As we headed to Newfoundland we had a twinges of regret as right next to our gate for our flight to Montreal (in route to Deer Lake), was a flight home. So there was a moment of “wouldn’t it be nice to just go home”. However, arriving in Newfoundland we quickly fell in love with it and are glad we decided to bookend the start and finish of our trip in Canada. It was also nice to see some familiar stores, like Tim Horton’s!
Initial views as we drove reminded us of parts of New Zealand and Norway.
Green Gardens Trail
Our first hike in Gros Morne National Park was at the Green Gardens trail which when we reached the parking lot, was neither green nor looked like a garden. That is because it starts at the edge of the Tableland areas which is one of the few places in the world where you can walk on the Earth’s upper mantle. It also contains rocks that inhibit plant growth. However, as the trail headed down to the coast, it got greener and earned its name.
From rocks, to scraggly trees, to waterfalls.
Pretty fun to see the iconic red Parks Canada chairs again.
Family Fun
We had arrived the night before Julia’s sister and her family were joining us. The plan was to meet at the AirBnB in Rocky Harbour but as we were en route from our hike, we happened to see them pulled off at a lookout. We quickly turned the car around and drove up to them and surprised them by asking if they wanted us to take their picture for them. We should have taken a picture of that reaction! Instead we got a nice group selfie.
We had a great time together hanging out, playing games, and enjoying Newfoundland. Over the course of our time there we saw almost everything we came to see expect for moose. We saw lots of moose shirts, souvenirs and even hats and drove by lots of angry moose beating up a car signs, but did not see one in person.
Western Brook Pond
We did take a boat tour together of Western Brook Pond which used to be a fjord. It used to reach out to the ocean, but eventually the throat to the ocean filled in and now it is all fresh water. Still super beautiful and reminded us of Milford’s Sound.
Lookout Hills Trail
The last hike for our time on the western side of Newfoundland was the Lookout Hill trail from the main visitors centre. It was a nice hike up through woods to a good lookout where we had lunch. It then did a loop up top on the more tundra type of countryside before heading back down to the parking lot.
On the way up we came to a large field of pitcher plants which are carnivorous plant and the provincial flower.
What we didn’t know is that this picture above was taken only moments before a partridge (ptarmigan) burst up in flight from under the boardwalk we we were walking on. This happened a few more times and my brother in-law caught one on video.
Tablelands
In a few of the pictures above you can see the tan rocks of the Tableland which is composed of peridotite rock of the earth’s upper mantle and is one of the few places on earth that you can see this rock formation. On the way out we decided to make a quick stop to check it out.
