While in Twillingate I visited nearby Durrell with some fishing shanties, beaches and rock formations. Today was also the day I hiked the seven km French Beach/Spiller's Cove Trail; a moderate/difficult rating. A lovely trail, coastal in nature with views galore. You are typically hiking high above the ocean but usually in sight. A challenging trail with numerous and strenuous up and downhill areas. In a few select areas you are indeed scrambling over the rocks making it that much more challenging. Rugged in places, just like a good hiking trail should be. Finally, after 2 and a half hours, I completed the trail. Next up, the Lower Little Harbour Trail. Shorter ( 5 km), and less ambitious, it has two focal points - a 30 foot natural arch, and a shorter trail to Jones Cove. ... read more

Day 8 started with a drive to King's Cove to hike the LIghthouse Trail. The fifth straight day of rain made the trails a tad wet but during the actual walk it was only "misting". I took the short inner loop of 1.7 km which of course takes you to the King's Cove Lighthouse. Actually it was kind of a boring trail, walking through forest with little coastal views except at the lighthouse. Following this, I drove toTickle Cove just to take a picture of the name. Actually, I did bump into the Walkers Trail while there which I took for a km or so just to give a tad more creedence to my visit. Off to Bonavista to check into my hostel and around four I started the Cape Shore Trail. This is a 3 ... read more

Leaving St John's today for a 3 plus hour drive to my hostel in Trinity East. Although raining as I was driving, fortunately it stopped as I arrived allowing me to contemplate hiking the Skerwink trail in the area that afternoon. This is a 5.3 km trail marked as moderate/strenuous. The first km was relatively flat and easy going through trees and along a roadway or trail. The next 3 km hugged the coastline providing ample opportunities to view the ocean, various coves and beaches, and numerous sea stacks, with multiple observation points along the way. It is a rugged trail and extremely wet given the amount of recent rain. The various up and downs of the trail ( and there are many) reflect the trails rating. It took over two and a half hours for ... read more

I awoke to a rain warning which did not bode well for my planned trip to Cape Spear. Undaunted, I proceeded as I had to stand at the most easterly point in North America. There I visited the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland, although today it serves as an historic site as it ceased to function as a lighthouse in 1955. There is a more modern and functioning lighthouse in the area. After roaming around I looked for the two trails which crossed the sites boundaries - The Blackhead Path and Cape Spear Path; both part of the East Coast trail system. Although not an ideal day for hiking, I had to at least say I hiked a portion of both. So I found both trailheads and hiked about 1 km on each just to say ... read more

The highest (and lowest) tides in the world. Walk kilometres along the ocean floor. Flowerpots. Sea caves and arches. Mud flats. You can do and see it all at Hopewell Rocks - a provincial park in New Brunswick, Canada. A wonderful day outing. During a three hour window before and after low tide, you can walk along the ocean floor and explore the unique rock formations including the famous flowerpots as well as many, many rock structures. The journey begins with a short walk along a well maintained trail to the entrance of the walking area.. After decending steps (101 to be precise) you actually reach the ocean floor. During the low tide you can walk approximately a kilometre and a half marvelling at all the rock structures as you explore. It can be a little ... read more