Amidst an action packed weekend in Ocean Pond, we made a short trip out for a stroll along the beach in Bellevue!
This past weekend was Elizabeth's (almost) annual family reunion out at Ocean Pond which meant lots of people, water skiing, card games, sleeping in a tent (on a rather fancy camping double bed), lots of good food and a couple of games of Ticket to Ride. Early on Saturday morning, before the frivolities of the day were in full swing, we headed out on a short road trip to Bellevue Beach to check out this unique beach and see if we could catch some rolling capelin.
Bellevue is a short jaunt from Elizabeth's family's cabin at Ocean Pond. There's a very nice little campground there that you have to go through to access the beach, with sites lined up along the top of the cliffs and some awesome views out across the bay. When we arrived, we headed straight for the beach.
Bellevue is a short jaunt from Elizabeth's family's cabin at Ocean Pond. There's a very nice little campground there that you have to go through to access the beach, with sites lined up along the top of the cliffs and some awesome views out across the bay. When we arrived, we headed straight for the beach.
Bellevue Beach
Since it was windy, we wrapped up warm (July hasn't been that great this year) and headed out along the beach with a couple of plastic bags, just in case we were able to grab some of the capelin that we'd heard had been rolling. The capelin rolling is a unique phenomena in Newfoundland; once a year these fish come to shore to make babies, and come in such numbers that the waves that roll up onto the beaches are black with them. Catching the fish is then as easy as casting a net into the waves and hauling it in. You can see a video we took of the capelin a couple of years ago here.
On the beach we followed the swirling flock of seagulls who were obviously there for the same reason we were. Unfortunately, while the hundreds of dead capelin on the shore were evidence that they had been rolling, by the time we arrived the tide was on its way out, along with the fish. That didn't stop the seagulls, of course, who seemed to have no problem picking up the odd snack just by floating along the surface of the water.
On the beach we followed the swirling flock of seagulls who were obviously there for the same reason we were. Unfortunately, while the hundreds of dead capelin on the shore were evidence that they had been rolling, by the time we arrived the tide was on its way out, along with the fish. That didn't stop the seagulls, of course, who seemed to have no problem picking up the odd snack just by floating along the surface of the water.
 Capelin |  Seagulls feasting |
After a very nice stroll along the rocky shore we checked out the freshwater lake that sits immediately behind the beach. Its strange, because the fresh water of the lake and the salt water of the sea are only separated by the beach itself. The water was very still, and rocks very flat, making for some decent stone skipping.
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Before we headed back to the family reunion celebrations, we took in the view from the cliff top campgrounds - such a picturesque location for camping!
We spent the rest of the weekend at Ocean Pond, partaking in the family reunion festivities and gorging ourselves. Here are some more pictures from our weekend:
