NEWFOUNDLAND – RALEIGH TO ST. BARBE.
Day 126 – It was very windy this morning, 54 degrees & cloudy at 7:45 a.m. We departed Pistolet Bay Provincial Park at 11 a.m. after dumping tanks. The wind gusts got worse as we drove west, then south, to the town of St. Barbe. The terminal for the ferry that travels daily across the Strait of Belle Isle from Newfoundland to Labrador & returns again is located there. This ferry operates seasonally, weather permitting. The Strait of Belle Isle is rather notorious for the rough seas during bad weather. But when the visibility is good, you supposedly can see whales from the ferry. We leave St. Barbe tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.
79 miles, (2:00), 42214-42293
We stopped in Flowers Cove on the way to St. Barbe. We’d seen a sign for RV Parking at Flowers Cove last week when we went to Raleigh. We wanted to check it out in case we needed a place to stay when we get back from Labrador. Flowers Cove is only 20 minutes north of the ferry terminal. Campgrounds will begin closing for the season soon, so we need to keep track of what’ll be available to us next month. The campground in Flowers Cove is a town park located right by the water on three sides. There are no hook-ups, no water and no dump station. Camping is free. You can leave a donation at the town building. You can park there anytime as long as the road to the Park is passable. This could come in handy.
It rained very hard during our drive but was only drizzling when we arrived at St. Barbe RV Park at 1 p.m. It was 59 degrees and windy. The RV Park is within walking distance to the ferry. It is not the kind of place we’d normally stay at but it has the advantage of being so close to the ferry terminal. We have to be there before 7 a.m. tomorrow. We got a campsite, had lunch in the RV, set up camp, and relaxed the rest of the day. We’ll be getting up at 5 a.m. tomorrow so it’ll be off to bed early tonight.
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St. Barbe RV Park: Located on Main Road heading into St. Barbe, off Route 430, across from the ferry terminal; (709) 877-2515 or (709) 456-7516; e-mail stbarbervpark@gmail.com; website www.docksidemotel.nf.ca/rvpark.php. Open June 1 to September 15. The RV Park is basically a large empty gravel lot with a fence around it, no privacy whatsoever, with numbers posted on the fence as to where each campsite is. Each site has a picnic bench. There are 20 campsites with electrical hook-ups and 5 sites without any hook-ups. The Park is located within walking distance to the Labrador ferry dock. Across the street where you buy your ferry tickets, there is a gas station, convenience store, and restaurant. $40 per night for electricity & $30 per night for no hook-ups, Canadian currency. In the main building there is laundry & showers; water & a dump station are available at the campground. We would stay here again if we were taking the ferry.