Newfoundland General Information Area: 371,635 sq km (143,488 sq miles). Population: 551,792 (1996). Population Density: 1.6 per sq km. Capital: St John’s. Population: 174,500 (1999). GEOGRAPHY: Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly Canadian province. It consists of the Island of Newfoundland and the mainland plateau region of Labrador which borders the province of Québec. The province stretches approximately 1700km (1063 miles) north to south, and has approximately 17,000km (10,625 miles) of coastline, much of it rugged and heavily indented with bays and fjords. The interior of Newfoundland is a combination of forest, heath, lakes and rivers spread over a terrain that ranges from mountainous in the west to rolling hills in the centre and east. Labrador is also mountainous in the west, although its rivers are larger and wilder. Language: Although Canada is officially bilingual (English and French), 95 per cent of this province speaks English as a first language. Time: Newfoundland: GMT - 3.5 (GMT - 2.5 in summer). Labrador: GMT - 4 (GMT - 3 in summer). Note: Summer officially lasts from the first Sunday in April to the Saturday before the last Sunday in October. Public Holidays Public holidays as for the rest of Canada (see general Canada section), with the following dates also observed: Jun 24 2003 Cabot 500 Day (Discovery Day). Jul 1 Remembrance Day (Beaumont Hamel, 1916). Aug 6 St John’s Regatta Day. Jun 24 2004 Cabot 500 Day (Discovery Day). Jul 1 Remembrance Day (Beaumont Hamel, 1916). Aug 4 St John’s Regatta Day. Travel - International AIR: Air Canada (AC) operates regular services to Newfoundland and Labrador. Interprovincial Airlines, Air Nova, Tango and Air Labrador operate services within the province and to the Maritime Provinces. International airports: Gander (YQX) is 3km (2 miles) from the city centre. Airport facilities include car parking, restaurant, duty-free shop and banks. St John’s (YYT) is 8km (5 miles) from the city centre (travel time – 15 minutes). Other major airports are at St Anthony, Stephenville, Deer Lake, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Wabush and Churchill Falls. SEA: A year-round, daily passenger and vehicle ferry service runs between North Sydney, Nova Scotia and Port aux Basques on Newfoundland’s southwest coast (crossing time – six hours). Summer services run three times a week between North Sydney and Argentia on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula, mid-June to mid-September (crossing time – 12 hours). Reservations can be made with Marine Atlantic (tel: (800) 341 7981 (toll free in USA and Canada); fax: (709) 695 4206; website: www.marine-atlantic.ca). There is also a summer ferry to the French islands of St Pierre & Miquelon from Fortune on Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula (crossing time – 90 minutes) (tel: (800) 563 2006 (toll free in USA and Canada) or (709) 832 0429). Intra–provincial ferries connect island communities with larger towns. A seasonal twice daily summer ferry (tel: (709) 729 2830) connects Blanc Sablon in southern Labrador and St Barbe on Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula with an 80-minute crossing. A summer car ferry service operates between Lewisporte, Newfoundland and Cartwright and Happy Valley-Goose Bay in Labrador (tel: (709) 729 2830). A summer coastal boat service is provided by Cruising Labrador (tel: (709) 729 2830 or (800) 563 6353 (toll free in USA andCanada)) between St Anthony on Newfoundland’s northeast coast and Nain, the northernmost permanent settlement in Labrador. Remote communities on the Labrador coast and Newfoundland’s south coast are also served by coastal boats. All intra-provincial ferry services can be checked online (website: www.gov.nf.ca/ferryservices). RAIL: A passenger service provided by The Québec North Shore & Labrador Railway operates between Sept-Isles in Québec and Labrador City in western Labrador (tel: (709) 944 8205). ROAD: A modern paved highway (Route 1, the Trans-Canada Highway) crosses Newfoundland from Port aux Basques in the southwest to the capital of St John’s in the east. Distance is 905km (565 miles). Paved secondary roads connect most communities to the main highway. Visitors can reach western Labrador along a partially paved highway from Baie Comeau, Québec. Route 500, a seasonal gravel highway dubbed the ‘Freedom Road’ by residents, connects Labrador City and Wabush in the west with the