explore beyond the "tourist trail" ) the parking lot was basically full.  We drove to Trout River and did a short hike there - it was muddy and stumpy and there was a large group of school kids there doing a tree planting thing.  That lead us back to Woody Point, the other "major" town of Gros Morne NP and I did see the Shelagh Rogers Theatre, but it was closed and locked.  Another trail departed from just up the hill above Woody Point and this was my first "big" hike of the entire trip, really - it had 335m of elevation gain.  It also  had lots of boardwalk and great views.  Yes, the wind was blowing a gale once again.  Great views of Bonne Bay from the top.  I had a short conversation with a woman from ON at the top and found the descent fairly painful on my knees.  I guess it was getting close to time to get back to BC!

 

End of the "tourist" part of The Tablelands trail.  One could wander forever.  
 

 

 

A portion of Bonne Bay from the Lookout Trail  

Western Brook Pond

 Western Brook Pond is the photo shoot contest winner for visiting NL.  I've seen it for decades.  And compared to fjords of northern Europe it rather pales in comparison.  I'd debated paying the fees to get there, but we were in the area and why not? And those fjord trips in Norway are booked years in advance so I doubt very much if I will see it.  This is what Canada has to offer in fjords.    We were not disappointed.  

We booked by phone out of our lovely little bayside home and needed to be at the parking lot by 11am make it to the 12:30 sailing.  This was not much of an issue, but we didn't leave the parking lot until 11 am.  We knew that we had a 3km walk ahead of us and I can't walk as quickly as I did at a younger age.  I'd question that it was a 3km walk because we were there in less than 45 minutes - it's entirely flat and there are some interesting informative signs along the route which I read.  

Our boat left right on time and I found a spot on the front deck where I stood for the next 2 hours.  It was a friendly group of people other than the couple who took endless pictures of each other and he was "pawing" her throughout the journey.  UGH!  I don't know how she could stand it.  I got to know 4 women from ON who were on a hiking holiday and one of them was a former teacher.  Never a lack of conversation when former teachers get together.  

Our guide by the name of Angus was a born conversationalist and humourist.  He even had a connection to Rossland, BC.  We thoroughly enjoyed the commentary that was provided and were awestruck by the scenery.  Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day that day and the pictures didn't compose so well because the rock is largely the same colour as that sky!  The tour was a full two hours and for our $99 plus HST (everything in NL has HST added to it) it wasn't a bad price considering what we pay for everything in this day and age.  

The picture below is taken near the end of the fjord and is the spot where a person can dropped off to do the "traverse" a 3-day untracked journey over to a spot near Rocky Harbour in Gros Morne National Park. I met a guy at Tablelands 2 days later who was going to start that journey.   The picture to the right was one of many waterfalls that we saw along the route.  This particular one is called "Pissing Mare Falls".  Well named, I think.   

 

 

Storm Day

 Travelling in NL is recommended in September.  It's supposed to get good weather.  And overall, that was true for us in 2026.  Our third day at the top of the Northern Peninsula did bring a storm, however, and we stayed at our Snorri Cabins until just before we HAD to leave and headed over to the "other side" of the North which housed the Burnt Cape Ecological Reserve.  Before leaving, however we found "Aunt Bride's Lookout" trail which we hiked to get some exercise and stay out of the tiresome wind.  The Lookout part lasted a few seconds!  Our second hike was at Pistolet Bay Provincial Park which was basically a walk around the campground, but it was relatively calm in the area.  When the parks close in NL, they are CLOSED!  Nary a sign in sight.  

Our accommodation was full into the wind at Burnt Cape Cabins and we admired watching the gannets riding the wind currents.  Once we got inside, we pretty much stayed there and it was a very nice accommodation.  

By next morning the wind was "reduced" and we took a hike over the very barren land of the ecological reserve.  We went to the "high point" and there really wasn't all that much to see.  It was also the first day that really felt like fall.  

It was time to head south so we took the "alternate" route (the one that does not follow the coastline) and we think we saw many moose hunters out that day - trucks parked along the roadside with no one in sight.  And NL does have a moose overpopulation.  Port aux Choix pleased us so much that we returned and had another close encounter with the woodland caribou.  Marvelous.  We stayed at the sister village called Port Saunders and stayed in our favourite accommodation of the trip right on Ingineaux Baie.  It was called 'A Wave From Home. ' It even had a washer/dryer so finally got some laundry done.  

