Humpback Whales lunging for Capelin, gulls wheeling over small fishing boats, puffins and gannets crowding rocky pinnacles - these are some of the images of Newfoundland. Join us as we explore one of Canada's best kept secrets.
Itinerary
(Breakfast - B, Lunch - L, Dinner - D)
Day 1
Arrive St. John’s
There are no organized activities for this day as participants usually arrive on different flights. We plan to have dinner together, after which there will be an orientation meeting when Dave will review the plans for the week.
o/n Quality Hotel, St. John’s (D)
Day 2
Cape Spear / St. John’s
We begin our tour with an early visit to Cape Spear National Historic Site. This 160-year-old lighthouse, at the most easterly point in North America, provides a great lookout platform for whales, icebergs and birds. Several rare birds (e.g. Northern Wheatear) have been found here, blown by storms across the Atlantic. In the afternoon, we’ll explore St. John’s, one of the oldest European settlements in North America, and visit Signal Hill, Oxen and Long Ponds to look for birds, butterflies and wildflowers.
o/n Quality Hotel, St. John’s (B, L, D)
Day 3
Witless Bay Boat Trip
Among other planned activities, the highlight for today is our boat trip to Witless Bay - a marvellous wildlife experience. From Bay Bulls, we’ll boat to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve and the seabird-covered rocks of Gull, Great & Green Islands. This is the largest Atlantic Puffin colony in the world, as well as the second largest Leach’s Storm Petrel colony. The Capelin are running this time of year providing a feeding frenzy for birds and whales alike.
o/n Quality Hotel, St. John’s (B, L, D)
Day 4
La Manche / Ferryland
Today’s first highlight is one of the best bird watching spots in Newfoundland: La Manche Provincial Park. It has a beautiful marsh, lots of delicate wildflowers, and a hiking trail that ends at a waterfall. As we move along the coast, we’ll stop in at Ferryland, a working archaeological dig where in 1620, Sir George Calvert, later Lord Baltimore, attempted to settle a group of colonists. Our day will end at Trepassey Harbour.
o/n Trepassey Motel, Trepassey (B, L, D)
Day 5
Mistaken Point / Cape Race / Avalon Peninsula
We’ll go off the main road to Long Beach and Cape Race to watch wheeling seabirds and spouting Humpbacks. At Cape Race, on a previous tour, we witnessed an immense flock of Greater and Sooty Shearwaters just off the lighthouse. South of the road, Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve is known for its fossils. It is one of the most important fossil sites in the world, and is being considered as a World Heritage Site. Its rocks contain impressions of sea creatures that lived more than 620 million years ago, the oldest multi-celled fossils in North America.
o/n Trepassey Motel, Trepassey (B, L, D)
Day 6
Cape Pine / Avalon Caribou / Cape St. Mary’s
As we circle the Avalon Peninsula we can expect to encounter some of the 5,000-strong herd of Woodland Caribou grazing on the stunted “Tuckamore” vegetation along the roads. Prehistoric rock formations, marshes, birds and whales will also be highlights along the way. We’ll also visit Cape Pine, and perhaps the nearby community of St. Shotts, where the local economy depends on its peat deposits. The wet, acidic bogs should be covered in the pink blooms of Sheep Laurel, and the exotic, insect-eating Pitcher Plant, the provincial flower of Newfoundland. At Cape St. Mary’s, we’ll walk along the cliff side to the pinnacles where 50,000 seabirds nest. Primarily a Northern Gannet colony, there are also large numbers of alcids: Common and Thick-billed Murres, and Black-legged Kittiwakes. We’ll also look for Razorbill, Black Guillemot, Water Pipit and Willow Ptarmigan. We’ll overnight nearby.
o/n Bird Island Resort, St. Brides (B, L, D)
Day 7
Cape St. Mary’s / Great Barasway / Point Verde
After an early check of St. Bride’s Harbour, we will return for more exciting sea watching at Cape St. Mary’s. Then, moving north, we’ll pass Great Barasway and Point Verde checking for pelagic birds and whales. We should have time to explore historic Placentia, originally a Portuguese fishing base, later a French fort, before heading back to St. John’s.
o/n Quality Hotel, St. John’s (B, L, D)
Day 8
Departure Day
This is a departure day, with no planned program. There may be time for personal walking tours, or other activities, before flights depart. (B)
