NEWFOUNDLAND

Newfoundland and Labrador sound like territories in the wilderness.   Forget it.  The main roads are paved and you soon know you are in "civilization" when you see McDonalds, Walmark, and the other fast food joints.  But there are plenty of unpaved roads here.   How much time do you need.   Ten days is not enough reports one traveller to us, they said 30 days.  

How do you get there?  There are two ferries from Nova Scotia (the 10 hour and the 14 hour one) and a ferry from Labrador.  These ferries leave about midnight, so you can't get much sleep.   The best way to leave is not the return ferry but the ferry that goes to Labrador; go to that page for the reason why this is the best route.  The first ferry from Nova Scotia leaves North sydney and arrives at Port aux Basques.  The second leaves North Sydney and takes the longer route to Argentia, south of St John's.  You can obtain ferry information  by fax (902)564-7480.   This is the first ferry that we know of that does not allow a pinion rider.  They have to walk aboard.   Just this summer a rider and pinion slipped on oil while traveling onto the ferry and injured the pinion.

There is actually a motorcycle travel book about travelling here.   "This is Not the Mainland" by Rannie Gillis.  It is not small nor cheap but try to read it in Nova Scotia before you go.   Many tourist information places have it along with some book stores.  While the book is not perfect it does contain a lot of information that one can find useful.

Travelling here can be very good when the weather is nice, and when it is not, it is like Scotland.  But it can be the highlight of a motorcycle trip to eastern Canada.

Think of Newfoundland as a large "T" lying on its side.   You take the ferry and land on the western side.  Travel halfway up and then across to St John's.  You then have to double back but there are  many scenic "off the main highway" coastal roads.  In part you want to take these coastal roads because the main road to St John's is a boring freeway, often four lanes.  Once you get to St John's there are many sights to see on that peninsula.  Once you have returned to the main western coastal road you travel north to Labrador but there are at least two stops one must see.   GROS MORNE national park and then the Viking site at Answ auw Meadows.

As one heads north to Labrador one travels on the Viking Trail.   Then one comes to the Viking site where one discovers that it was not Columbia, but the Vikings that first discovered America.   Too bad they couldn't stay but had to give way to the low lifes that came after 1492.

Quite frankly, a full tour could be made of this island.   It claims to be the fifth largest lsland in the world but that is only because they include the mainland of Labrador in the calculation.   It is slightly smaller than Great Britain and full of sights.  Where else can one see icebergs floating off the coast?   A great trip would be to start in Halifax and take a circle route to Newfoundland, Labrador, and Quebec and back to Halifax.  

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