Date:         Tue, 1 Feb 2011 09:30:35 -0500
Reply-To:     Harold Teer <teer.vanagon@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Harold Teer <teer.vanagon@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      =?windows-1252?Q?Trip_report_=26_Pictures_=96_Newfoundland_from_Virgini?=
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I am finally posting a report and pictures from our 2009 summer trip to
Newfoundland.   Numerous tips posted by list members helped make for a
wonderful trip and I hope some of this information adds to those tips.


First of all, Newfoundland has incredible scenery and great people and we
thoroughly enjoyed our 3+ weeks and 2,746 miles on “the rock.”  Put a trip
to Newfoundland on your “bucket list” if you love beautiful scenery and
don’t need a lot of big towns.



While some of you may wish to save time and take a ferry from Maine to Nova
Scotia, we choose instead to drive through New Brunswick and then into Nova
Scotia.



We tend to take each day as it comes and generally don't plan very far
ahead.  If possible, make your ferry reservations ahead of time.  We waited
to the last minute to make our reservation from North Sydney, NS to Port aux
Basques, NL and had to wait 4 days to catch a ferry and we were told to make
our return reservation 7 days in advance to catch a ferry from Argentia back
to North Sydney, which we did.  We anticipated these delays so were not
inconvenienced, but be aware. Link to ferry: "
http://www.marine-atlantic.ca/en/schedule/pabnsy.asp"


 Before your trip, call (1-888-588-6353) or go online to the Department of
Tourism for Newfoundland and Labrador and have them mail you a “Traveler’s
Map” and  “Traveler’s Guide”
http://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/PlanYourTrip/TravelBrochures ,


Also if possible, get a copy of, “Trails to the Vikings”, “Where It’s At”,
“The Kittiwake Coast”, “Discovery Trail”, and “Destination St.
John’s”.    While
you can pick these up at information centers like we did, it is really nice
to have them on hand as you decide where to go and what interest you.  Be
aware that their descriptions of places, museums, etc., are usually
exaggerated as to their importance or quality.  In some cases, museums were
closed, campsites were non-existent, etc.


While we don't normally use commercial campgrounds, we spent the night
before catching the ferry from North Sydney to Port aux Basques at Arm of
Gold which is the nearest campground to the ferry terminal.
http://www.armofgoldcamp.com/home.html      We were at the ferry terminal at
6:10 in line, but the ferry ran 3 hours late that morning – from what we
were told, that is not unusual.


The night before catching the ferry from Argentia back to North Sydney, we
stayed at Argentia Seabreeze RV Park.


Overall, the roads in Newfoundland were in very good shape, but there was a
lot of road work going on.  We found highway 1 in Maine to be in much worse
shape than most roads in Newfoundland.


Many locals warned us about driving at night because of the possibility of
hitting a moose and we saw a highway sign saying there had been 660 moose
collisions the previous year.  Other than one time trying hard to get to a
certain place, we followed that advice.  We saw a good many moose on the
side of the road in the daytime and on some hikes.


In parts of Newfoundland, there are roadside vegetable gardens.  When a road
was built, people from nearby towns would plant family gardens along the
roadway.  Imagine driving along a road with no homes and the next town 5
miles away and by the side of the road is a small garden with a little rail
fence around it.  Some gardens were pretty elaborate and others were fairly
neglected.


One big surprise was the number of snowmobile trails, roads, etc. from one
part of the island to another.  There are even directional and road signs
for those trails.  Wow!


We were a little late (July 25th) in the summer to see a lot of icebergs--I
think we needed to be in the iceberg areas in early July or late June.


There are plenty of places to camp—side of road, commercial, provincial, and
national.  We bought a provincial campground pass for $20 and stayed at
numerous provincial campgrounds.


We ate a lot of fish and tried local favorites such as cod tongues,
Fisherman's Brewis, etc.


Our three favorite campsites were as follows and are listed in order of our
stay.


*Boutte du Cap Parc at Cape St. George** * --- See O2 on the “Traveler’s
Map”.  This is a local park with no facilities—a sign indicated they planned
to add bathrooms in the future.  There were no designated campsites but that
may have changed since there were survey stakes which looked as if they were
mapping out roads, etc.  There is a “bread oven” and you can call if you
wish to use it.  We parked on the overlook and watched Minke whales from the
van in the evening and in the morning while enjoying our coffee.  This was
only our 2nd night in Newfoundland and we both agreed that if we had to go
home that day, the trip from Virginia would have worth it.  It was
incredibly scenic and beautiful.  There is a hiking trail nearby with
absolutely stunning scenery.  Several locals came to watch the whales that
evening but we were the “only” campers in the entire site.


*Ocean View Campground in Leading Tickles* – see K15 on the “Travelers Map”.
  This is a locally run campground with the cleanest bathrooms/showers you
will find.  Stunning views of the bay from some campsites.  Site #10 is what
you want if you need electricity and #6 is what you want if you don’t need
services.  There is a short hike to an overlook where we watched whales.  This
is a very out of the way camping area but well worth it.  If you want site
#6 or #10, you should call ahead and make reservations.  We just lucked up
in that one of the sites was open on the day we arrived.


*Seabreeze Municipal Park in Sleepy Cove* – see J16 on the “Travelers Map”.
Unless they have added signs, this is hard to find.  After leaving
Twillingate, drive to Long Point Lighthouse at the end of the road for
beautiful scenery.  After leaving the lighthouse, take the first right at
the bottom of the steep hill.  While the sign only indicates a hiking trail,
this is the place Paul Guzyk posted about.   There are absolutely stunning
views even from the lower level camping area where we stayed.  The road to
the higher level campsites was badly washed out and even had we been in a
Syncro, the road was unusable.  We walked up the road and the campsites had
unbelievable views and isolation.   The park was in really rough shape and
while they had an outhouse, it was the roughest one we have encountered in
all of our travels.


I won’t bore you with all the details of getting to Newfoundland, where we
stayed on our way to Newfoundland, every place we stopped and every
campground while in Newfoundland, etc., but will let pictures speak for
themselves.  Be warned, there are a lot of pictures but there is so much to
see in Newfoundland that I wanted to give you an overall view.  I wish I
were a photographer so I could do the beauty of the "the rock" justice.


Link to pictures:  "
https://picasaweb.google.com/teerhb/TripToNewfoundlandIn2009#"


If you have questions, just ask.


Harold
___
Harold Teer
1991 Westy (Vangaux)
Harrisonburg, VA