VANAGON archives -- September 2009, week 5 (#46)

Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:26:16 -0230 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: Interested in a trip to Newfoundland in 2010? In-Reply-To: <83575584-4896-4AE3-BB81-B4AE54CEED25@mac.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Not via Goose Bay again, I hope! ;-)

Rules of thumb for Newfoundland travels:

1. Do not plan on taking the ferry through Goose Bay in June. Our 2006 excursion from Quebec up to Goose Bay (Labrador) and from there by ferry and more dirt road and more ferry down to northern Newfoundland was completely planted when we found out - 300 kms up the dirt road to Goose Bay - that the ferries would not be running for a few more weeks due to too many icebergs. And when they did run, it would be freight-only until the backup of trucks had been cleared out. Two people bailed on Newfoundland. The other two went around via Nova Scotia.

2. Blackflies are EVIL!!!! They do seem to like women more than men, from what I've seen and heard about. They seem to be worse in June than later in the summer.

3. Do not ever count on Marine Atlantic ferries to go when they are supposed to. They won't. Newfoundland is not a trip to make on a tight schedule.

4. Newfoundland is BIG. You cannot see all of the island in a week unless all you want to see is the TransCanada through your windshield.

5. If you like good coffee, bring your own, unless you're going to spend all your time in St. John's. No fresh-roasted beans available anywhere else on the island.

6. The weather might not be very nice. Do be prepared for temps in the 50s and rain and fog the whole time. When the sun comes out, regard it as an unexpected gift. "Hot weather" in Newfoundland in the summer is above 70. 80 is a serious heat wave.

That being said, it's a stunningly beautiful place, the people are extremely friendly to tourists, and you won't be sorry if you come. A good strategy is to take one ferry to the island, visit the island, go across the island, then take the other ferry back. At vanagon gas mileage, it costs about the same to pay more for the Argentia ferry and save the gas getting across the island, so price-wise it doesn't matter which route you take.

There's a wonderful folk festival in St. John's the first weekend in August. Worth scheduling your trip around it.

Joy

On Tue, Sep 29, 2009 at 1:03 PM, Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@mac.com> wrote:

> Yep. Definitely still interested. > > On Sep 28, 2009, at 8:10 PM, Arthur,Dave wrote: > > Is there any interest in a trip to Newfoundland in 2010? >> >> >> >> There are a couple of us planning to take our Westys to the Rock in >> 2010. We may be able to integrate our plans. >> >> >> >> Dave >> >> >> >> '86 Westy >> >> >> >> >>

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