2021 - Newfoundland and Halifax

From Gander, we headed north to see more of the Kittiwake Coast with our destination being Twillingate.  For the first 40 or so kilometers, we back-tracked our route to Gander yesterday driving north on Route 330.  Near Clarke’s Head, we headed west and north on Route 331 in the direction of Twillingate.  We passed through Victoria Cove and Gander Bay North to Boyd’s Cove where we stopped to check out the Beothuk Interpretation Centre.   The Boyd’s Cove Beothuk Site was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1995 because it has substantially increased the knowledge of the Beothuks in the early historic period and it makes a major contribution to the revision of the understanding of their demise.   The Beothuk were  the Indigenous people of the island of Newfoundland . They were Algonkian-speaking hunter-gatherers who probably numbered less than a thousand people at the time of European contact. The Beothuk are the descendants of a Recent...

After leaving Bonavista, our next overnight destination on our journey westward was Gander, l ocated on the northeastern shore of Gander Lake .   G ander's aviation history is important.   During WWII, it was a trans-shipment point for aircraft being flown to Britain .  It  was also known as the  Crossroads of the World  given its role in transatlantic aviation after the war .  Its international airport was  once an important refuelling stop for transatlantic aircraft before the evolution of long haul flights .  Today, the airport is less busy but it is  still a preferred emergency landing point for aircraft facing on-board medical or security issues - as was evident on 9/11.  To reflect its aviation heritage, m any of Gander's streets are named after famous aviators, including Alcock and Brown, Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Eddie Rickenbacker, Marc Garneau and Chuck Yeager.  I ts aviation history is also vividly...

 After leaving Bonavista, we drove down the western side of that peninsula on Hwy 234 and 233 to join the Trans Canada Highway.  We then drove through the Terra Nova National Park toward Gander.  We needed to make a decision on whether to drive up the east side of what is called "The Kittiwake Coast".  So, we exited at Gambo and went to the information centre there.  Gambo is the birthplace of Joey Smallwood.  He successfully led the province into Confederation, and became the first Premier of the province when Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949.  The Visitor Centre has several commemorative pieces that recall his life and work, including a statue and a museum. The highway through Gambo is called Joey Smallwood Blvd.  After getting some information about the coast, and because we had the time, we decided to drive around it.  So, our next destination was north to Musgrave Harbour.   Basically, the Kittiwake Coast is a horseshoe-...

 Our next destination was the Bonavista Peninsula.  What became clear to us is that you need a lot more time here than what we had.  First off, the area has what is called The Discovery Trail and includes the UNESCO World Heritage Site called Discovery GEO Park ( Discovery Geopark ).  While many of the points of interest are easily accessible by car, many require the time and effort to hike into.  Needless to say we sadly had to skip those.  We started our journey along the peninsula by leaving the Trans Canada Highway at Clarenville.  In spite of being a rather small town, it actually services most of the peninsula with its hospital and major stores.  While the villages may have small grocery stores and post offices, anything major cannot be bought unless you go to the larger places hours away.   Heading north, we passed the road leading to New Bonadventure and Old Bonaventure.  One of them (can't remember which one) was used as th...