Lillie and Willie in Newfoundland

After traveling through Quebec, the dog Lillie and the Westfalia Willie set sail. Direction: Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Stephanie Morin
The Press

It was when we learned that 60 mm of rain would fall in western Newfoundland in one day that we realized that this trip was not going to go as planned.

The road to North Sydney at the wheel of Willie the gray blue Westfalia, the crossing to Port-aux-Basques aboard the MV Blue Puttees from Marine Atlantic (where we had been able to book a cabin for us and Lillie, our energetic half-shetland, half-corgi dog)… This was all just a quiet prelude to that rainy Wednesday in early July when we took brutally aware that our itinerary, skilfully drawn up in May and which covered the entire island, was not worth more than the paper on which it had been printed.

We should have guessed: the weather is so changeable in the easternmost Canadian province that on the MétéoMédia site, it is not uncommon for the pictograms rain, sun, cloud and storm to be used at the same time to announce the weather from a single place for the same day! Here, nothing is guaranteed on the temperature side.

“It’s Newfoundland… We’re happy when it doesn’t snow,” a philosophical gas station attendant told us during our visit to the island of Fogo.

If, in Rome, we must do as the Romans do, in Newfoundland we must do as the islanders do and learn to compose with what the sky sends us. Even if it means putting an X on the 800 km detour to visit the Viking site of Anse-aux-Meadows or on the summit of Gros Morne, which had its head in the clouds during our visit.

Hikes to collect beauties

Our first hike of the trip, at Gros Morne National Park, will be in constant drizzle. Nothing to stop us from enjoying the long boardwalks that took us through forest and ferns to the rain-swollen Bakers Brook Falls.

Lillie, who in Montreal avoids walking in the slightest puddle of water, has curiously transformed herself into a warthog to have a field day in the mud.

For two and a half weeks, the scenario will repeat itself under the sun, the clouds or in a mist that will always end up rising: hikes in mossy forests or on top of spectacular cliffs which throw themselves into a stormy sea. Boots on our feet (and with Lillie as our ever-enthusiastic companion, since dogs are allowed on almost all trails), we explored Gros Morne Park, including the mythical Tablelands trail and its rust-colored rocks.

Our favorite part of the park, however, is the Green Gardens trail, which begins in moorland and ends in spectacular coastal scenery frequented by free-roaming sheep (which sent Lillie into an unmanageable state of frenzy!).

At Terra Nova National Park, we came across fresh moose tracks on a beach bordering Blue Hill Pond. The giant was not far away, we felt it, but we could never see it… In Trinity Bay, the Skerwink trail took us along steep cliffs from which we could see rock needles coming out water like sentinels.

As the days go by, the beauties will never stop piling up.

The breath of the whales accompanying our steps off the Crow Head lighthouse. Tall grass dancing in the wind around the Irish community of Tilting on Fogo Island. Puffins courting us at Elliston. The islands round like the backs of turtles, not far from Blow Me Down Provincial Park… And everywhere, flowers: kalmias, fireweed, pitcher plants (a carnivorous flower chosen as the emblem of the province). Daisies. Gold buttons. Four-strokes.

And what about the two humpback whales that put on a show in Twillingate Bay. In the excursion boat where Lillie had also taken place, only the children were indifferent to the ballet of cetaceans, too busy stroking our dog!

A sublimated nature

The great peculiarity of Newfoundland lies in the fact that here, nature is not betrayed, but almost sublimated by human dwellings. Fishing villages add a colorful touch to the landscape, especially at Trinity and Bonavista, two of the oldest inhabited communities on the island and which are beautifully preserved. Difficult to make more photogenic than these yellow, orange or blue wooden houses planted on the edge of the Atlantic.

As for the road on which we spent several hours (the island is huge, we sometimes forget), it runs along an incalculable number of black water lakes on which blooming water lilies float. One can easily imagine a moose or a caribou coming to drink at dusk. The signs are quite clear, moreover: a deer can appear on the road at any time. We are in their kingdom, not the other way around.

For Willie the Westfalia, the challenge was great: a lot of kilometers to swallow, a lot of climbs and descents, what’s more on a surface that is not always smooth. It must be said: on secondary roads, potholes are sometimes quite frightening (by their size, number and depth). But our vehicle held firm, despite its venerable age (33 years, all the same).

Admittedly, the tires had to be reinflated on occasion and almost the entire trip was without power steering, due to a broken pump. But nothing too scary. Willie rode through sustained crosswinds and torrential rain without flinching. Better, it served as a cocoon for us during our nights in the provincial or national parks where we had chosen to land.

Newfoundland is one of those (rare) places where every stretch of road seems to lead to great beauty. Result: we will have to come back to push our discovery of an island that charmed us beyond what we had hoped for even further.

Ten stops to add to the itinerary

• The creamery of the Old Loft Restaurant, in Woody Point, to enjoy a sundae with cloudberries or lingonberries, two native berries of the island.
• Green Point Campground in Gros Morne National Park for its colorful sunsets.
• The Port Rexton Microbrewery, to enjoy a gourmet grilled-cheese accompanied by a local beer after (or before) a hike on the Skerwink Trail.
• The puffin observation site in Elliston, to see these magnificent birds up close without having to take any boat.

• The Iceberg Quest whale watching cruise in Twillingate because dogs are allowed on board the ship.
• Quidi Vidi’s microbrewery in St. John’s for its iceberg water-infused beer, as well as its stunning views of the micro fishing village that gives it its name.

• The Salvage Trail, not far from Terra Nova National Park, for its rugged layout that leads to several viewpoints over Bonavista Bay.
• Blow Me Provincial Park Down for its pebble beach and its staircase set in the heart of a rock.
• Signal Hill National Historic Site in St. John’s to learn about the island’s military and geological history.
• Bonavista’s Quintal Cafe for the generous lobster sandwich and friendly service.

Part of the cost of this trip was paid for by Marine Atlantic and Parks Canada, which had no right to inspect the content of this report.