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NL trip, remarks and pics


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#1 klahanie

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Posted 20 October 2019 - 10:09 PM

Here's a blurb about our recent trip to NL.

 

As mentioned in another tread, we spent the first  week of Sept driving in Labrador as part of the Lab Loop. It's basically a few days driving thru taiga; love it or hate it. It's an opportunity tho to drive remote, somewhat diminished by all the road construction equipment, crews and the other traffic (increasingly tourist). For POIs we weren't able to get in any dam tours but lucked out with a rare, resevoir release that brought Churchill Falls back to life.

 

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One thing to  mention on the Lab side is bush/wild camping opportunities are reduced in the construction zone(s). And  sections of the majority part that has been improved and paved is on a raised road bed with, as I recall, most gravel pits blocked off and few side roads.  So it can be tough to just pull off and camp at your leisure. Rather, the route is more likely to be a drive- camp, drive-camp type affair over 3-4 days.

 

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We were on the big Island three weeks, from Sept 12 to Oct 2. I'll use the shoulder season angle for some of my comments. Btw ferries offered a discount, I think starting Oct 1.

 

People often make the difference on a trip and NL did not disappoint. Humble, hardworking,  personable, polite ... and immediately likeable. Timing probably helped. With fewer tourists around,  folks may have had more time to spend with us. In both monetary and by chance encounters conversations always ended with a friendly, "enjoy your visit" or "come visit again".  And tourists do return and have done so for a long time. Even knowing that, it still took me a while to clue in that all those late model cars with NL plates parked at sites of interest were actually rentals...
 

One can't see it all in a short vacation, tho we did pretty good. Five weeks would have covered most of it. Natch, you have to get off the main hwy to experience the most rewarding bits. We did that often, avoiding larger centres whenever possible. As mentioned in another tread, there's not a single, grand loop road. So most areas are drive in, drive out which mops up time but even so, not much of a hardship  ...

 

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Nice thing tho, the coast is accessible by car. And it is worth seeing. In addition to serene outports and rugged coastlines there's interesting and significant  geology and quiet a few small museums dealing with settlement, culture and a history of resource exploitation. Many villages have maintained trails to a headland, cove, waterfall etc which were great for short walks.  Finding a  local cafe wasn't too much of a problem. Residents are proud of their homes and their "country" and seem used to having tourists about. This greeting in a quiet hamlet summed it up nicely.

 

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We did, and it was.

 

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Edited by klahanie, 20 October 2019 - 10:22 PM.

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#2 klahanie

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Posted 20 October 2019 - 10:16 PM

Most of the people we saw were old, btw. Again, we weren't in the city. Some of them would be retired tourists but for residents a lot of their younger people are away, off island. Makes for a bit of a different dynamic, depending where you're coming from. It can affect your risk assessment in a positive way when choosing a camp spot, and in a negative way it can make you feel quite wrinkly after a while...

 

Weather was a nice mix. Bugs mostly gone. Bit of Fall colour, esp on the ground. Temps day and night mostly single digit celsius. Not cold, but windy. Always. If you've seen pics of soft tops camped on the edge of a bluff, overlooking a gorgeous seascape and are thinking, that's for me, maybe don't go in Sept. We camped on Bonavista, top down. By midnight the camper was rocking violently, the rear wall being whipped with sea spray. We got out of there while we still could. Another spot, a community CG, we camped top up but slept "downstairs" just in case. It quickly got very windy and gusting. Too late to drop the top, too risky to move, we waited it out and hoped the canvas wouldn't tear. In the morning the caretaker checked in on us and knocked ten bucks off the fee, "for the wind". Newfoundlanders, bless'em.

 

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Earlier than on the mainland, CG were shutting down for the season. Provincials closed Sept 15. We found that some shops, restaurants and commercial attractions relying on tourists or summer students for staffing were closed. Alas, we weren't able to pad thru every, single gift and craft shop we saw...

Then there was the "online shopping" ...

 

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Finally, shoulder season meant fewer tourists which meant, fewer people and more chance to indulge.

 

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Buckland said we'd love it. He was right. I'll add two truths we learned:  if you don't know, ask a local - they'll try to help, and: you really can't go wrong wherever you go.

 

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Thanks for reading !


Edited by klahanie, 21 October 2019 - 05:16 PM.

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#3 Casa Escarlata Robles Too

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Posted 20 October 2019 - 11:25 PM

Thanks for posting.

Great read and photos.

Frank


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#4 searching for nowhere

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Posted 21 October 2019 - 03:33 AM

Thanks for posting your trip.  I enjoyed it and you have encouraged me to go visit some day.   


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#5 takesiteasy

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Posted 21 October 2019 - 09:22 PM

Looks like a great trip to an area we would like to visit someday. Thanks for the report!


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