Welcome to Newfoundland
Reflections
Observations
Recommendations
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Regrets
I failed to do and see several things that I had originally set out to do, so there will just have to be a second trip to taked care of unfinished business. Trip number two will most definately longer. I had wanted to see whales, icebergs, and caribou, but failed to see any. I would like to make it to twillingate, and Fogo Island for icebergs and scenery. I would like to get to L' Anse aux Meadows to check out some viking stuff. I'd like to sea kyack with the whales. I'd like to make it to Labrador, just because. And I need to get screeched in> :)
Travelling Info
Newfoundland is huge! I think the biggest mistake we made was underestimating the shear size of the island, and we tried to pack to much stuff into 6 days.The next time I'd like to spend 2 to 3 weeks on the island. Port au Basques to St John's is 905 km of driving. Most of the roads we took were paved, and in fairly good shape. Throughout atlantic Canada we ran into road crews rebuilding roads, especially on the Trans Canada. Wild life is everywhere, be carefull. We crossed paths with Moose on several occasions and were warned by locals to not travel at night because at night you can't see them. Gas food and lodging were plentiful everywhere we went, it was never more than 40 miles between gas stations. Gas was a little more expensive at roughly 85 cents a liter versus the 69 cents per liter in NS and NB. Food choices were limited in some of the less populated areas. The seafood that we had was incredible, but the steak was not. Prices for food seemed comparable. We stayed in B+B's the entire trip, but there were hotels/motels in the bigger cities. We had no reservations during our trip, and only had trouble finding a room on Canada day. We payed between $55 and $95 a night for the 2 of us, considering the exchange rate of 1.50 Canadian dollar to 1 American dollar, rooms were cheap. I wasn't really looking for campgrounds, but looking throught the tourguide I have shows them to be plentifull as well as inexpensive.
The ferry
The ferry leaves 2-3 times a day from North Sydney NS for Port Au Basques NF, and 3 days a week to Argentia NF. For a motorcyle and a rider it was $65 to Port au Basques and $129 to Argentia. First they charge you for the vehicle then they charge per person so if you have a passenger rates will be slightly higher. The sailing was 6 hours to Port Au Basques, and 15 hours from Argentia, although your mileage may vary with ocean conditions. They seemed to always have room for motorcycles, we had reservations but changed them and had no trouble getting on the same day. You ride onto the ship (usually first) and you park along the wall. There are straps for tying down your bike, I put one to each handlebar and on to tail of the bike (this is probably overkill). Don't forget to put it in gear! The ships offer cabins which seem to always be booked, but they will put you on a waiting list in case someone doesnt show. Some of the ships offer sleeping dorms which are basically bunk beds in a open room, we paid $25 ea to sleep in one of these. There also general seeting areas, with fairly uncomfortable seats for sleeping in. The ships sell food, there is a bar, a gift shop, tourist info booths, restrooms with showers.
Misc Stuff
The weather changed on us constantly, pack gear for any weather condition. The daytime temperature was anywhere from 50 to 75 and the nights were much cooler. It was often windy with strong gusts attacking us frequently at times. While it was cloudy a lot we only got rained on twice and the rain didnt come down that heavy.
The bugs weren't to bad although the mosquitoes did attack us one evening that I recall.
Everyone we met was friendly, curious about our trip, and generally wanting to help us have a good time. Many people we met gave us suggestions on where to go, what to see. The language here is english although they speak it with an Irish accent, and many regions have different dialects. I had trouble understanding a couple of people in one region. I don't recall seeing any motorcycle dealers, but then again I wasn't really looking either.
My email is at the bottom of this page feel free to write me with comments, criticisms, or questions.
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