Newfoundland, a promise made, a promise kept.
Sep 22nd, 2013 | 12:48 PM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 14,729
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Newfoundland, a promise made, a promise kept.
Who we are:
My brother and I, both well into the sunset years, did this trip together. Thank you kodi, irecommend, Anselm, Clousie, lavenderrye and the several other Fodorites who gave me assistance in my planning. You were very helpful!
Where we went:
We flew from Greensboro, NC to Deer Lake, Newfoundland. This was a very long day of travel, but the alternative would have been to fly to St. John's and drive from there. I opted to get as close to Gros Morne Park as possible our first night. We were cautioned against driving at night so we overnighted near the airport.
Lesson One: buy beer if you are going to want one before bed.
Holiday Inn Express has no bar.
Other Lesson One: if you are going to be using a US issued ATM card use it at Pearson or the first chance you get while in Canada. I found my ATM worked in only one machine and my brother's never worked.
The next day we drove to Gros Morne Park generally following the Viking Trail. It was raining rather hard and very windy so we toured the area around Woody Point and took some short walks including the Tablelands hike. Although it was raining, the hike, led by a Canada Parks ranger, was very informative and relatively easy to do. We ended up the day at our hotel in Norris Point. We found a very nice walk just across the street from our hotel at the Jenniex Heritage House. The trail took us through a beautiful woods and down to the harbor.
We were slated to take the Western Brook Pond boat ride the following day. The reception clerk at our hotel recommended we start out before the scheduled breakfast. She arranged for a cold cereal, fruit and bread buffet to be set out for us so we could grab a quick bite. I had not realized it would take as long as it did to get to the start of the 3km hike into the boat dock so was very happy I had gotten her recommendations.
Lesson Two: be prepared for bugs. There were swarms of small, invisible to the naked eye, meanspirited gnats who chewed my neck up. My brother was untouched. I had welts the size of my thumb all around my hairline. I found these gnats played favorites and many people were completely unbothered (why me?) but those who were bitten were brutalized. Despite ointments and benadryl the welts were with me for almost two weeks.
The hike in to the boat dock is gorgeous, it is also level and very well maintained and anyone of even moderate fitness should be able to do it. The boat trip was absolutely delightful. We saw a bear! The narration provided by the boat guides is very interesting and the views are splendid. Highly recommended.
After the boat trip we explored the area around Cowhead and drove back to our hotel. The sky cleared and we had a gorgeous sunny afternoon. It was to be the only sunny period during our stay and we relished it. We took a lot of side roads and one led us straight down to the water. There was a beautiful graveyard on one side of the pavement and on the other a fish processing operation. Seated in front of the fish processing building was a very large man in overalls. He had a boom box blasting Hank Williams Sr and was offering his cd's for sale. He called himself Boxcar Newfie. My brother and I were musing over the odds anyone would go out of their way to come and find this salesman when two young women drove up, jumped out of their car, apparently made several purchases and then took off.
Lesson Three: Never underestimate the power of Boxcar Newfie.
The next day we set out generally in the direction of Port Rexton. We had planned an overnight roughly midway in Great Falls-Windsor. It was pouring rain.
Lesson Four: The TCH is not designed to drain well in heavy rain.
Lots of potholes and pavement damage coupled with the pooling water made the drive a bit challenging. We wanted to do the Alexander Murray hike so we took a side road down towards the trailhead. The roads got worse. We took a shot at the trail but turned back after about four km because the rain was really coming down. We decided since we were already headed down to Green Bay we would drive a bit farther on to the Beachside water front. We stopped to take some photographs and discovered we had a flat. As we started to change the tire seemingly out of nowhere a friendly Newfoundlander (this may be redundant, if there are unfriendly Newfoundlanders we never met them) pulled up in a truck, hopped out and took over. What might have taken a good thirty minutes for us to do, he did in about five. We decided to just head on to Great Falls-Windson. Lesson Four: Do not arrive hungry in Great Falls on a Sunday night. There were virtually no options save fast food. More about that later. We did a couple of short "community" walks but the heavy rain seemed to get even heavier.
The next day we drove to Gander to talk to the rental car company about the tire we had changed. We were in luck, they had three cars at the airport, one rented, one a minivan and one dirty. We took the dirty one (her word was dirty, mine was "had one plastic bottle in the back seat"). Thirty or so minute delay and we were back on the road to Port Rexton. We were in no hurry and stopped several times during our transit of Terra Nova National Park. Nowhere near as dramatic as Gros Morne, but clearly a great place for a boating/hiking/camping holiday. We arrived in Port Rexton fairly late in the afternoon and decided to hike the Skerwink Trail. Good choice. It is simply one of the great hikes in the world. Beautifully maintained, very manageable for most levels of fitness, and spectacular views. For those of you who are my facebook fans, the photos are there as evidence, but they truly do not do it justice. This is a must do hike.
The next day we decided to do a whale watch with Sea of Whales company. The company was highly recommended by several people at our hotel and I would join them in the endorsement. Two cousins operate the business and they work very hard to assure the comfort of their guests and the success of the trips. We saw three species of whales, bald eagles, mink, river otter, dolphins during our three hours. The highlight was the discovery of a large school of blue fin tuna feeding. That was incredibly beautiful. No photos, you will just have to take my word for it. I think had we been there earlier in the season we might have enjoyed these sightings from shore but by the end of summer if you want to see the whales et al, take the boat trip.
My brother and I, both well into the sunset years, did this trip together. Thank you kodi, irecommend, Anselm, Clousie, lavenderrye and the several other Fodorites who gave me assistance in my planning. You were very helpful!
Where we went:
We flew from Greensboro, NC to Deer Lake, Newfoundland. This was a very long day of travel, but the alternative would have been to fly to St. John's and drive from there. I opted to get as close to Gros Morne Park as possible our first night. We were cautioned against driving at night so we overnighted near the airport.
Lesson One: buy beer if you are going to want one before bed.
Holiday Inn Express has no bar.
Other Lesson One: if you are going to be using a US issued ATM card use it at Pearson or the first chance you get while in Canada. I found my ATM worked in only one machine and my brother's never worked.
The next day we drove to Gros Morne Park generally following the Viking Trail. It was raining rather hard and very windy so we toured the area around Woody Point and took some short walks including the Tablelands hike. Although it was raining, the hike, led by a Canada Parks ranger, was very informative and relatively easy to do. We ended up the day at our hotel in Norris Point. We found a very nice walk just across the street from our hotel at the Jenniex Heritage House. The trail took us through a beautiful woods and down to the harbor.
We were slated to take the Western Brook Pond boat ride the following day. The reception clerk at our hotel recommended we start out before the scheduled breakfast. She arranged for a cold cereal, fruit and bread buffet to be set out for us so we could grab a quick bite. I had not realized it would take as long as it did to get to the start of the 3km hike into the boat dock so was very happy I had gotten her recommendations.
Lesson Two: be prepared for bugs. There were swarms of small, invisible to the naked eye, meanspirited gnats who chewed my neck up. My brother was untouched. I had welts the size of my thumb all around my hairline. I found these gnats played favorites and many people were completely unbothered (why me?) but those who were bitten were brutalized. Despite ointments and benadryl the welts were with me for almost two weeks.
The hike in to the boat dock is gorgeous, it is also level and very well maintained and anyone of even moderate fitness should be able to do it. The boat trip was absolutely delightful. We saw a bear! The narration provided by the boat guides is very interesting and the views are splendid. Highly recommended.
After the boat trip we explored the area around Cowhead and drove back to our hotel. The sky cleared and we had a gorgeous sunny afternoon. It was to be the only sunny period during our stay and we relished it. We took a lot of side roads and one led us straight down to the water. There was a beautiful graveyard on one side of the pavement and on the other a fish processing operation. Seated in front of the fish processing building was a very large man in overalls. He had a boom box blasting Hank Williams Sr and was offering his cd's for sale. He called himself Boxcar Newfie. My brother and I were musing over the odds anyone would go out of their way to come and find this salesman when two young women drove up, jumped out of their car, apparently made several purchases and then took off.
Lesson Three: Never underestimate the power of Boxcar Newfie.
The next day we set out generally in the direction of Port Rexton. We had planned an overnight roughly midway in Great Falls-Windsor. It was pouring rain.
Lesson Four: The TCH is not designed to drain well in heavy rain.
Lots of potholes and pavement damage coupled with the pooling water made the drive a bit challenging. We wanted to do the Alexander Murray hike so we took a side road down towards the trailhead. The roads got worse. We took a shot at the trail but turned back after about four km because the rain was really coming down. We decided since we were already headed down to Green Bay we would drive a bit farther on to the Beachside water front. We stopped to take some photographs and discovered we had a flat. As we started to change the tire seemingly out of nowhere a friendly Newfoundlander (this may be redundant, if there are unfriendly Newfoundlanders we never met them) pulled up in a truck, hopped out and took over. What might have taken a good thirty minutes for us to do, he did in about five. We decided to just head on to Great Falls-Windson. Lesson Four: Do not arrive hungry in Great Falls on a Sunday night. There were virtually no options save fast food. More about that later. We did a couple of short "community" walks but the heavy rain seemed to get even heavier.
