| Jane,
I am originally from Corner Brook but my family now lives in and around
St. John's. I can give you a few tips on the east("least")coast but I'm
more familiar with the west("best").
Terra Nova is a beautiful spot.Check out the whale/bird/iceberg
watching tours from Newman Sound.Terra Nova has lots of hiking trails
too.The canoe is an unfamiliar craft to most Newfoundlanders;we feel
more at home in a dory. There are lots of ponds and a few fairly tame
rivers in Terra Nova park,though.
I would also recommend a trip to Cape St.Mary's bird sanctuary. It is a
spectacular sight,and one of the very few bird colonies acessible on
foot. The colony is actually on a seastack very close to
shore,separated by 200 yards and a sheer vertical drop of 1000'(I'm
guessing).It is quite a sight and affords a lovely view(on a clear
day,which is rare) of the Cape.
There is a book,"Hiking Trails of the Avalon Peninsula",author unknown
which should point you to some good adventures.I would venture that
Dicks and Co. bookstore,Water Str.,St.John's would have copies.
Finally,this is a record low temperature summer on the east coast. The
presence of heavy off-shore pack ice is having a severe effect on the
weather.It was +3 C(~38 F) in St. John's on June 28! The plus side is
the amazing number of icebergs visible all around the east coast.The
end of June showed 22 visible from Torbay,5 minutes north of St.John's.
Send me a note if you need more details.Dress warm,carry your raincoat
everywhere,be prepared for English as you have never heard it spoken
before,and have a blast.
Ron
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| Ron,
Did I read that right? 38 deg. F ??? Brrrrr. Has it been
a particularly rainy spring/summer/??? On our last visit the weather
was GOURGEOUS - I recall mid to upper sixties, no humidity, few
bugs... A real switch from NJ... Thanks for the recommendations.
Any favorite camping spots? How's the fishing this year? The salmon
rivers were off limits on our last visit due to drought conditions.
Thanks again.
/jane
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| Jane,
I hope that you are sitting when you read this,but I was in St.John's
on May 30 and we had 4 inches of snow(yes s-n-o-w!). I understand that
snow cancelled school in Pouch Cove(20 minutes north of St.John's) on 7 June
I don't think there has been any lately,but with the pack ice
offshore, snow will be a possibility with any east or north-east wind
blowing over the ice.A lot of rain has also fallen since April(please
don't use the terms "spring" and "Newfoundland" in the same
sentence;winter disappears in roughly June for a brief summer!).
As for camping,most of the provincial parks are quite nice,but quite a
bit rougher than most Canadian or US parks in my experience. LaManche
is a nice one near St.John's;Northern Bay Sands(Bonavista Bay) is
supposed to be quite nice,although I've never been.I would recommend a
drive from St.John's south to Trepassey,east to St.Marys' Bay,and north
to Placentia.Lots of beautiful sights,loads of history(like
Ferryland,Lord Baltimore's(of Orioles' fame) FIRST North American
colony),and a few salmon rivers too!
Commerical fishing is in a real mess this year with all the ice
offshore. SOme of the salmon rivers are closed due to reduced
quotas;the Danes and Greenlanders having been snagging salmon in their
areas at great rates,leaving reduced spawning numbers in Atlantic
Canada. excellent sea-run brown trout rishing in the Rennie's
River,which runs right through St.John's!The fish are large(up to 10
lbs) and they are good to eat,according to the latest biology
studies.So set up your tent in Pippy Park and "trout" along the
Rennie's to Quidi Vidi for some urban fishing!
For more info on east coast salmon rivers,send a note to my brother
Brian(DECWRL::"BHOFFE@KEAN.UCS.MUN.CA") who is a salmon guru,now
residing in St.John's.He works at Memorial University(MUN) and can send
and recieve messages from DECnet. He's away till the 3rd week of July
but I'm sure he'd be glad to give you a few tips on good salmon pools.I
know that he frequents St.Mary's Bay,but I don't know the river.
The best salmon rivers are on the west coast,of course. Dress warm!
Ron
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