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The surge and surface current slosh me around like laundry in a spin cycle. I’m scuba diving on Gadd’s Wall, a precipitous dive site in Bonne Bay, in Western Newfoundland’s Gros Morne National Park, that just may be one of the top dives on the Rock.

The perfect place to stay for this western Newfoundland golf adventure is the Humber Valley Resort, and perhaps the best golf to be played on this side of the island is the River Course at the resort. The resort offers both an inn and chalets with seasonal rates. The chalets offer options to house large or small groups with all the comforts of a world-class golf destination.

Forget the Rockies. Winter blahs melt away as you hit the gas on a snowmobile and blast along ancient mountain ridges or wander through pristine woodlands in Newfoundland and Labrador.

A vast network of trails sprawls across more than 5,000 kilometres of natural beauty. It spans the former Canadian National Railway route, follows the foothills of the Long Range Mountains to a glacier-cut fjord in Gros Morne National Park, and crisscrosses Labrador's rolling tundra.

The perception most of us have of Newfoundland is of a scenic wonder filled with rocky cliffs, green terrain and quaint seaside villages. It is not known as a haven for winter activity, but a visit to Western Newfoundland will obliterate any notion that Newfoundlanders are not just as much fun in the cold as in the sun. Even the province’s jewel, Gros Morne National Park, offers visitors spectacular beauty when the temperature falls below freezing.

If you have only a week to travel in Newfoundland, you must explore the Viking Trail.

(What I'm really thinking: Silly you. Why go all the way to Newfoundland and only stay a week?)

“What kinds of pie do you have tonight?” the man sitting by the window asked. He and I were both eating dinner in a café in the outport of Cow Head, N.L.

CORNER BROOK — There are numerous interesting places that professional geologists and amateur rock lovers would love to explore on the island of Newfoundland...

I heard the couple from Alberta grumbling about the Green Garden Trail a minute or two before I saw them.

“This is kind of rough going, isn’t it,” the man was saying to his significant other.

The woman agreed, but their voices trailed off suddenly as they saw me limping along with both knees heavily wrapped and leaning with determination on two walking poles.

Moose, mountains and mankind. I recently experienced all that and more as my wife and I explored the wonders of Newfoundland. We began our journey with a six-hour ride on the Marine Atlantic, a modern multi-level people/car ferry. It has bright, modern seating areas, restaurants, and cabins with comfortable small beds and clean, well-equipped bathrooms for overnight travel. We embarked at North Sydney, and arrived at Port aux Basques on Newfoundland's southwest tip.

Winter is the best season to snowshoe through Newfoundland‘s rugged western coast.

Newfoundland, a.k.a. “The Rock,” (for reasons obvious to anyone who visits), is Canada’s eastern most province. It is a land of anomalies. It is almost 2,500 miles closer to Europe than to Vancouver on the west coast of Canada. Despite being almost as large as Cuba, less than half a million residents call it home.

Snow West ’12, set to take place between Wednesday March 21 and Saturday March 24, 2012, is an annual event designed to showcase the outstanding variety of fun winter adventures and evening experiences available for visitors to Western Newfoundland.

Parks Canada is celebrating it’s groundbreaking 100-year anniversary this summer and there will be special events to mark the occassion at the various historic and scenic sites across Newfoundland and Labrador. That means lots of interesting things to see and do, all summer long, at some of the most beautiful and fascinating areas in the province. Read on for event info...