It was a
bit of a grey and ominous arrival on the Rock, but it really set the
mood with the fog and the old fishing huts on the rocky coast as the ferry docked! We had arrived a couple of hours earlier than scheduled so we pushed on driving through to Gros Morne with a token stop at McDonald's in Cornerbrook. We remarked at how similar the landscape was to some of New Zealand's terrain.
The next morning we headed straight to the Bonne Bay Aquarium and while
it's not Ripley's, it was incredibly personal and our tour guide was a
marine biology student from St. John's. Heaps of fun, hands- on and
very informative and the view of the bay is amazing!
Sea stars, sea urchins, crabs, clams ...
Scallops and Sponge Bob (square pants?)
Blue lobster!
The touch tank was a highlight, but the water was soooo cold, straight from the bay and many subarctic species are found here much further south than normal.
The view from these Muskoka chairs in the scene below on the side of the highway!
A visit to Gros Morne National Park visitor centre got us a tablet to use as our own personal tour guide on the Tablelands hike.
Watch out for bears!
Here you can just make out the start of the Tablelands on the left of the trail (orange bare rock) versus the forested hill on the right side of the valley. The Tablelands are actually part of the earth's mantle that has pushed up to the surface. Very little vegetation grows on these rocks due to mineral content. Check out the inside "serpentine", it looks like snakeskin rock!
Snow on the peak??
We would stop every 100 metres or so when the GPS on the tablet beeped at us and touch a button for a 2 minute commentary about the geological significance of the area. I suppose flip flops were not the best choice of footwear for this trek!!
Very cool cloud formation in the distance - but I have NO idea why, it wasn't in the commentary!!
Can you tell than this rock is out of place?? It must have been carried here at some point from another location - it's the only rock in the area with lichen growing on it.
Well maintained trail and boardwalk was very enjoyable but as you can see the boys can't resist scampering over the rocks.
Family photo!! The only of the whole trip I think. Anyhow, you can see the difference between the orange Tablelands and the green forest of the rest of Gros Morne National Park - stunning!
(More from NFLD in the next post as we head to the Western Brook Pond)