The next day we drove to Gander to talk to the rental car company about the tire we had changed. We were in luck, they had three cars at the airport, one rented, one a minivan and one dirty. We took the dirty one (her word was dirty, mine was "had one plastic bottle in the back seat"). Thirty or so minute delay and we were back on the road to Port Rexton. We were in no hurry and stopped several times during our transit of Terra Nova National Park. Nowhere near as dramatic as Gros Morne, but clearly a great place for a boating/hiking/camping holiday. We arrived in Port Rexton fairly late in the afternoon and decided to hike the Skerwink Trail. Good choice. It is simply one of the great hikes in the world. Beautifully maintained, very manageable for most levels of fitness, and spectacular views. For those of you who are my facebook fans, the photos are there as evidence, but they truly do not do it justice. This is a must do hike.
The next day we decided to do a whale watch with Sea of Whales company. The company was highly recommended by several people at our hotel and I would join them in the endorsement. Two cousins operate the business and they work very hard to assure the comfort of their guests and the success of the trips. We saw three species of whales, bald eagles, mink, river otter, dolphins during our three hours. The highlight was the discovery of a large school of blue fin tuna feeding. That was incredibly beautiful. No photos, you will just have to take my word for it. I think had we been there earlier in the season we might have enjoyed these sightings from shore but by the end of summer if you want to see the whales et al, take the boat trip.
Sep 22nd, 2013 | 01:30 PM
#3
Original Poster
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 14,729
Likes: 0
After our whale watching trip we decided to hike the Skerwink again. We also drove over to Trinity and explored the very attractive historical district. We visited English Harbor, which is possibly the most picturesque spot we saw. Unfortunately the very heavy fog affected the quality of the photographs, so you will have to go see for yourself.
We headed to St. John's. Driving directions in Newfoundland are often "go right out of the driveway about 160 km and it will be on your left". We had no trouble reaching our hotel and decided to see St. John's on foot. The traffic was generally courteous, but with all the road construction it was very stop and go. Good call, the walks were interesting and we had a chance to really see the town. We headed to The Rooms. But first we needed some ice cream. A stop at Moo Moo's took the last of our cash as a trade for some really great ice cream!
Lesson Number Five: Moo Moo's doesn't take Mastercard, my VISA didn't work on their machine and I already told you about the ATM issue. But if you are down to your last loonies, this is the place to spend them.
The Rooms is a first rate exhibit space, combining a cultural history museum, first person accounts of Newfoundlands' residents, and art. Well worth a visit. The added plus is great views out over the city. Highly recommended.
Our last day in Newfoundland we planned to hike Signal Hill. This is another must do. We spent several hours exploring the area and on a whim decided to stop at the Geo Museum on our way back to town. What a great decision. The museum had a terrific exhibit devoted to the Titanic, an excellent science area explaining the unique geologic history of the province and three first class films. Highly recommended.
Since it was almost time to go home, I had one more must do. I had to be screeched in. Yes, I kissed the cod, drank the screech and said the chant. I was fortunately spared the dance with the toothless fisherman which had been reported here.
Where we stayed and ate:I have done full reviews on Trip Advisor of all the hotels and restaurants.
Deer Lake Holiday Inn Express-This is a basic hotel which is very popular with families. The breakfast was fine, a standard continental but enough to hold us till we got to Norris Point.
The Sugar Hill Inn-A lovely property with very nice amenities and extremely quiet. The on site restaurant was exceptional. I had one of the best meals of my life there. The downside of this hotel is that it has no view. I went down to Neddies Harbor Inn and given the fabulous location would have to pick it were I to return. The breakfast was included in our rate and was very good. The hot item was a terrific bread pudding.
We ate twice at Justin Thyme's restaurant in Norris Point. At lunch it was excellent. Very good food, lots of choices and nice atmosphere. At dinner it was a bit less impressive. The menu is more limited, it is quite expensive, and service is not very professional or fast.
Carriage House in Great Falls. This is a refurbished farm house located in a residential area of town. It is quite attractive but we found the room to be very hot (despite the outside temps being around fifty). There are no screens on the windows, but we turned on the air conditioner and it was fine.
We arrived here on the Sunday night of Labor Day weekend. The hotel hostess told us our only restaurant options were fast food or the Hotel Mount Peyton steakhouse. We opted for the steakhouse which was closed but the staff told us there was a more casual restaurant upstairs in the hotel. This was absolutely one of the worst restaurants I have ever been in. The service and food were really awful. In the entire time we spent in Newfoundland, this was the only time we had really bad food. Thank goodness we had some hiking food to eat! The hotel breakfast was unremarkable.
