I decided last year that I wanted to do a roadtrip to the island of Newfoundland as I never been there before. After some discussions with some of my friends that had been there on vacation or actually still lived on the island I was convinced. My main goal for the trip was photography only.
Time slowly passed by first it was months and then it was days away. Things were pretty hectic all around and I had to get things packed, ferry booked, bill pre-paid, and then it was time to hit the road.
I decided that I would spend a night at my dads place first as it made for a more quick direct route and avoided the rush hour traffic in the big cities.
My journey started on Saturday 20-Jun-2009 when I left my dads at 6am. After a 15 hour drive I managed to drive 1300 km and ended up in Moncton, New Brunswick where I grabbed a room for the night. I never really thought I would get that far in one day as the weather was pretty crappy once I left Quebec and you always have that fear in the back of your head of running into a big ass moose.
Sunday 21-Jun
I slept in the next morning and thought about different options for the day. I was only about three hours from Halifax, Nova Scotia or three and and half to my friends sister and moms place in Canning, Nova Scotia. I had not seen them in quite a long time so I headed off to Canning. Colleen was quite surprised when I rang the doorbell. She was only going to be home for a bit before heading off to a function for the night. Joan was off in Vancouver visiting friends so I missed her. I went for a drive around the area before head back to the house for the night.
Monday 22-Jun
I left the house around 9:30 the next morning to head up to North Sydney, Nova Scotia in order to catch the ferry. I had lots of time and was in no rush plus as usual on all my vacations it was crappy weather. I took the slower route on the eastern side of Cape Breton Island towards Sydney Nova Scotia. It was a very beautiful drive up despite the rain and fog. I hope that one my trip back it will be nicer for photos as i never really had a chance to take any. I picked up some Gravol at the Walmart in Sydney as I get motion sickness and I was just about to spend 15 hours on the ferry to the east side of Newfoundland.
I arrived at the ferry with lots of time to spare only to be delayed getting into the terminal due to all transport trucks that were blocking entrance as they could not get into the parking lot quick enough to allow the cars in. It turns out there were only going to be about 200 passengers on this big boat. Not sure how they made money on that trip but hey more space to spread out and relax. I ended up having a bunk space in a dorm room that would have had 60 people in it all to myself. I pretty much slept the whole trip as I was drugged up on Gravol.
Tuesday 23-Jun
Finally ... I was on the Island of Newfoundland in Argentia complete with the rain and fog. I headed down south from the ferry terminal to Placentia and then off to the Ecological Reserve at Cape St Marys. The weather was still crappy and not the best for taking photos but I went to the bird reserve regardless. It is definitely a spectacular place to visit and was hoping to maybe go back on a better weather days but that did not materialize at all before I left the area. I headed up to St John's for the night and took some spectacular night shots of Cabot Tower at Signal Hill. I spent the night sleeping in my Motel Ford Taurus at the local Walmart. Wasn't the most comfortable sleep I had but considering I did not roll into the parking lot until well after midnight I didn't care as I was super tired.
Wednesday 24-Jun
I spent the morning touring around the St John's area visiting Petty Harbour, Cape Spear, Kiddie Viddy, and ended up back at Signal to take pictures of the information boards, etc. I started talking to the commsionaire that was working on site. I exchanged one of my Bell Beavers for a couple of St John's city pins. Fair trade all around. To my delight the summer students were having their first outdoor practice for the up and coming Canada Day Tattoo. It was great to watch with the Fife and Drums band with soldiers in period costumes. After that I headed into town for the best fish and chips I have ever had at the Sundance. I spent some time walking around the downtown core before continuing my journey down the eastern coast. I grabbed a camp site at La Manche Provincial Park. Great value at 15 bucks for the night and I was looking forward to my first shower the next morning since the last sunday at the hotel. I ended up next door at the neighbours campsite for drinks before heading off to bed for the night. I ended up having a great sleep considering it poured rained the whole night and my tent was totally dry inside.
Thursday 25-Jun
I managed to sleep in the next morning which felt great compared to the night I spent in the car. Had a shower and a great breakfast before continuing the journey south. The weather still wasn't the greatest but I still wanted to drive down the coast. Definitely a beautiful drive. The weather on the coast was still going to be crap for the next couple of days so I decided to head further west on the island to the Burin Penisula to spend a couple of days visiting my friends Martine ans Isaac. Martine was out and about doing video shoot for work. I sepnt some time catching up with isaac when he asked me if I knew anything about routers for networking. I had to earn my keep so I re-configured the router and voila wireless internet for the house was born. And then after catching up on some emails it was bed time.
