8th
June 2016
Rabbits,
Icebergs, moose, bear, caribou, rain and mud !
Kind of wet when
I woke up, sp it was a quick breakfast and pack up, before moving down to the
amenities block for a shower etc. On the
way, stopped by the trail for some views of icebergs, and while I was taking
pics, bunnies were running all over the place around me, not seeming to be
concerned by my presence at all. Down at
the amenities block there was a van with a couple from Montreal in it. Originally Swiss, they now
live over here and desperately would like to do what I am doing, so we spent
some time chatting about aspects of 
Once on the road
it was along the coast to Red Bay, where the road turns left and the dirt
begins. Parked beside the road there were
a number of big mine trucks, so I pulled up beside them and made some
elevenses. Then the road cuts inland, through scenery that is very reminiscent
of Scotland, and the mist rolled in as we climbed, before dropping back down to
the coast at Lodge Bay and Mary’s Harbour. Saw a big old moose beside the road,
who quickly ran off into the trees, and the temp was dropping to as low as 2
deg C at times.
The couple in the camp
site had told me of a local system whereby travellers crossing the Trans
Labrador Highway can collect a satellite phone at one end, and return it at the
other, just in case they have a problem on the road. We didn’t get such a system in the Arctic 2
years ago, or when going up the Dalton to Prudhoe, but I think it is an
excellent idea on such desolate and deserted roads. One of the pick up places for the phones was
in St Mary’s so I went to the River Lodge Hotel, and on asking about the phones
was told it was no problem, and they couldn’t have been nicer. Within 5
I explored St
Mary’s briefly – Not a lot too it – All fishing, as is usual around this part
of the world. Saw a few icebergs outside
the harbour, and then set of along the Trans Labrador Highway. This is a relatively new road, and has either
been blasted out of the rock or laid on top of the swamp – presumably using the
rock blasted out elsewhere ! The dirt
road is actually very good – In fact, it is better than many of the tarmac
roads I have found elsewhere in Newfoundland Labrador. There are frequent graders on the road, and
they keep it in very good condition.
After stopping
for lunch by a large wood chopping place, I passed the road down to St Lewis,
which was interesting because apparently it was one of the earliest recorded
place names in all of Labrador, back in 1694.
Also interesting that it was named after King Louis XIV, but somehow the locals didn’t know how
to spell his name !!
Passed a sign
along the way warning that it was 410 kms to the next fuel – You rarely have to
go more than 200 kms between gas stations in Australia, so this shows quite how
remote this road is. There is nothing
out there !! Basically it was lakes and
forest all day ! We started to climb,
and by the time we were over 1200 ft it was starting to rain – Not hard, but
enough for the road to become quite slippery and muddy, with lots of puddles
everywhere. So the afternoon became bit different, trying to avoid stones thrown
up by all the trucks and company pickups heading the other way, (I got caught
by one stone – Grrrr), and in some places really struggling to stay on the road
because it was so muddy and slippery !
But there was fun
too – We had a couple more moose running around, and later I saw my first
caribou since we were up in the Arctic 2 years ago. As before, lots of lakes
and bog everywhere, interspersed with the black spruce, and then suddenly, I
saw a familiar black spot in the distance – That had to be a bear ! Sure enough, it was, but he ran off pretty
quickly before I got close enough, but it is SO good to see bear again. I really enjoy seeing them on the road.
By 5.30 I was
muddy, cold, and ready to stop. I was
eyeing up possible places I could pull over when suddenly I saw a sign for an
official Rest Area – Perfect. It was
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