Province of Newfoundland and Labrador Travel Page by Bwana_Brown

In the summer of 2001, my wife and I decided that it was high time we made a trip to Newfoundland to see what all the fuss was about. After all, the celebrations commemorating the 1000th anniversary of the Vikings landing on the island had only been held the year before. With fantastic rugged scenery, whale watching and two UNESCO World Heritage Sites very close to each other, we decided that a trip up along the westernmost shores of it's Northern Peninsula would make a great summer holiday.

At 42,000 square miles (109,000 sq. km.), the Island of Newfoundland is the 15th largest in the world, half the size of Britain and sandwiched between New Zealand's North Island and Cuba in the rankings! Although long-inhabited by Inuit and Native American peoples, the first Europeans to 'discover' Newfoundland were the Vikings in 1000 AD. They did not last long following skirmishes with the native population and the place was forgotten until 1497 when explorer John Cabot arrived and claimed it for England. In the ensueing years, explorers from Portugal and France made occassional visits but the island was formally declared British territory in 1583 by Sir Humphrey Gilbert.

The first colony was established in 1610 by the British, outside present-day St. John's, and the island came to be a popular summer stop-over for fishermen from England, Portugal, Spain and France as they reaped the bounty of the world's greatest fishery just offshore - the Grand Banks. Due to it's rugged interior, foggy and inhospitible climate, Newfoundland evolved into a sea-faring society with isolated out-ports dotted around its coastline. The island remained a British colony until 1949, when poverty-striken Newfoundland voted to join Canada, becoming it's 10th and final Province. The former large mainland territory of Labrador officially became part of the Province in late 2001. For the first time in it's long history, Newfoundland has finally struck it rich. In the early 2000s, production of oil and natural gas fields off its coasts began, and the royalties are starting to flow in! It is about time the friendly people of Newfoundland got a break.

We were lucky, the weather we had was some of the best that 'the Rock' could offer - sunny days and temperatures in the mid-to-high 20s C! The round-trip drive from Fredericton to Newfoundland's northern tip put 3000- km (1860 miles) on the car, but it was well worth it for one of our most unforgettable experiences! Please see my 'General' tip for a map of our route and experiences.