St. Anthony area, Newfoundland

June 5: We departed the ferry in St. Barbe on Newfoundland and drove directly to our campground. Heading north on hwy 430 and 436, following the L'Anse aux Meadows road signs. We had a few busy days ahead of us.
The high plateau of the Long Range Mountains divides most of the peninsula. Hwy 430 follows the coast in the west. There is no road along the east side of the peninsula and the few settlements can be reached by ferry. St. Anthony is the biggest town in this region with a population of over 2,000. The landscape is wild and rugged and offers many trails to enjoy the beauty of the Great Northern Peninsula.

Follow us @NavigatorAndWheelman. The Great Northern Peninsula is the second episode in our Labrador and Newfoundland journey.

Drive to Quirpon
Along the way, I glimpsed a white cow on the side of the road. I thought that cow was really skinny. Without any further thoughts, I kept on driving. A few minutes later, Ursula saw two Woodland Caribou. They were the same colour as my "cow". Well, after thinking deeply about my skinny cow, I had to accept the fact that my cow was likely a caribou. In my defence, they both have four legs.

But that's not all. On the way to the campsite, we saw moose and our first icebergs of this year. But more about them later. Our to-see-checklist was already half checked, NOT
We arrived at the campsite. It is located on Quirpon Road, just a few meters off route 436. Actually, L'anse Aux Meadows National Historic Site is only a few minutes down the same road. All the great reviews you read about Viking RV Park are true. The Moose Burgers are fantastic, the home made jam is soooo good and, yes, the site is very well maintained and decorated with loving care.

Driving
June 6 - 9: We explored the northern Peninsula around St. Anthony for the next few days. With the exception of St. Anthony, there are no fast food chains around. Same goes with the gas stations. We started filling with regular gasoline from Western Petroleum, a Newfoundland company. Our Jeep usually gets premium gasoline, but this was not always possible in the rural areas of Newfoundland. Even so it was regular gasoline, the Jeep didn't have engine pinging symptoms. For that reason, we continued using this fuel whenever we found a station.

Let's talk about potholes. There are many and in all sizes. Some could swallow a Tesla, but our Jeep handled them well like a Jeep. The one thing we learned, when there is an uneven surface road sign, the road is REALLY uneven. But more often we see the caution sign. Fortunately, there is very little traffic and driving a slalom around the pothole combination became an art.

St. Anthony
In St. Anthony, we drove up American Dr. Just beside the American Water Bomber. Impossible to miss the turn. The road goes up the hill and deteriorates with every bend. Close to the top, the road splits. The left goes to the transmission towers and is boring and partially restricted. The other goes to the concrete foundations of the equipment from the General Surveillance Radar station. It was built by the United States Air Force in 1953. The view over the ocean was amazing. Not too far out, a iceberg was floating south.
We didn't spend much time in St. Anthony even so many Iceberg Festival attractions were held there.

Great Brehat
Our search for icebergs brought us the Great Brehat. To be exact, it was the Lookout that we were looking for. It was already 8:30 by the time we arrived. We had a good look at the iceberg and watched the sun setting. A fitting end for yet another amazing day here in Newfoundland.
Great Brehat was a fishing town since the early 1900's. It is about 10 km from St. Anthony.

Woodland Caribou and Moose
Woodland Caribou are native to Newfoundland and Labrador. Actually, they roam in all provinces of Canada, except the Maritimes. During the summer months, they prefer the open land. There are lookouts along the road from where you may see the caribous. Both sexes of the caribou have antlers. When in Canada, you probably have a caribou in your pocket. It is featured on our quarter.
Moose are not native to Newfoundland, they were brought to the island about 100 years ago for food. Their dark fur makes them a real threat at night. The car lights do not reflect any lights and drivers often see them too late to avoid a collision.

Cape Norman Lighthouse
The name Cape Norman was given by French explorers from Normandy. The Cape Norman Lighthouse marks the entrance to the Straits of Belle Isle.
This area is protected by the federal Species At Risk Act. Rare plants grow in this habitat and walking or driving is not permitted except on marked roads and trails.

Before you get to the protected habitat and lighthouse, the rock formation along the coast is very unique. The sedimentary rocks or limestone, are cracked and washed out by the waves, creating platforms where the waves crash and sweep over the surface. These formations are about one kilometer north of Wild Bight.

Ship Cove & Cape Onion
Cape Onion has a hiking trail that goes to the top of a hill. It is part of the Treena's Trail. Only up there can you appreciate the rugged and stunning coast line. Search for Treena's Trail Newfoundland and you will find more reasons to hike here and other trails that are very close.

Travelling along the west coast, Labrador is just across the Strait of Belle Isle. We saw the snow-covered ranges where we drove south only a few days ago.
Now here in Newfoundland, we were passing Savage Cove, Diable Cove, Onion Cove and Ship Cove. These names add another level of awesomeness to the experience.

 

Walk along the shore outside Raleigh
We just missed our 300,000 km event on the Jeep by 7 km when we pulled over to explore the shore. We traversed over the rocks trying to keep our balance. There we found a nice specimen of a flat rock, some type of shale, we think. It will be used as a display platform for all kinds of Newfoundland curios.

Iceberg Hunting
Our campground was very close to St. Lunaire-Griqet and Quirpon. As it turned out, this was the place with the best Iceberg action. The harbour faces East and the wind and current pushed the icebergs along the shore. In this case, one got trapped in the harbour.

L'Anse aux Meadows
L'Anse aux Meadows is a National Historic Site. This place was visited by the Norse that arrived from Greenland over 1000 years ago. Several huts were rebuilt with sod based on the archaeological remains. The roof structure was taken from Norse remains from Iceland. It is an interesting trip back in time where you meet costumed Viking interpreters.