Cross-Canada: Day 17
Port aux Basques to Gander Distance: 591 Kms Time: Approx. 8 hours
To get to the Island of Newfoundland we had elected to take the car ferry from North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador. The ferry MV Caribou is a 179 m long vessel than can handle up to 336 Automobiles and 1,200 passengers. We were taking the night sailing that was due to leave at approx. 10:30pm. There was some delay in loading so we didn’t actually get moving until closer to 11:30pm. We had heard some stories about rough crossings across the Gulf of 
St. Lawrence but our voyage went without incident and we never felt the ship roll once. We docked at approx. 6:30am Newfoundland time. The time difference this time was an unusual half-an-hour.
When we first rolled off the ferry, it became immediately apparent why this island is known as “The Rock”. On leaving the ferry dock we were running along side huge rock mountains that ran down to the waters edge. They were covered by sparse, stunted spruce trees and very little else. The early morning sunshine made the exposed gray rock stand out all the more against the dark water and green shrubbery. Once clear of the ferry terminal we took Highway 1, the Trans-Canada highway known here as TCH. The highway is the main artery of the island, being the only main road that joins most of the towns and villages along from the western coast all the way to St. Johns on the eastern shore.
On the TCH the surrounding countryside was truly stunning. Off to the east, the mountains rose high into the sky with the morning sun just about to make an appearance over their peaks. To the west was the ocean, calm but dark and cold looking. The TCH is a two-lane highway, wider than most we have traveled on across the country. We headed northeast towards Corner Brook. The road dips and climbs as it follows the contours of the hills and for the first few kilometres, keeps close to the shoreline. After the village of Red Rocks it moves away from the seashore but, in places, the ocean can still be seen in the distance. We followed the road as it slowly meandered its way through the countryside. The traffic was very light and made it perfect for setting the cruise control on the Equinox and this gave us time to marvel at some of the beautiful scenery this province had to offer.
We came off of the TCH in Corner Brook to take a look at the town. It sits on the Bay of Islands at the mouth of the Humber River. Sitting front and centre is a large pulp and paper mill with the remainder of the town wrapped around the bay. The houses tiered up on the steep slopes of the surrounding hills with fantastic views over the bay. After Corner Brook the TCH turns inland and runs along the shores of Deer Lake. The mountains were not as high or dramatic as earlier with their sides now being covered with a mixture of Spruce and Silver Birch trees. Again we relied on the Equinox’s cruise control to keep us at a steady pace, which it did perfectly, especially going up some of the steep inclines or down the slopes at the other end. One thing we did notice that there wasn’t any sharp downshifting of the transmission to maintain the speed while climbing. 
Once we passed the town of Deer Lake we started heading east and the land started flattening out. The mountains that we had enjoyed at the beginning had changed into tree-covered, rolling hills with small lakes and swampland becoming more prominent. One thing we were constantly warned about, by the locals on the ferry, was the chances of running into moose on the road. There were signs all along the highway warning us of the dangers as well, but we didn’t even get a glimpse of one. The warnings did make us more vigilant and we kept the speed below what we could have been doing along this stretch of highway, but it seems most of the locals must be immune to these dangers as they passed us much faster than we dared travel. We both commented that once away from the coast line the countryside was very similar to that of Northern Ontario or any other of the Maritime Provinces. We continued on the TCH until we reached our final destination of the day, Gander.
Tomorrow is our final day of driving and we are looking forward to visiting St. Johns, where so other many great adventures started but unfortunately ours must end.
Don’t forget, if you see us on your route in Newfoundland tomorrow give us a honk and a wave!
