Newfoundland Last Year

Newfoundland Earl Plato
Fraser Churchill born and aised in Newfondland was glad that my wife, Elaine, made it to the “Rock.” “When are you going back? He asked recently this may. Here’s an article I wrote for he Niagara Falls Rev1ew last year.
We were told that there were no snakes or skunks in Newfoundland. During our ten days in Newfoundland we saw no road kill. Yes, they have raccoons and squirrels. We saw twelve moose mainly on the west side of the province. Most of these giant animals were in the wetlands. We saw a few near the only highway in the area. There were signs to warn us of moose crossing areas. Our big Denure tour bus meeting a bull moose circa 2,000 lb. would be quite a collision. At Twillingate in the north at the local lighthouse point we saw several Humpback whales as they jetted their sprays into the air. These are huge mammals as I found out later. At Grand Falls we visited the giant salmon ladder. The Atlantic salmon are raised there and when large enough climb the man-made ladder to reach the upper reaches of the Exploits River where they spawn. You can see these fish up close through a glassed in area. Salmon and cod were on the menu all over the island. Excellent eating. On to St. John’s where I went on a whale watching hunt on a catamaran. All ready cancelled the day before because of stormy weather we braved the elements the next day. After all we had come this far to see whales up close. I normally can take care of boat motion, however, I took a Gravol and it worked. Several people were seasick as the boat plunged into the rolling waves. Then a mother Humpback and her young came into sight. A marvellous view as they dove and emerged. The mother whale blowing her jet of water. Four dolphins passed by us as we headed for Puffin island. Hundreds of Kittiwakes and thousands of Puffins were seen and smelled. The ammonia from their droppings assailed our nostrils as we neared the cliffs. Countless nesting holes on the cliff side held these colourful Puffins called “Sea parrots.” A rare sighting of a Northern Phalarope was shown to me by one of the boatmen. As I viewed it with my binoculars he said, “That’s a female phalarope. They’re the colourful one. Brighter than the male. He’s the one who incubates the eggs,” as he chuckled. Was he kidding me? Not so. Check it out. The “Rock” is a great place to visit. However, we saw only one lonely iceberg. Plenty of flora and fauna though.