Day 7 - Rocky Harbour (New Foundland)

We spent the entire day to explore Gros Morne National Park which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In the morning it rained and we thus went to the Visitor Center to see the exhibit there and to watch some films about the National Park. Fortunately, the weather steadily improved and we decided to do the Berry Head Pond trail. The trail first leads you through very dense boreal forest to a small pond and then does a loop around the pond. On its second half the trail changes its character and boreal forest is replaced by bogs. We enjoyed the hike a lot as it was very peaceful without many people around and there was a wonderful forest smell in the air.

































































On our way back I spotted a moose (one of the 4.800 moose in Gros Morne National Park) quite closly to the boardwalk (appr. 100 m), which we observed for a while.














Carnivorous plants like the pitcher plant are commonly found in bogs in New Foundland.














This colorless flower is called Indian Pipe. As it has no chlorophyll it cannot obtain energy from sunlight, but has to get nutrients from organic matter in the soil.














Even in the wood surveillance is in place. Just a few meters before the trail exit I detected a camera which has been installed by Park Canada probably for observing wildlife.














We then drove a couple of kilometers further and did the coastal hike near the Green Point Campground. Again the trail led us through boreal forest.














After a while we got a good view on a lake and again I was able to spot a moose. First it spent some time eating before it decided to drink from the lake. It seems that we are quite lucky today :-).



























A squirrel eating nuts.




















We followed the trail further and reached the sea where we walked along the shore for some while. The hike was quite pleasant and I could feel the slight breeze of wind from the sea on my skin.














Due to the wind most of the trees are leaning and are referred to as coastal Tuckamore.



























As we did the Western Brook Pond boat tour already on our 2004 Newfoundland trip we decided not to do the boat tour again, but just to take a couple of pictures along the trail. On our way back we saw again a moose, the third one today :-). A single day in Gros Morne National Park was enough to double our moose spottings.

Pictures of the Long Range Mountains. Traversing the Long Range Mountains is by the way one of the most difficult backcountry hikes in Eastern Canada (compass is needed for navigation as there are no trails and the weather is quite unpredictable).

































































Picture of an iris which can be commonly seen in Newfoundland's bogs.














Our next stop was Green Point. We already visited this place together with Regina in 2004, but this time we had beautiful weather as well as low tide and could thus walk on the sea floor :-). Once again we were amazed by this wonderful stone formations and took many, many pictures. Greenpoint is of great geological importance as the conodont and graptolite fossils found at Green Point allow geologists to correlate the ages of sedimentary rock all over the world. Geologists can tell the age of a rock by the presence of particular fossils. For example, the Cambrian- Ordovician boundary is defined by the presence of conodont and graptolite fossils and its global stratotype has been designated at Green Point.



























































































































Pictures of different stone patterns







































































After Green Point our drive took as to Broom Point which is the restored fisher village where the three Mudge brothers and their families fished from 1941 to 1975. The property was sold to the National Park Service and rebuilt to the way it was when the family lived and worked there. Interpretive tours are offered several times a day.














































Lobster Traps














Rocking chair made from a wood barrel




















The pictures are taken from Shallow Bay where you can see a beautiful sandy beach and sand dunes.


















































We again enjoyed a great sunset from our dining room, however, not as beautiful and exciting as the one yesterday.