After a 16 hour boat ride we arrive in Argentia on the Avalon Peninsula in eastern Newfoundland. Already at the first sight of the island we knew this is going to be another highlight: wild, rocky coast and green forests. Mesmerized we drive down to Cape St. Mary’s. With the sun out we hike the short way to the bird rock. All summer long many different seabirds nest here, population far over 100’000 birds. Now at the end of august „only“ some thousand northern gannets are here for us. But the trip was already worth it only for the cliffs.
On we go on the bumpy roads of the east coast. Obviously Newfoundlanders don’t really care about bad roads. Hughe potholes in the middle of the road are pretty common, sometimes the pavement was washed away and leaves the road half as wide. Only one thing is consistent: The line in the middle of the road seems to be painted new every now and then…
The east coast of the Avalon Peninsula was simply stunning. We hike, bike and take pictures and always keep an eye open for the three main attractions: icebergs, whales and puffins. The icebergs have melted already and normally can’t be seen anymore in august. The whales have passed already, but we might be seeing some late ones. But we definetly should be able to see some puffins, because this is a real hotspot.
Without any wildlife sightings we arrive in St. John’s. As in the small town all around the buildings are painted colorful and bright. If the newfoundlanders compensate the normally gray weather? We like it anyway.
Also in the harbor area there is a lot to see. Huge ships wait here probably they belong to the oil platforms out of sight. But the natural harbor of St. John’s has a small and tricky entrance and we can’t imagine how these big ones leave.
In the evening we head for Cape Spear, the most eastern point of northern america! We enjoy the view and explore the area with the lighthouse (that’s when we just miss a whale) and finally decide to stay for the night on the parking lot. At 6.18 am we belong to the first ones to greet the sun.
Still without wildlife sighting we drive out to the next peninsula to Cape Bonavista. And finally we are lucky: Puffins everywhere!
We are curious what awaits us next on this island, there is much to see. For now we head for the west coast.
written by Barbara