This weekend we continued to make the most of the summer out at Elizabeth’s family’s cabin, but not before a mini road-trip down to Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve!
Hanging out by Bird Rock.
The Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve is home to one of Newfoundland’s largest seabird colonies. At its peak, there can be over 60,000 birds hanging out on ‘Bird Rock’ and the surrounding cliffs. Unfortunately, the majority of the birds had already migrated by our visit, but there were still 24,000 Northern Gannets - still very impressive.
It took us about 2.5 hours to drive from St. John’s down to the reserve. Along the way we enjoyed some pretty breathtaking scenery, but as we progressed we went from clear sky to thick fog. When we finally arrived at the reserve, we could barely see 10 metres ahead of ourselves, so we weren’t too hopeful that we’d see much of anything (though we did see a Northern Harrier swoop past us in the parking lot!).
It took us about 2.5 hours to drive from St. John’s down to the reserve. Along the way we enjoyed some pretty breathtaking scenery, but as we progressed we went from clear sky to thick fog. When we finally arrived at the reserve, we could barely see 10 metres ahead of ourselves, so we weren’t too hopeful that we’d see much of anything (though we did see a Northern Harrier swoop past us in the parking lot!).
The interpretation centre, barely visible through the fog.
After a quick look around the interpretation centre we set out along the cliff top trail and at the end of it, were pleasantly surprised to come upon Bird Rock and its resident mass of gannets. We were also pretty surprised to come across a flock of sheep grazing perilously close to the cliff edge.
Daredevil sheep.
It was a pretty spectacular sight to see: birds improbably nested on the sheers cliffs, flying to and fro and making a hell of a racket. It was also very strange to see so many birds all nested so close together, but apparently it’s a good strategy if you want to avoid predators.
Gannets on the cliff.
We hung around for a while to take some pictures and enjoy the sheep before heading back to the car and moving on to Ocean Pond; the drive back up via Placentia was a very scenic one.
At the cabin we enjoyed a relaxing couple of days of board-games, kayaking and learning how to use the jet ski. A lot of fun.
Here are some more pictures of our weekend.
At the cabin we enjoyed a relaxing couple of days of board-games, kayaking and learning how to use the jet ski. A lot of fun.
Here are some more pictures of our weekend.
(SLIDESHOW)
Curious about what we we doing this time last year? Well, we wandered around Pouch Cove looking around artist's studios at the Open Studio event, stopping for a break at a new tea room along the way.
And two years ago? We visited the Newman Wine Vaults, a Provincial Historic Site and where Newman and Company brought their port across the Atlantic Ocean to age. They liked the unique quality of the port that it had after going to/being in Newfoundland. It's a crazy story!
And two years ago? We visited the Newman Wine Vaults, a Provincial Historic Site and where Newman and Company brought their port across the Atlantic Ocean to age. They liked the unique quality of the port that it had after going to/being in Newfoundland. It's a crazy story!
