Hello Everyone, We are planning to drive as far North on the East coast as we can next summer and that is looking like L' Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. I was hoping some of you that have been to Newfoundland before might share your experiences. Hoping some might offer up some advice of where to go and where to avoid. I here that the Newfies like to "gravel pit" camp along the sea shore. Any insight into this would be welcomed too.
Hello.... You will meet the friendliest people there... wonderful scenery also... was there in the mid 70's and going to go back again in the next year or two.
Sorry Frank, The last time someone from my family camped there was in the year 1000. From the story they left it sounds very nice, though. Have you read the Saga Of The Greenlanders or Saga Of Erik The Red?
I can not convey all that I think you should know from my trip to Newfoundland so I will wet the whistle with this picture of the monument, ship and whale, at L'Anse aux Meadows.
You should try for Battle Harbor in Labrador.
If you want the longer dissertation PM me your phone number and I will give you a call.
Sorry Frank, The last time someone from my family camped there was in the year 1000. From the story they left it sounds very nice, though. Have you read the Saga Of The Greenlanders or Saga Of Erik The Red?
Rich the Viking
Actually it was my people too. And the very Sagas you mentioned is why we are headed there...
A while ago we lived in Salisbury, Md and made that same trip. Did not have any problems and always found a campground or a place to park. Bay of Fundy was awesome as was Nova Scotia, NF was OK. Sure got my fill of lobster.
Bay of Fundy was awesome as was Nova Scotia, NF was OK. Sure got my fill of lobster.
Apologies for the (ever so slight) thread diversion. Anything in particular to see/places to camp in Nova Scotia? We're heading to Nova Scotia and PEI this summer - only have 2 weeks so not heading up to NF. We're hauling the sea kayaks and the bikes and the Minuet....
Actually it was my people too. And the very Sagas you mentioned is why we are headed there...
At the end of the Saga of The Greenlanders there's a couple of paragraphs about the decendants of the main characters. They mention Snorri, the son of Karlsefni and Gudrid, who was born in Vinland. Apparently the first person of european descent to be born in the west.
Snorri Sturlusson, the Icelandic writer from the 1100-1200's was said to be descended from him, and I am descended from Snorri Sturlusson, as well as Ingolfur Arnarsson, and Egil Skallagrimsson, a couple of very colorful characters from early Icelandic history.
What's your connection Frank? Yensan sounds Swedish or Danish to me.
At the end of the Saga of The Greenlanders there's a couple of paragraphs about the decendants of the main characters. They mention Snorri, the son of Karlsefni and Gudrid, who was born in Vinland. Apparently the first person of european descent to be born in the west.
Snorri Sturlusson, the Icelandic writer from the 1100-1200's was said to be descended from him, and I am descended from Snorri Sturlusson, as well as Ingolfur Arnarsson, and Egil Skallagrimsson, a couple of very colorful characters from early Icelandic history.
What's your connection Frank? Yensan sounds Swedish or Danish to me.
Rich the Viking
My people come from just west of Stockholme and were iron workers in the very early days of it there. No famous people in the tree.
Neewfoundland is a wonderful place to visit. We went in 2004, but it was too early because the tourist season is 3 months long and a lot of things weren't open. L'Anse aux Meadows was mostly covered with snow in late April. Nonetheless the trip was great and I wish we had had more time. The people are the friendliest in the US and Canada, but some speak so fast you can't understand them (just tell them to slow down).
Newfoundland is also bigger than you may realize. From Post au Basque to St. John's is about 500 miles, and with all the peninsulas, you can do a lot of driving. Most people live along the coasts and every part of the province is worth seeing.
You can take a ferry from St. Barbe on the Northern Peninsula (you go thru there on the way to L'Anse aux Meadows) to the eastern edge of Quebec and go east to Labrador. I think the road around Labrador's coast was finished this year and you can drive all the way to Goose Bay and then back around into Quebec. It's not paved and may be rough. In fact, a lot of the paved roads in Newfoundland are not too good.
Contact the province's tourism dep't—they have good tourist info which we found very useful and was much better quality than the usual stuff you get from provinces and states.