Fisher's Loft in Port Rexton- I loved, loved, loved it here. We had a building all to ourselves, the room was beautiful and extremely clean and comfortable. The view was splendid. I could live here. Breakfast was outstanding.
I am a vegetarian and irecommend and kodi had suggested I try Two Whales in Port Rexton. I loved it. The food was great, the service charming, and the atmosphere very friendly. We went back a couple of times. Try the brownies. And the ice cream.
Compton House in St. John's. We had the Partridgeberry room which was quite large and comfortable but had a bathroom the size of a closet. It was very nice. The staff was extremely nice and very accommodating. Breakfast was quite good.
I have already mentioned Moo Moo's but it deserves a second note. The sauces for the ice cream were delicious, but the ice cream itself is the star.
We had one meal at Sprouts, which was terrific. We also stopped for lunch at the Rocket and it was very good. We especially liked the friendly atmosphere and the servers.
Why I went:
Virtually every Newfoundlander who engaged me in conversation wanted to know why I had come. Several years ago I visited a Hospice patient who had grown up here in rural North Carolina. He took a trip to Newfoundland and decided to move there. When I would visit him at Hospice he and I would look at pictures of his home and he would tell me stories of why he loved it. I promised him one day I would go see for myself. My friend, kodi, told me about her love for Newfoundland and even mailed me some books to fire my interest. She went this summer and I decided I just had to go. She very kindly went to the hotels I had booked in Port Rexton and St. John's to make sure I was choosing wisely. Now that is what I call a great friend!
I thank kodi and Paul for giving me a dream. Newfoundland was such a wonderful place. Beauty and history combined. But go for the Newfoundlanders. They are a special breed of people. The warm welcome, the kindness and generosity of spirit will make you want to get screeched in, too!
We headed to St. John's. Driving directions in Newfoundland are often "go right out of the driveway about 160 km and it will be on your left". We had no trouble reaching our hotel and decided to see St. John's on foot. The traffic was generally courteous, but with all the road construction it was very stop and go. Good call, the walks were interesting and we had a chance to really see the town. We headed to The Rooms. But first we needed some ice cream. A stop at Moo Moo's took the last of our cash as a trade for some really great ice cream!
Lesson Number Five: Moo Moo's doesn't take Mastercard, my VISA didn't work on their machine and I already told you about the ATM issue. But if you are down to your last loonies, this is the place to spend them.
The Rooms is a first rate exhibit space, combining a cultural history museum, first person accounts of Newfoundlands' residents, and art. Well worth a visit. The added plus is great views out over the city. Highly recommended.
Our last day in Newfoundland we planned to hike Signal Hill. This is another must do. We spent several hours exploring the area and on a whim decided to stop at the Geo Museum on our way back to town. What a great decision. The museum had a terrific exhibit devoted to the Titanic, an excellent science area explaining the unique geologic history of the province and three first class films. Highly recommended.
Since it was almost time to go home, I had one more must do. I had to be screeched in. Yes, I kissed the cod, drank the screech and said the chant. I was fortunately spared the dance with the toothless fisherman which had been reported here.
Where we stayed and ate:I have done full reviews on Trip Advisor of all the hotels and restaurants.
Deer Lake Holiday Inn Express-This is a basic hotel which is very popular with families. The breakfast was fine, a standard continental but enough to hold us till we got to Norris Point.
The Sugar Hill Inn-A lovely property with very nice amenities and extremely quiet. The on site restaurant was exceptional. I had one of the best meals of my life there. The downside of this hotel is that it has no view. I went down to Neddies Harbor Inn and given the fabulous location would have to pick it were I to return. The breakfast was included in our rate and was very good. The hot item was a terrific bread pudding.
We ate twice at Justin Thyme's restaurant in Norris Point. At lunch it was excellent. Very good food, lots of choices and nice atmosphere. At dinner it was a bit less impressive. The menu is more limited, it is quite expensive, and service is not very professional or fast.
Carriage House in Great Falls. This is a refurbished farm house located in a residential area of town. It is quite attractive but we found the room to be very hot (despite the outside temps being around fifty). There are no screens on the windows, but we turned on the air conditioner and it was fine.
We arrived here on the Sunday night of Labor Day weekend. The hotel hostess told us our only restaurant options were fast food or the Hotel Mount Peyton steakhouse. We opted for the steakhouse which was closed but the staff told us there was a more casual restaurant upstairs in the hotel. This was absolutely one of the worst restaurants I have ever been in. The service and food were really awful. In the entire time we spent in Newfoundland, this was the only time we had really bad food. Thank goodness we had some hiking food to eat! The hotel breakfast was unremarkable.
