Keith and Heather Nicol

They say there are no accidental tourists in Newfoundland. You have to plan your trip to get here since there are no easy links to the Island. Ferries link a few key locations and they are the main entry point for visitors travelling by car or recreational vehicle. Marine Atlantic through its fleet of ferries is a main contact and the Newfoundland ports of entry are Port aux Basques and Argentia. Port aux Basques serves visitors wishing to explore the West Coast of Newfoundland, while Argentia is conveniently located for people visiting St. John’s and the Avalon Peninsula.

The weather forecast was not looking great but the music line up included one of our favourite bands – The Dardenelles – so we booked a room at the clean and comfortable Meeting Hill Cottages (http://grosmorne.com/meetinghillcottages/) and decided to check out the ever popular Trail, Tales and Tunes Festival in Norris Point on Friday, May 24 and Saturday May 25. We arrived in Rocky Harbour in light rain showers and met Marilyn Butt who showed us to our cottage.

The Tablelands are backcountry skiing mecca in Newfoundland that attracts skiers from across the Island and beyond in the months of April and May. This area is located between the communities of Woody Point and Trout River in Gros Morne National Park and there is a turn off and large parking lot giving quick access to the mountains.

On Tuesday, April 9, 2013 John Moores and I headed up to check out the snow stability and snow depths along the flank of Blow me down Mountain near Corner Brook. This area has a great setting for exploring in all seasons but it is particularly scenic in the winter when the white snow contrasts with the deep blue water of the Bay of Islands. Add to this the progressively steeper snow slopes mean that you have terrain that can be adapted to your skills and equipment.

“You know most of my clients are novice snowmobilers. I would say that at least 60% have never driven a sled before so we spend the first 15-20 minutes of a tour showing them how to steer and stop a snowmobile as well as the basic hand signals. I have had people this year from England, Ireland and even Pakistan but most of my clients come from the East Coast of the province.” Darren told us recently over the phone.

Cross country skiing is a great way to get out and enjoy winter in Newfoundland. Cross country skiing is good exercise since both legs and arms get a workout and like its name suggests, you can cross country ski just about anywhere there is snow. But a popular option for many people is to visit a cross country ski facility. Many communities in the province have ski clubs where there are trails groomed specifically for cross country skiing.

Fall hiking in the Humber Valley of Western Newfoundland has numerous options but a favourite with many people is the short trek to Barry’s Lookout. We did this trail on Sunday, October 14 and the autumn leaves were splendid. The trail was abit muddy due to the recent wet weather so waterproof hiking boots are recommended. What makes this trip such a standout is that it is short-just 1. 8 km (1 way) yet it gives outstanding views of Humber Valley.

Corner Brook is the envy of many places in Newfoundland due to its impressive outdoor setting which really comes into its own in October when the trees change colour. As we write this on October 9, 2012 the colours are nearing their peak and the view of the city from the quarry overlook is one place to get great images of the whole area.

Fall in the Humber Valley means brilliant autumn colours and where better to enjoy these than on Newfoundland’s top rated golf course. The golf course at Humber Valley Resort is ranked as the second best course in Atlantic Canada and one of Canada’s top 20 courses according to manager Gary Oke. We recently got a chance to play the course and it was in very good shape, despite from recent heavy rains. This course will test all of your golfing skills from tee to green.

We recently had a chance to check out some of the fine hiking trails in the King’s Point area of Central Newfoundland. King’s Point is located on highway 391 (take the Springdale turnoff from the Trans Canada Highway). These trails have a lot of variety and an interested hiker could easily spend a couple of days walking the 4 trails that we explored. Let’s start with the longest trail-the Alexander Murray Trail which is located virtually in King’s Point. This trail is 8 km long and climbs to a summit of about 1000 feet. Overall there are 2200 stairs so you will get a good workout!

On our most recent trip to this part of Central Newfoundland we stayed at the luxurious Riverwood Inn (http://www.riverwoodinn.ca/) which received the “Accommodator of the Year” award for 2011 from Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador. It has a spectacular setting overlooking the Indian River and has walking trails that start right from its front door. When we asked Tracey Penney, the Inn’s manager about what to see in the local area she recommended checking out “glassy beach”, the local Springdale hiking trails and King’s Point pottery in King’s Point. 

