After yesterday’s early start to make the boat tours, we enjoyed sleeping in this morning (the time change hasn’t been bad, but being 1.5 hrs ahead makes it a little bit harder to wake up in the morning). We planned to hit the northern reaches of the park today. First stop was Shallow Bay, just past Cow’s Head. We walked for several kilometers along the beach and enjoyed picking up sea glass along the way.
On the return, since we were walking into the wind, we decided to take the old mine path and Autumn enjoyed brushing her hands against the junipers as we walked through the forest.
Next stop was Broom Point fishing village, which Parks Canada has restored to look like what it did back in the 1960’s when a family lived there during the summer. The park ranger explained how the lobster traps and cod nets worked, then we checked out their little cabin that housed 10 people back in the day. Fishing was/is a hard living! Now a-days cod is no longer king in the area (post moratorium) – lobster and crab fetch a better price at market and less labor intensive.
Autumn was looking like she needed a nap, so we figured a little bit of driving would do her some good; we headed back down to Norris Point to check out the Bonne Bay Marine Station Aquarium. Autumn woke up just as we were pulling into the parking lot. She enjoyed checking out Kraken the green lobster, Bruce the sea cucumber, Apollo the Lion’s Mane jellyfish and some of their other more touch-friendly friends in the petting tank (she mostly enjoyed splashing the water).
Next up was The Cat Stop for some cod nuggets and a hot dog. We noticed a trail that looked pretty gentle leading out to a point in Bonne Bay and took the leisurely stroll to get some awesome views of Neddy’s Harbour and Norris Point. On the return trip, there was live music and we had to stop and take in the awesome views and savor the moment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NNxumkgvjc
We returned to the B&B pleased with such a relaxing and rewarding day. After freshening up, we made our way out to Lobster Head Cove lighthouse for our third spectacular sunset in the Rocky Harbour area. Gros Morne was beautiful throughout our stay and we cannot recommend it enough!
