Southern Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland– Whales

St. Vincent’s Beach

We had heard that the humpbacks were to be at St. Vincents, so much like we rushed to get to Twillingate for the Icebergs, we were in a bit of a rush to see these magnificent creatures too.  When we arrived, the frenzy was in full swing.  We kept walking down the beach to get closer. – no easy feat as it was mostly cherry sized rocks and it was overcast 

It was just amazing to see these whales so close by. 

Then it started to rain and my winter puff jacket was no longer puffy because we just kept following them down the beach getting wetter and wetter. I got several great videos and made a 2 minutes best video clips, most at half speed, but the wind was also blowing and there was not much drying room in  Vinny.  Luckily the sun came out suddenly, and the windy, windy weather put the puffy right back in my jacket.  Good time for a nap.During the evening there were few that  came in briefly.

We had moved Vinny to the parking area on the Southeast side of the beach because that first day the whales were here.   We had a commanding view of the shoreline and were at the end of a parking area where other RVs were overnighting too. We got an incredible sunset too. 

The next day, although one of the sunniest we had experienced, there were no whales.  We felt very spoiled as so many people took there Saturday to come down from St John’s to see them and it was cold and very windy as they sat on the beach.  We sat high up in Vinny’s seats, sun shining in and had a perfect view of the ocean.

Sunday Morning – they were out on this beautifully sunny and less windy morning.  The whales seemed to be calmer than on the first day, but there were many of them combing the waters.  

The crashing waves were particularly high and the creatures were very close.  Of course this morning they were concentrated on the other end of the beach, so I huffed it down ½ kilometer in the rocks, getting a complete body workout as my arms were burning from holding the camera up for over 2  hours to get this 5 minute of whale frenzy.

Vincent’s Beach on the south east part of Newfoundland.  This area is known as the Irish Loop.  Vincent’s Beach is unique in that it is a protected 1 km beach that has an extremely deep drop-off.  Couple this with the fact that Capelin fish, we are talking thousands, roll up near shore with the tide to lay their eggs, and then roll back to the ocean.  This attracts humpback whales that feed on them and the squid that are further up the food chain.  Unlike a fish ball in the ocean they become somewhat trapped by whales that are having a feeding frenzy since there is only one way to escape when they get near the shore.  When enough whales are on the prowl it makes for quite a shoreline show. 

Capelin Roll

The Capelin Roll is the state where they are actually coming up on shore and Newfies are all about scooping them out of the water and drying them for a winter’s supper. Basically, free food which we have been told are delicious and seems to be a tradition. Even food banks request Capelin if people are scooping more than they can use.    We have not seen this phenomenon where beaches are covered with fluttering silver Capelin which are 8 to 10 inches long and are in the Smelt family.  The Newfie Capelin, Whale, Iceberg Facebook group posts the sitings.   One of our bartenders said they are very smelly fish and she would never again load them into her car.                            

Ferryland 

Ferryland Lighthouse Hike

One could walk around the lighthouse on small narrow paths, but the view around the entire small peninsula was amazing.  

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We pushed Vinny to the limit as we inched up a gravel path where most of it was blown away,  and rocks and potholes were everywhere on this one-lane road with passing pull-outs.  Well, we got up there, so might as well boondock at this extraordinary location in case we lose the generator or fluid pipe/tank on the way down.   

I had read about the Lighthouse Picnics that some ladies had started years ago, but they only operate Wednesdays thru Sundays. 

At the entrance there is a Ferryland Visitor Center and an Archeological Site where history from the 1600’s was being pieced together.  As usual the British and French were always taking control over one another, but there was also a bit of Portuguese that came through. There is a Tetley Tea Room and a Theater that offers a repeating show it looks like, as well as a gift store at the end strip mall of offerings. 

Also, in Ferryland, Sullivan’s Song house offers a kitchen party show on Wednesday and Saturday.  They were all booked up.  

South Shore Festival Concert Association has an annual summer theater that sounds fun too.

The boondocking was incredible, I just wished the road was improved like all the excellently maintained hiking trails, but we made it down with no casualties.   

Topsail

Topsail was our destination because a concert was going on in the Topsail United Church.  I had met Mallory Johnson at Stanfest, and this concert was to have the other Cormiers who were her Mom, Uncle and Cousin. Evidently the Cormiers are quite the musical family, and we had seen the talent of JP Cormier at Stanfest as well, but he doesn’t appear to be related according to John’s Internet stalking.  It was a great show in a small venue and we slept out in the parking lot about 25 feet from the gentle sloshing of the ocean waves. The next morning, we met the delightful pastor who now says we need to go to Brigus and eat at the Vindicator Press which is conveniently located near the Newfoundland Distillery and Baccalieu Trail Brewing.  

We took a hike on the Topsail Miners Trail which was a perfect 3 mile hike, a bit more woodsy and with more rocks, than in most trails we have covered in Newfoundland. A perfect leg stretcher before dinner and then off to the show.  Topsail Beach and the Trailhead was a huge parking lot with washrooms and a few brave hearts swimming. We did not see any no overnight parking signs. 

Petty Harbor

The Petty Harbour Mini Aquarium – a place where you can pick up all kinds of suitable crabs, starfish and squishy creatures, something different on the recommendation of a Massachusetts couple I met in the laundry room at Pippy Park.  They also said the seafood chowder at Chafe’s Restaurant was the best and they are from sea-fooders from New England. 

Dildo Brewing

Dildo received notoriety when the town embraced Jimmy Kimmel’s offering to place a similar Hollywood sign on a Hill in the town.  Maybe the town once specialized in making these oar lock pins which is also a nautical term for dildo.   So, we had to go see this famous sister Hollywood sign and plus there is Dildo Brewery and that’s what we usually do.  We heard Neil Simmons who played the most diverse set of songs for three hours that we have ever experienced.  Would definitely come to see him again, although he said he was just visiting from Labrador.  

Dildo was a halfway stop as we had rushed to St. Vincent’s for whales from Bona Vista.

Anderson’s Cove was our boondock site as recommended by Neil.  It was very close to the Brewery and beautiful.  

La Manche

The La Manche Provincial Park Campground was perfect for a bit of a rest day after two 5 mile hikes on Stiles Cove Trail.  We even scored an electric site next to the comfort station where we could pick up the better than usual Wi-Fi right from Vinny.   Sunset to do laundry and was only 75 cents a load.  

Right from the campground, there was a delightful easy 1 mile hike to a lovely waterfall, but the surroundings were much like hiking in Delaware along a quiet path, not like the other dramatic hikes we have experienced here on the coast of The Rock. 

La Manche Village Trail

This 3 mile hike went to a really cool suspension bridge over the La Manche River that goes through the small waterfall. The river empties into a long bay before it empties to the ocean. 

The old bridge and the 100 year old fish village of La Manche was destroyed in a storm in 1966. 

People were forced to relocate. The narrow bay looks so protected and beautiful, but I guess not in 1966.  

The suspension bridge was built in 1999 and is part of the East Coast Trail.  The trail ends at Doctor’s Cove about ¼ mile after the bridge.  

Several sections on the trail were Christmas Tree forests with the branches so subtle that brushing through them did not scratch you at all. These smelled so good too and were so green.