4th &
5th June 2016
Hitchbikers !
I packed up, had
a great hot shower, (hey, a “shower” may seem mundane to you homebodies, but a
good hot shower when you are on the road is a vital part of daily life !), and
then as I set off out of the camp site there were 3 young lads playing with a
baseball who waved as I passed and seemed like nice young kids enjoying their
camping holiday. So I called them over
and we had a chat about the car, and the trip and where I was from, and where
they were from, (locals, just out camping for the weekend with mum and dad),
and I gave them some Aussie stick pins – And then a lady came over for a
chat. Forgotten her and her husband’s
names because I didn’t write them down immediately (and she'll kill me because I know she will read this !), but a delightful couple,
originally from S Africa, connection with SASOIL (a company we did a lot of
business with), and now living in Calgary. Anyway, had a long and very pleasant
chat with them before heading out onto the road to head for Deer Lake.
Not a lot on the
road to Deer Lake, plus I had already driven this road before, so it was just a
matter of getting on with it. I passed a
couple of touring cyclists on the road, and as usual I tooted them as I passed
to say hi and commiserate with all the energy they were expending ! I got into Deer Lake about noon, and had
planned to get gas (with a gas card courtesy of Toyota Plaza in St John’s !), and a few minor
groceries. While getting groveries some
rude lady tried to push her trolley into me in the vegetable department –
Turned out to be the couple from Bedford who I had last seen on Fogo Island
! So had a laugh and a chat. Having finished my shopping, I noticed a Tim
Horton’s over the road and decided to go
in and get a cup of coffee – And then tried one of their cinnamon rolls – Oooh,
rather nice, but don’t need too many of them !
So when I walk in
to Tim’s, there are the S African couple already there ! So had anther chat
with them before they left and I sat down to do a bit of internet. After an hour or so I was thinking of
leaving when a young girl in cycling clothes comes up to me and asks if I am
the owner of “that” vehicle outside, the one with all the stickers on it, and the one who had tooted at her as I past her bicycle. Obviously I couldn’t deny it, so we started
chatting – Turn out she, Lizz, is from Wales and is cycling across Canada and
hoping to stay in BC for the winter. One
thing led to another and once she knew I was heading in the same direction as
her, she asked if it would be possible to give her and her bike a lift into the
nearby Gros Morne National Park where she wanted to do some hiking. So we went outside and worked out if her bike
would fit on the back – and after we twisted all the handlebars etc, it did,
and her panniers went in the back, so we were off – I had picked up a
hitch-biker, as I now understand they are called ! Last hitch-biker I had given a lift to was in
Chile !
By now it was
past my lunch time, so when I saw a trail leading down beside a river, I headed
down there – and there was an old School Bus as well as an old motorhome there
– A bit reminiscent of “Into the Wild” !
We were just making lunch when a big truck comes down the road, and Lizz
says “We may have to move.” I look round
and find a big German Overlander truck coming, and told her not to worry ! They pull up and it turns out to be a couple
called Peter and Christine Lambertz from
Düsseldorf, and
It wasn’t far up
the road to the area where Lizz wanted to go – But there were some very steep
and long hills into that part of the park, and she started to pale – Even more
so when she saw the mountain walk she had intended to trek tomorrow – it was partially
snow covered ! A quick discussion ensued
and she decided that if possible she would like to go to a different trail
which was still just a bit further up the road on my route, so I said no
problem. Long and short of it was that
by the time we got there it was getting late, I needed to stop, and the Park
camp site was closed !!! So we ended up
with Lizz pitching her tent on the grass in the car park, me setting up in the
car park itself, and after cooking Lizz some spag bol for supper (which I think
she enjoyed compared to her normal fare when cycling, especially since it
included a few of my scallops from yesterday, and a glass of wine !), we ended up camped in the
woods of Bakers Brook.
Next morning we
were both packed up by about 9, and the walk Lizz wanted to do was the Bakers
Brook Trail to a waterfall, and about 9 kms round trip and “easy”, I decided I
needed some exercise and went as well.
It turned out to be a great walk on a nice (relatively) warm morning,
and was through all the forest of Gros Morne.
We saw a moose early on which decided he wanted to follow us, which had
me a bit concerned, so we pushed on until he stopped, and then meandered
on through the forest trail which is not only well marked, but also provided good
information boards about the local flora and fauna along the way.
The Bakers Brook
Falls were well worth the hike – Which wasn’t exactly hard as a lot of was
on wooden boardwalks though the bog. In
fact the falls were much better than expected.
There were only another couple of groups on the trail – Funnily one was
from Toronto and they offered Lizz a bed when she passed through Toronto ! She admitted more things were happening to
her in the last 24 hours than she could quite keep up with !
On the way back
to the parking lot there was a side trail through an area where the rangers
have built a fence to keep the moose out, so people can see the difference
between areas where the moose eat (ie kill) nearly all the plants, and areas
where all the plants grow unmolested – It is quite a contrast. Moose were actually introduced here many
years ago, and now they have taken over and are causing quite severe problems
in the park. On the way back we also saw
a sign to a lake which didn’t seem too far, so we took that too, but by the
time we got back to the car park we reckon we
J
Next stop was at
the Arches Provincial Park – Just a quick stop beside the road to walk down and
see some arches that have been carved out by the sea, and are slowly, one by
one, collapsing as the erosion process continues. Interesting to see, especially on another nice
sunny afternoon.
This western
coastline of the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland is as much an adventure as
everywhere else in this great Province.
The coastline gradually gets wilder and sparser as you head north, and
after passing a couple of camp sites that didn’t look too exciting I then
detoured 13 kms out to the coast to a little town call Port au Choix. Rather a fun, if bleak and treeless, little
town, the campsite was right on the beach, and once again run by the Lions Club. The facilities were fine, with
While I was
cooking supper several people went over to the beach and when I joined them
found a few whales frolicking in the water just off the beach. Combined with the sunset light, a perfect
setting to the end of the day.
Pics are here :- https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/6292878248856547921?authkey=Gv1sRgCIDwp6m--Znf9QE
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