The next segment of Joyous Vagaries’ Newfoundland Trip includes driving the Irish Loop, a scenic 312-kilometer (194 miles) road trip around the southeastern portion of the Avalon Peninsula, with a two night Airbnb stop in Portugal Cove-South. Leaving Mount Pearl, it wasn’t long before we were out of the city and back into the country.
Our first stop was to take a Puffin Tour with the Molly Bawn. We were taken around to Great Island, which had thousands of Puffins. We were not able to get any up-close photos of the Puffins. However, it was amazing to see the large numbers in flight. They virtually created a moving black cloud across the sky! Our tour boat then took us past Ship Island, where we saw many sheep grazing. These sheep are brought by boat to graze on the lush pastures of the island.
After the tour, we stopped for lunch at the Riverside Restaurant and Lounge in Cape Broyle, NL. The double bacon cheeseburgers were nothing short of amazing (check out the photo below). Pan fried onions on the burger – oh, sooooooo good!!!
After lunch, we stopped in Ferryland, NL to see the Colony of Avalon and the Ferryland Lighthouse. We could not go into the Interpretive Center at the Colony, as it was closed for that particular day. We were sorry to have missed it. Anyone doing the Irish Loop, should make a point of stopping at the Interpretive Center, just not on a Sunday or Monday, when they are closed! From there, we drove on up a narrow gravel road to the base of the lighthouse, where we parked to watch the whales feeding at Back Cove. They were close enough to see with our binoculars, but not close enough to photograph without a long lens. It was a pleasure to watch these beautiful mammoth creatures for a good 40 minutes before moving on.
After leaving Ferryland, we saw our last iceberg, which was located in Bear Cove, north of Cappahayden, NL. Our day ended at the Airbnb, in Portugal Cove-South, which happens to be across the road from the Mistaken Point Interpretive Center. It was from this location where our guided tour to the fossils at Mistaken Point began the next day, as well as a visit to the Cape Race Lighthouse.
Words can barely describe how amazing it was to see 565 million year old Fossils at the Mistaken Point UNESCO World Heritage Site. The tour involves at 15 km drive (9 on pavement, 6 on gravel) to the trail head, followed by a 6 km round trip hike to the fossil site.
The gravel road continues on from the trailhead to Cape Race Lighthouse. The fog was quite thick at Cape Race. Standing next to the foghorn, one knows it was foggy – it is deafening!! For your own health, cover your ears! The landscape around the area is gorgeous, but one needs to be careful around the cliff edges.
Leaving the Airbnb, and continuing our trek around the Irish Loop, we wanted to stop by St. Vincent’s Beach, where sightings of whales have been reported. Unfortunately, the fog was quite thick, and any sighting of whales was not going to be had. In fact, we couldn’t even see the beach because of such dense fog! Out next stop was at St. Mary’s where there is a lovely park and trails. See our post about St. Mary’s!
Below are some of the images we captured:
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