Fisher's Loft in Port Rexton- I loved, loved, loved it here. We had a building all to ourselves, the room was beautiful and extremely clean and comfortable. The view was splendid. I could live here. Breakfast was outstanding.
I am a vegetarian and irecommend and kodi had suggested I try Two Whales in Port Rexton. I loved it. The food was great, the service charming, and the atmosphere very friendly. We went back a couple of times. Try the brownies. And the ice cream.
Compton House in St. John's. We had the Partridgeberry room which was quite large and comfortable but had a bathroom the size of a closet. It was very nice. The staff was extremely nice and very accommodating. Breakfast was quite good.
I have already mentioned Moo Moo's but it deserves a second note. The sauces for the ice cream were delicious, but the ice cream itself is the star.
We had one meal at Sprouts, which was terrific. We also stopped for lunch at the Rocket and it was very good. We especially liked the friendly atmosphere and the servers.
Why I went:
Virtually every Newfoundlander who engaged me in conversation wanted to know why I had come. Several years ago I visited a Hospice patient who had grown up here in rural North Carolina. He took a trip to Newfoundland and decided to move there. When I would visit him at Hospice he and I would look at pictures of his home and he would tell me stories of why he loved it. I promised him one day I would go see for myself. My friend, kodi, told me about her love for Newfoundland and even mailed me some books to fire my interest. She went this summer and I decided I just had to go. She very kindly went to the hotels I had booked in Port Rexton and St. John's to make sure I was choosing wisely. Now that is what I call a great friend!
I thank kodi and Paul for giving me a dream. Newfoundland was such a wonderful place. Beauty and history combined. But go for the Newfoundlanders. They are a special breed of people. The warm welcome, the kindness and generosity of spirit will make you want to get screeched in, too!
Sep 22nd, 2013 | 01:59 PM
#5
Original Poster
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 14,729
Likes: 0
A couple of details. Probably the single most expensive element of this trip was the rental car. We were charged a $400 drop fee for returning it to a different location and an $11.00 per day! fee because although I did most of the driving I listed my brother as an additional driver.
I chose all the hotels and contacted them directly about avaiability of rooms with two beds. The person with whom I spoke at one suggested that I contact Maxim Vacations in St. John's and get a quote for a trip managed by them. I priced all the elements seperately and I believe I made a good bargain by using their services. Everything was prepaid and I handled eachhotel and service with vouchers. My contact was Ivy Toobin. I was very pleased.
I chose all the hotels and contacted them directly about avaiability of rooms with two beds. The person with whom I spoke at one suggested that I contact Maxim Vacations in St. John's and get a quote for a trip managed by them. I priced all the elements seperately and I believe I made a good bargain by using their services. Everything was prepaid and I handled eachhotel and service with vouchers. My contact was Ivy Toobin. I was very pleased.
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Sep 23rd, 2013 | 07:46 PM
#10
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,523
Likes: 0
Cmcfong, I loved reading your report. If I could have changed anything for you it would have been to get rid of those pesky gnats and to have stopped the rain .
Thank you for your kind words. I'm only too happy to help anytime .
I'm so glad you got to see a place I love so much .
I'm pretty sure we stayed at Carriage House on our first visit. At that time they had two dogs. A Jack Russell who tormented the lab .
Thank you for your kind words. I'm only too happy to help anytime .
I'm so glad you got to see a place I love so much .
I'm pretty sure we stayed at Carriage House on our first visit. At that time they had two dogs. A Jack Russell who tormented the lab .
Oct 1st, 2013 | 11:47 AM
#11
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 878
Likes: 0
On our first trip to Newfoundland (more than 10 years ago) we did a fly/drive with Maxxim vacations and were quite satisfied. Good to know that are still in business and pleasing people. I believe they own some of the motels they use so can give you a good rate.
Thanks for your report, cmcfong. Brought back happy memories.
Thanks for your report, cmcfong. Brought back happy memories.
Oct 11th, 2013 | 11:29 AM
#19
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,007
Likes: 0
Really enjoyed reading your report, Mary. As others said, it brought back many memories for us. Besides the magnificent scenery, it really is the people who make this a journey to remember. Everyone we met was so helpful and wanted to know about us as much as we were interested in them. Lots to share both ways.
So glad I was able to help a bit with your planning and that you made some wonderful discoveries on your own. Have you posted any of your photos?
So glad I was able to help a bit with your planning and that you made some wonderful discoveries on your own. Have you posted any of your photos?