A few weeks ago we had an opportunity to try out 2 golf courses in Central Newfoundland and we recently had a chance to check out 2 others in Western Newfoundland. On Wednesday, August 22 we played  at the Blomidon Golf Club in Corner Brook. Although a few showers passed overhead in the morning by the time we hit the first tee at 12:40 pm the sun was out and fluffy white clouds drifted across the sky. The Blomidon Golf Course was the host of the 2012 Provincial Golf Championships and is a very scenic course, especially in the fall as the trees change colour. 

On our most recent trip to Central Newfoundland we were focusing on seeing places and doing activities that we had not done before. We had been very impressed with the Barbour Living Heritage Village in Newtown and were blown away with the scenery, hiking and beaches on the Eastport Peninsula (see previous blogs). We then turned our attention to Terra Nova National Park (http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nl/terranova/index.aspx) and decided to head to the Visitor’s Centre where the staff suggested doing the 3.5 km hike (1 way) to Buckley Cove.

Central Newfoundland is a huge area of scenic coastlines and large inland rivers. One place we have spent very little time is the Eastport Peninsula adjacent to Terra Nova National Park (TNNP). Our only other previous visit was restricted to a night of camping at Malady Head in TNNP many years ago so we decided that another visit was in order. So in early August, 2012 we arrived the Prints of Whales Bed and Breakfast (www.theprintsofwhalesinn.com) in Sandringham around 5:00 pm.

Daniel Payne is a well known musician from Cow Head who is in demand as a performer across the province. In fact, when we saw his Gros Morne Summer Music performance on Tuesday, August 7 he told us he had just arrived from the St. John’s Folk Festival just before the show was to start. He had planned on getting to the Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre earlier than 7:50 pm (for his 8:00 pm show!) but there was fog on the Avalon Peninsula to which he said “That is no surprise” but then he got a flat tire just outside of Grand Falls “and that was a surprise”.

Over the past several years we have been making more trips to explore Central Newfoundland. Last year we enjoyed our first ever visit to Conne River and seeing other places on the Connaigre Peninsula along the south coast of the province. This year we decided to head to Newtown on the northeast coast with the specific goal of visiting the Barbour Living Heritage Village. Not only had we never been along this shore but the Barbour Living Heritage Village is also featured on the cover of this year’s Newfoundland tourism map and booklet.

The Salmonid Interpretation Centre is located just outside Grand Fall-Windsor on the Exploits River. The Exploits River is 246 km long making it the longest river on the island and it has a large salmon run. There is a fish ladder at the Salmonid Interpretation Centre which was built to help salmon bypass the falls on the Exploits River. Here they have an interpretation centre which features underwater viewing windows so that you can see the salmon swim past. Outside of the centre you can walk over grates that cover the fish ladder and you can watch salmon leap up over various obstacles.

One focus of Gros Morne Summer Music (GMSM) for this year is Andrew Lloyd Webber who is best known for creating some of the best known musicals of the last 40 years. Musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar, The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Evita, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat are just some of his creations....

“Elvis and Mavis” has many themes that will resonate with people from Newfoundland where the tug of the big city dreams runs full tilt into the living in the province’s rural areas. And in the 1990’s when this play is set, the cod fishery is gone so trying to earn a living in Newfoundland’s outports is harder than ever. Elvis (Colin Furlong) has just lost his job at the Roddickton fish plant and is frustrated with the general loss of control of Newfoundland’s resources so he decides to blow up the dam at Churchill Falls unless the unfair contract with Quebec can be renegotiated.

On our most recent trip to Central Newfoundland, we decided to bring our golf clubs to check out the golf courses in Grand Falls and Gander. Over the past few years we have begun to make more trips to Central Newfoundland since we have realized it has much more to offer than you might think. Our first stop was the Grand Falls golf course which is conveniently located right on the Trans Canada Highway just outside of town.