Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2007 17:24:17 -0500
Reply-To: Joy Hecht <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Joy Hecht <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
Subject: Re: Baie Comeau to Labrador to Newfoundland
In-Reply-To: <782558.93504.qm@web30212.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
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I just called too - they said there was no "Quebec Far North" map - then
they looked up Malcolm to see what had been sent to him. (Didn't know you
could spy on people through the Quebec tourism info center, did you? :-)
Then she said it's a map called "Nunavik and James Bay area" or something
like that.
And if there's anyone else out there interested in driving the Baie Comeau
to Happy Valley/Goose Bay road, from Quebec to Labrador, this summer, please
email me! We're working on getting together a caravan.
Tentative dates are to leave from BusFusion, which is June 7-10, and head
east. For those who can't take as much time, I'd guess we'll convene in
Baie Comeau (or somewhere near there - haven't got my maps yet to study!)
perhaps a week or so later. It's 875 kms from Ottawa (near BusFusion) to
Baie Comeau, with some lovely things to see on the way, so we'll have to see
how we do that, if we do it together.
From Baie Comeau we'll head out in caravan on the 1200 kms of unpaved road
towards Goose Bay. Maybe a week or ten days to get there, taking a
reasonably leisurely pace so our vans are happy, stopping to hike and talk
to caribou perhaps, visit what appear to be some reservoirs and lakes, and
perhaps somewhere a speck of a town?
(We haven't yet sorted out what towns there are, particularly where to get
gasoline en route.)
Then from Goose Bay there's a ferry to Cartwright, which takes either
thirteen or fifteen hours, depending on which ferry we take. On the shorter
ferry, the fare in summer 2006 was around $CA 80 for the van and $CA 46 per
adult. From Cartwright we have about 320 kms more of unpaved road to get to
Red Bay - another 3 days maybe? In Red Bay, we hit - Civilization! Paved
road, nice historical museum (yeah, there's history up there - Portuguese
fishing boats from something like the 16th century found in the water off
Red Bay, remains of their settlements), pretty town, etc. The paved road
goes around another 90 kms to Blanc Sablon, just over the Quebec border,
where we get the ferry to Newfoundland. Or we could take a short detour
into Quebec to visit a nice bird sanctuary in Brador Bay, where we can see
Atlantic puffins and lots of other birds not commonly seen in the
continental US. Oh, and before we get to Blanc Sablon we might stop at the
friendly visitor center on the Newfoundland side with free wifi, and read
three weeks of accumulated vanagon emails!
The ferry from Newfoundland takes around 3 hours, and in 2006 it cost $CA
22.75 per van and $CA 11.25 per adult. It comes in to St. Barbe on the
Great Northern Peninsula, where we might head north a bit to visit the
Viking settlements. If we're feeling extravagant after all our roughing it,
we might go for a (rather pricey!) dinner at the Norseman Restaurant up
there, which is supposed to be the best restaurant in Newfoundland. (Okay,
I realize that's not saying much - Newfoundland isn't France, after all -
but the chef is supposed to be renowned and the food is apparently artsy and
fancy. I looked in and checked the menu when I was up there last summer,
decided it wasn't a place to bother going alone.) Check it out:
http://www.valhalla-lodge.com/Restaurant.htm
Heading down the coast (the only way to go from up there), we'll get to Gros
Morne National Park, which is a lovely place to visit.
After Gros Morne, we might divide up. Those lacking time may continue down
the coast to Port-aux-Basques to catch the short ferry (6-7 hours) to Nova
Scotia. Those with more time who want to see more of Newfoundland (plus
Keith, who lives in St. John's) will head east, via whatever routes they
fancy. Well, okay, there's only one road that goes all the way there - but
I want to make some detours up to the north shore, as I didn't see those
places last summer.
So, does it sound splendid and enticing? It should, it's going to be great!
If you're interested in coming along, just send an email.
And to read what the Newfoundland and Labrador tourist office says about the
drive, click here:
http://www.newfoundlandandlabradortourism.com/labrador_scenic_tours.zap.
Joy
****************************************************************
Joy Hecht
now living in a real house in northern Virginia
and Matilda, 1989 Burgundy Vanagon
now living in the driveway and resting after two and a half years
lugging Joy and her stuff around...
For musings about life traveling in the van or living in one place:
http://www.joyhecht.net
****************************************************************
:::-----Original Message-----
:::From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf
:::Of Malcolm Stebbins
:::Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2007 9:47 AM
:::To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
:::Subject: Re: Baie Comeau to Labrador to Newfoundland
:::
:::The map that everyone here "needs" is called "Quebec's Far North." One
:::can call Tourism Quebec
:::at:
:::1 877 266-5687. I just called them and I was initially told that the map
:::did not exist, then that
::: they were out, and after getting through 2 levels of
:::supervisors.......they will send the map + a
:::general Quebec map + provincial parks map + camp-grounds of Quebec. Ask
:::for them all.
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