Westbrook Pond Tour - Rocky Harbour

Another great day and our real vacation hasn't even started yet, it's only Sunday!

Started off this morning with breakfast at our B&B. Choice of 3 menus, which were really the same menu just with some things omitted. Boiled eggs, toast, yogurt, fresh fruit. This will definitely not be our best breakfast of the week I am sure. Not too exciting for food, but we are off for another fun day.

We have about a 1 hr and 15 minute drive to where we are going to go on a boat tour so we hit a couple of small hikes first. First stop was South East Brook Falls, some very pretty falls but not the best view from the trail.

Lots of lookout pull offs along the way as well. 

South East Brook Falls

We pulled into Rocky Harbour to pick up our boat tour tickets and tickets for a show we have booked for tomorrow night. As we left Rocky Harbour to go to our boat tour one poor couple had taken ditch, the back end of the car was in the air.  Felt bad for them, we have no idea how they did this, they did not look too happy, glad I wasn't the driver 

Next off to Western Brook Pond Tour boat tour. It is about a 2.5 km walk into the spot where you catch the boat, a very pretty walk around ponds and bogs and you can see the mountains in the background.

Walking to Western Brook Pond Tour , we can see where we are going in the distance

We arrived at the dock about 45 minutes before the tour and about 50 people were already waiting in line! It is first come first server for seating, prime seats are on the top of the boat so big line ups. Andre got in line with our stuff and I headed out to find some food. Hot dogs are being done on the BBQ, sauerkraut and mustard for garnish and we are good for a few more hours. Speaking to the woman on the BBQ they are running 2 boats today at our time so we have some hope of getting up top. They start boarding about 20 minutes before departure and we luck out, get the last 2 seats up top, we don't get seats together, but directly across from each other.

I am seated with a couple from Australia that are spending 5 weeks driving across Canada. They are only spending 5 days in NFLD and are driving all the way up North on the west coast, then down to St. Johns to catch the ferry back to NS from there. They are then driving all the way to Vancouver and flying home from there. I hope they know what they are getting themselves into!

This is a fabulous boat tour, it lasts about 2 hours and you go into some glacier lakes that are now ponds that really look like we would call fjords. Beautiful water falls, and fantastic weather makes this a great trip.

Western Brook Pond Tour

After the boat tour we go down to visit an old shipwreck of the S.S. Ethie that the people beside me on our tour told me about. Not much left of the ship, but a very nice beach and a good stop. Andre is still looking for rusty stuff for photo contest, tons of rusty stuff on this tour.

Whats left of the S.S. Ethie

Red chairs, a great marketing concept that Parks Canada has, we took lots of pics of these, always in fantastic spots

From here we stop at a fisherman's yard where Andre had seen lots of traps and boat houses earlier today. Luck has it that the fisherman is outside so Andre asked if he could take some pictures around his yard. We spent about 20 minutes here, I don't think Andre will ever tire of looking at fishing stuff.

We make a quick spot at Green Point where we look at fossils on the beach. Also a few fisherman's house.

Fish are around, hope to see whales

Search for fossils at Green Point

Did they follow us from home?

Next stop is another bog and pond that is only a 2 km walk. We get out and there is a sign that there is a black bear in the area and to be careful. We walked into the first viewing point, looked a little like what we have just seen at our last bog visit, and I'm not too comfortable with the bear sign so we decide to move on.

No thanks, will pass on this hike

Next stop is a lighthouse that the old lighthouse keepers home has also been fixed up for viewing at Lobster Cove Head. We spent some time walking around the trails at the lighthouse, lots of pretty views. I did see a hare on the path in front of me, much nicer than a bear, and really big, I'm not sure who scared who more.

Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse

Off to Rocky Harbour now to check in to our B&B for the next 2 nights. A little disappointed as I thought it was a bit closer to town, but I know we won't be spending much time here anyway. This was one town that was hard to find reservations at, I can't imagine what it is like in the summer!

Off to supper at a little local restaurant named Earles, when I saw the sign for Earles it was high on my list, then the woman at our B&B recommended Earles so I am a happy girl. Fish cakes and homemade beans for me, moose stew for Andre, amazing homemade buns, and split a lemon meringue pie for dessert. A very great meal, my plan is to try fishcakes every day to figure out where the best ones are on the West side of Nfld, and yes mustard pickles again.

Even spelt correctly

Moose Meat stew made the blog, but my beans and fish cakes didn't?

After supper down to the wharf to watch the sunset.

Then back to the B&B for a quick turnaround then we are off to town for a kitchen party. The owner of the B&B told us about this too, lots of fun, lots of singing and jokes, but would have been more fun with more people that we knew. Lots of audience participation and the guy running it was really good.

Quit the party at about 10:30, off to bed and another fun day planned for tomorrow. Fingers crossed for everyone in Florida that hurricane Irma does not cause too much trouble