A CHANGE OF PLANS.
TRAVEL DAY
From: Kinsmen Prince Edward RV Park & Campground, Corner Brook, NL.
To: Dhoon Lodge & RV Resort, Black Duck Siding, NL.
Day 156 – It was 42 degrees this morning when we got up, but the sun was out. Yaay! Today we were going to move southwest to the tip of the Port au Port peninsula. There is a campground there on the top of a cliff overlooking the open ocean. It’s a town park called Parc Boutte du Cap. It’s very isolated in an incredibly beautiful location.
We discovered this Park in 2019 during one of our sightseeing drives. We checked it out again this year, and knowing we definitely wanted to stay there, we stuck the visit into our schedule. The Park does not take reservations; camping is free and you just have to take your chances as to whether there will be a place you can set up camp.
Unfortunately, the weather forecast is for high winds this weekend. Neither one of us wanted to deal with the really strong gusts that were expected along the coast. Luckily, we did not have reservations and had not prepaid anything. We decided to camp for the next four nights at a campground more protected and inland. Since both this September and September 2019 were fairly windy on the west coast of Newfoundland with some big storms, we will try Parc Boutte du Cap next time earlier in the year, maybe July or August.
We contacted Dhoon Lodge & RV Resort (in a town called Black Duck Siding) to see if they were still open this year and if they had any open camping sites. We stayed there in 2019 twice for a couple of nights each stay. They were open and did have campsites available; they said to just come on in and pick a site. It would’ve taken us 2 to 3 hours to reach Parc Boutte du Cap at the end of the peninsula. It took us less than an hour to reach Dhoon Lodge, which is located just 12 km. from the Trans Canada Highway near the beginning of the Port au Port peninsula loop drive.
This morning we ran out of propane in the small portable propane tank we use in the RV. Since it was pretty cold out and we definitely needed the heating fuel, Rob went into Corner Brook to get the tank filled while I did some packing up. We left Kinsmen Prince Edward Campground after dumping tanks at noon. It was 49 degrees and partly cloudy.
We took the TCH-1 south until Route 460, then turned west to the campground. It took only 45 minutes. The scenery was nice. There wasn’t much traffic nor road construction. The wind gusts had picked up, and we were glad we weren’t going to the coast.
When we arrived at the campground, it was 53 degrees, partly cloudy & windy. We drove through the campground and checked out the available campsites. Many campsites were already occupied with seasonal campers. We found a good site that was available and we parked. The campground host had said she would get with us later today or tomorrow to check us in. The sites were not numbered. We have full hook-ups. Rob hooked us up while the girls got to take their lunch break. Then we cooked our Beyond Burgers and had our own lunch. After setting up and unpacking, we relaxed. When the wind dies down, there are two drives we want to take while we’re camped here – one out to the end of the Port au Port peninsula where we were going to camp, and the other is a long drive on a rough road, (a road we wouldn’t take the RV on), to the southern coast and the isolated village of Burgeo and the beaches of Sandbank Provincial Park. This is one of the few places in Newfoundland that we haven’t yet visited. Looking forward to it – long, rough drive and all!
