Day 89 – It was warm and sunny this morning when we got up. After relaxing and doing all our morning stuff, we left for a drive south to St. Vincent’s in search of Humpback Whales – again.
It was a beautiful, clear day until we got to St. Vincent’s which was completely fogged in. We stopped at the Interpretive Center to use the restrooms. We noticed two medium-sized RVs camping near the parking lot to the Center. We’d noticed a few other vehicles parked there on other occasions when we came down to whale watch. So we asked a man that worked at the Center if camping was allowed there. We were thinking it would be SO much more convenient if we were camping near St. Vincent’s beach and could look for the whales easily at any time. The man said that yes, people could camp there for free for as long as they wanted. And if they wanted to, they could leave a donation at the box near the restroom facilities. This was great news for us. The next time we come to visit Newfoundland, guess where we’ll be staying. We could just walk across the street to see if the whales were feeding.
It was so foggy at the beach, hardly anyone was there, including the whales. We stuck around for a short period of time, but nothing was going on. We decided to drive the rest of the Avalon peninsula – up to the point we left off at Portugal Cove South when we went to Cape Race. We continued south to the bottom of the peninsula, then headed east.
There wasn’t much out there as far as towns and villages, just open land, mostly without tall trees, more like barrens. Initially it remained foggy. We turned off on a road to a village called St. Shott’s. After driving through this tiny village, very quiet and enveloped in the fog, at the end of the road, we stopped at Eastern Head. There was a Light Station (which was a building with a very loud foghorn). A couple of interpretive signs were off to the side as well as the beginning of a hiking trail. Although it was very foggy, it was really beautiful there with rocky cliffs and ocean waves crashing below.
After taking a break at Eastern Head, we continued driving east towards Portugal Cove South. Shortly after leaving St. Shott’s and turning back onto Route 10 (the main highway that runs along the ocean around the Avalon peninsula), the fog lifted and we were treated to a warm, sunny day. The scenery was great – wild, unpopulated, and full of colors. The wild flowers of bright yellow, purple, white, pink, red, and lavender covered the fields of long green grasses. The Atlantic Ocean was a deep, dark blue with white, foamy crashing waves, contrasting with the rust-colored, charcoal, and black cliffs. As we neared the town of Trepassey, the waters were shallower & turquoise in color, and the beach was covered with small light & dark grey rocks that had been washed in over time. Driving through Trepassey, which turned out to be a decent-sized town, we took a narrow road over a causeway that connected a narrow strip of land to the town. There were some cottages at first, then the road eventually led to the Powles Head Lighthouse. The scenery here was very pretty with tall cliffs across from the Point and the bay below.
After stopping at the Point, we drove back to the town of Trepassey and stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant and inn, Edge of the Avalon Inn. We both had the Fish Tacos. They were excellent. This was the only place to eat for many miles around. We lucked out finding a nice, clean place to go. Even though it was after 2 p.m. they had a steady flow of customers. We’ll definitely keep this restaurant in mind for next time. At the restaurant, a couple of women came in and said they’d been to St. Vincent’s. The server asked if they’d seen any whales. The women said, no, not one. The server said that the Capelin have left and the whales aren’t coming in to the shore now; you could still see whales around, just not at St. Vincent’s beach.
We continued east from Trepassey and could see heavy fog in the distance at Cape Race. Once reaching Portugal Cove South, we turned around and went back the way we came. When we approached St. Vincent’s, it was deeply fogged in again. We went to a different section of the beach – very few people and still no whales. We were very lucky to have timed it right and seen the Humpback Whales in close the first time we visited!
We drove north, heading back to the RV. We stopped at a couple of small villages that were at the end of roads leading from the highway. In the town of St. Mary’s, a dirt road led us to Point La Haye and the beautiful headlands with wooden benches set at the end of trails. Point La Haye lighthouse was the focal point and the views all around were gorgeous. At this point, we’d left the heavier fog back at St. Vincent’s and the southern end of the peninsula.
After walking around Point La Haye, we continued north then took another dirt road to Mall Bay. Mall Bay was about as isolated as any village we’ve seen on this peninsula. According the Wikipedia, Mall Bay has 20 full-time residents. After climbing a hill on a bumpy dirt road, then descending to the water, the view opened up to several homes nestled on one side of the bay, connected to the other side of the bay by a narrow causeway, and a view of several more cottages on that side. On one side of the small, causeway was the bay that led to the open ocean. On the other side of the causeway was the lake/pond which was fed by a river that empties into the ocean; it was shallow somewhat and there were Sea Gulls & Yellowlegs (a shore bird) scurrying around. It was idyllic and pretty. Tiny little Mall Bay, hidden away from everything; who’d even know it was there if it weren’t for the small sign at the dirt road turn off.
When we got back to the campground, it was almost 6 p.m. and 83 degrees. Time to pay some attention to the girls! We were glad we’d left the air conditioning on since we were gone all day and it got pretty warm at the RV. Tomorrow we leave for a different peninsula. At the end of it, is the Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve, a birder’s paradise. We don’t know at this time if we’ll have an internet signal. It will be obvious if we don’t, I guess.
For more detailed information about The Wilds Resort & RV Park, click here.