Newfoundland's SW Coast

Imagine a region of ancient continents colliding and moulding the earth’s crust like tafffy. Millions of years later, add glaciers scouring out fjords and hanging valleys.Then add the sea and you have a paddler’s paradise of cliffs and rock gardens and crevices. This is Newfoundland's Southwest Coast. I joined Scott Cunningham's Coastal Adventures trip early this August. We assembled in Burgeo (a half-day's drive from the ferry terminal at Port aux Basques) - a beautiful jumble of islands and bays, once home to Farley Mowat.

In Burgeo we loaded our boats on the ferry and landed in Grey River, one of Newfoundland's few surviving outports, serviced only by ship.

Our first day's journey, from Grey River to La Hune Harbour was one of the best paddling days ever! Rough wild cliffs - and water falls....

We arrived at La Hune Harbour, the site of a former Outport, to be greeted by a pod of white sided dolphins, who proceeded to circle around as we settled in to our campsite where one of our party was overjoyed at having figured out how to evade the damned mosquitoes!

We were weather bound at La Hune Harbour for three days. Scott led a foray up the 1000 foot mountain that overlooked the campsite, here clouded in mist...

We read in our tents during the rain and wind, and then had a glorious day's paddle up the La Hune fjord. The wind chasing us was so strong that it caught up the whole of the volume of waterfalls and flung it back over the tops of the cliffs....

The reward for the blustery paddle was this sheltered waterfall and pool....

a lush contrast to the barren rock of the fjord....

On our next day's paddle from La Hune to Cul du Sac, geology dominated....

We camped at the head of the Cul du Sac fjord. The cliff walls would not be out of place in a desert...

Our tents were on the steep hillside that was site of the former outport and we tried to imagine (unsuccessfully) where buildings had been located and how they had been built.

The next day brought us to Francois, another of the rare still-existing outports...

We loaded our boats onto the over-nighting ferry in glorious sunshine...

and returned the next day to Burgeo in the driving rain...

Newfoundland's Southwest Coast is a wonderful part of the world....I am already planning to return.