 

 

St. Anthony

We were staying in the area of St. Anthony, but knew that we'd only make one trip to the "city" - it was about 50 km away.  We stayed in a tiny spot called Saint Lunaire-Griquet (which I had earlier interpreted as being "Grigate" from a NLer) and we both looking forward to having some REAL seafood in the big city of the Northern Peninsula.  We were sorely mislead.  Any place that was selling seafood had closed in early September or did not open until 5 pm.  We planned to be back to our Snorri "cabin" by mid-afternoon.  I was interested in having the "Grenfell experience" so I bought a ticket for the "museum" and house.  The video machine wasn't working, so I listened to a spiel about Grenfell's life and admired the Labrador needlepoint work on the walls of the "theatre room".  Then I walked around a space with lots of pictures of the early days. What I needed to have done was head right out to Grenfell's house which was absolutely FULL of paraphernalia that he either collected or was gifted during his time in the area.  And he did make a huge contribution to the medical needs of the people of the area, particularly in Labrador.   A person could spend a week in that house.  It was a lovely home with a "surround" veranda looking out over the harbour.  I didn't actually get out to the "docks" - road works were earnestly being attended to before the harsher weather arrives.  

Here's the house - well worth a visit.  Dave, meanwhile, had lost the sole of one of his hiking boots and was able to get a "good" pair at a shoe place in St. Anthony.  Probably the only place to buy something like that on the Northern Peninsula.  

L'Anse Aux Meadows

 I've been curious to see L'Anse aux Meadows since first hearing about it in university days.  But I've been to NL twice and had never gotten to that part of the province.  And it is remote and not easy to get to....but not difficult, either.  We had gorgeous weather, along with the relentless wind.  I took a tour led by an excellent guide - she was the granddaughter of the guy who showed the 2 Norwegian archeologists where they might want to start digging back in the '60s.  

Here is a replica of the "lodge" recreated for the entertainment of the tourists.  The "actors" were engaging and fun.

 

This is a very important place in the world because it is the first known European settlement in North America and dates back to 1000 AD.  We know that the Norse were there because a Viking cloak pin was found by the archeologists in 1968. Although the Norse did not spend much time at this location (off and on for 10 years), they did an amazing amount of work to use some of the resources that they found and the very fact that they could locate the place from a "rowboat" several times over continues to astound me.     

 I took a walk along the coast and encountered a large group of creative mini "lodgings" with a Norse theme.  It was a delightful discovery.  

This one was the most elaborate of the creations.  

 

Big Discoveries

One unexpected discovery  was the town of Port aux Choix and its National Historic Site.   I had never heard of it and hadn't been observant enough to notice that long, thin stretch of land off the Northern Peninsula which is the home to this very interesting spot.  It has been a temporary settlement for over 6,000 years for 4 groups of people, long before Europeans had thought of looking for North America.  The inhabitants (all temporary) were the Maritime Archaic, the Dorset, the Groswater and the Beothuk. (now extinct)  The big attraction was the travelling seals who came down the Labrador Strait on icebergs.  It was a handy place to make a harvest - hence the name, port aux choix (port of choice).  We'd seen the signs about woodland caribou as we wandered around on the barrens (and they were barren!) in the relentless wind.  However, we did see a group of moose off in the distance busily browsing near a large pond.  

Our choice of accommodation in Port aux Choix ended up being our least favourite, but I really enjoyed their turkey dinner - it hit the spot on that particular day.  We woke up to another day of brilliant blue skies (and reduced wind), so we headed back to the park and this time we found the caribou!  A highlight for both of us!

 

 

The Arch

 The Arch 

I didn't spend a lot of time following the paper map loaned to us by Mary and Gerald except when I was in the car and I followed it ALL the time.  I saw this place called The Arch on the map and it was a provincial day use area.  We hadn't seen much of that at any spot in NL and this was our first introduction to a provincial "park".  It was a popular spot and I'm pleased that I managed to get a picture without other tourists in it.  We had a good conversation with some other BC folk who had  driven to NL from Richmond.  There was a car load of women who were in despair over a lost "bag" - we searched while there.  The location of The Arch is nearly half-way up the western side of the Northern Peninsula.  It's worth a stop.  Catch it while you can!