We also took the time to visit Halifax (Nova Scotia's road aren't too good either), PEI, drive around Gaspé, visit Québec City, Montreal, Ottawa and drive all the way around Lake Superior on the Ontario side. We did it in 5 weeks without a trailer.
We only had 10 days, and next time I hope we can spend about 3 weeks there. Don't know about the Labrador part though.
Neewfoundland is a wonderful place to visit. We went in 2004, but it was too early because the tourist season is 3 months long and a lot of things weren't open. L'Anse aux Meadows was mostly covered with snow in late April. Nonetheless the trip was great and I wish we had had more time. The people are the friendliest in the US and Canada, but some speak so fast you can't understand them (just tell them to slow down).
Newfoundland is also bigger than you may realize. From Post au Basque to St. John's is about 500 miles, and with all the peninsulas, you can do a lot of driving. Most people live along the coasts and every part of the province is worth seeing.
You can take a ferry from St. Barbe on the Northern Peninsula (you go thru there on the way to L'Anse aux Meadows) to the eastern edge of Quebec and go east to Labrador. I think the road around Labrador's coast was finished this year and you can drive all the way to Goose Bay and then back around into Quebec. It's not paved and may be rough. In fact, a lot of the paved roads in Newfoundland are not too good.
Contact the province's tourism dep't—they have good tourist info which we found very useful and was much better quality than the usual stuff you get from provinces and states.
We also took the time to visit Halifax (Nova Scotia's road aren't too good either), PEI, drive around Gaspé, visit Québec City, Montreal, Ottawa and drive all the way around Lake Superior on the Ontario side. We did it in 5 weeks without a trailer.
We only had 10 days, and next time I hope we can spend about 3 weeks there. Don't know about the Labrador part though.
Gene
We are planning a generous working mans vacation of two weeks. I am sure it will be a whirl wind tour.
Neewfoundland is a wonderful place to visit. We went in 2004, but it was too early because the tourist season is 3 months long and a lot of things weren't open. L'Anse aux Meadows was mostly covered with snow in late April.
We did the prime season we were in RedBay July 5, watched parade, I was the only one watching, DW said it was too cold to stand around. Still snow in the shadows on side of road and iceburgs. We were late coming back in mid Sept. Frost and freezing temps in Maine without a heater. That's when we decided to move up to a better unit. We will go back to do the rest of NS, but Newfoundland as nice as it was and how nice the people are, is like the guy said bigger than it looks on the map. And the ferry trip with small van cost was like a car, now we would have to pay truck rates and the fuel would be much higher with the devalued dollar.
We got to see everything, moose, elk, iceburgs, friendly people, museums but couldn't have done it in a couple of weeks. Almost like saying we'll see the US in a month
Just a caution, Frank: If you have a two-week vacation, you will be working a good bit of it while driving in Newfoundland. Figuring that you will spend a week getting there and back you'll have your hands full deciding how to spend the days remaining - as Gene said, it is a larger area than it appears.
In any event, have a wonderful trip - we just got back from a six-week trip that included longish visits to Quebec, Gaspe', PEI and Nova Scotia. We thought about going up to NF, but decided it was just too far and needed more time than we could give it. Remains on the to-do list, though.
Newfoundland can certainly have lousy weather. We saw a lot of icebergs too and that tells you something. It can be cold, blowing and wet. The weather was pretty good when we were there, although there was blizzard in the east when we were in the west. The gov't employees were on strike and the managers had to plow the snow, a job they weren't very good at, but most snow had melted by the time we got east.
Be prepared to see a lot of trees, bogs, rivers, bogs and more trees. There are more moose than people and hitting as moose is a disaster for vehicle and passengers. With such long legs, the body comes through the windshield and death is likely. Moose are not native and have no natural enemies (except cars and trucks)—wolves and bear keep the moose population down on the mainland.
There's no place there we wouldn't go back to, and will. It was a delight. How to go in 2 weeks seems impossible to enjoy your trip. After Maine, no 4 lane highways, then crossing New Brunswick, part of Nova Scotia to the tip of Cape Breton Is., the ferry takes a day each way, 2 days to get to where the Vikings landed—that's 6 days driving pretty fast. 2 national parks on the way too. Even taking a few extra days more than 2 weeks will make it a much more enjoyable trip.
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