interior town of Churchill Falls and Happy Valley-Goose Bay in east-central Labrador. There are limited services along this road. Coach: DRL Coachlines (website: www.drlgroup.com) operates a daily scheduled bus service between St John’s and Port aux Basques (Route 1). Stops along the route include Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor and Corner Brook. Route 510 connects communities along Labrador’s southeast coast between L’Anse au Clair on the Quebec/Labrador border and Charlottetown. The road is paved for the first 85km to Red Bay and is Class A gravel from there to Charlottetown (160km). Route 510 was to be extended as far north as Cartwright by the end of 2002. When finished, the Red Bay-Cartwright road will be 355km in total length. Accommodation There are almost 500 establishments in the province with a total of more than 7000 rooms. Many towns offer hotel or bed & breakfast accommodation, although this is often seasonal. Most of the settlements in the province are on the coast rather than the wild interior (where some cabins and lodges are, however, available). As St John’s is now an ‘oil boom town’, accommodation there can be hard to come by, and advance reservations are recommended. For information on hotels and bed & breakfast accommodation, contact the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation (see Contact Addresses section). Grading: Accommodation is graded according to the Canada Select Accommodations Grading Program as follows: 1-star: Basic, clean, comfortable accommodation; 2-star: Basic, clean, comfortable accommodation with extra amenities; 3-star: Better quality accommodation with a greater range of services; 4-star: High-quality accommodation with extended range of facilities, amenities and guest services; 5-star: Deluxe accommodation with the greatest range of facilities, amenities and guest services. CAMPING/CARAVANNING: The wildness of the province offers superb camping facilities, both for motorhomes and tents. Both national parks (Gros Morne in western Newfoundland and Terra Nova in eastern Newfoundland) as well as 13 provincial and 56 private campgrounds provide camping services. Facilities on campsites are basic rather than luxurious, the emphasis being on seclusion and privacy. For further information, contact Canadream Campers (website: www.canadream.com). Full details can be obtained from the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation (see Contact Addresses section). Introduction The province of Newfoundland and Labrador consists of the Island of Newfoundland and the mainland plateau region of Labrador which borders the province of Québec. Most areas are accessible by road, with the exception of Newfoundland’s northwestern interior and Labrador’s northern extremities. Visitors should consult the provincial tourism office for information on tours to these remote regions. Island of Newfoundland SOUTHEAST: Home to the majority of Newfoundland’s population, the Avalon Peninsula is full of historic settlements dating back to the 17th century. Trinity records the history of European explorers’ first encounter with the ancient Beothuk people. The town of Placentia, like many of the older towns of this region, was established by Basque fishermen almost 500 years ago. It later became the French capital of Newfoundland in the 17th and 18th centuries. On Newfoundland’s southeast coast lies the seabird ecological reserve of Witless Bay, which is home to thousands of Atlantic Puffins and over one million northern seabirds. The provincial capital and a busy fishing port, St John’s is the region’s economic and communications centre, with a good natural harbour bounded by hills. Water Street is one of the oldest European streets in North America and still bustles with activity. Signal Hill, the reception point for Guglielmo Marconi’s first transatlantic radio transmission from England in 1901 is Canada’s second-largest national historic site and offers a good view of the town and harbour to the west. The Newfoundland Museum and Quidi Vidi Battery are both worth visiting. CENTRAL: Terra Nova National Park is an area of scenic rugged coastline adjoining Bonavista Bay, which also boasts an 18-hole golf course. The Burin Peninsula in the south has some beautiful coastal villages. At Fortune a ferry runs to the island of St Pierre, which is officially part of France. A current passport is required to embark at Fortune. Fishing trips to the remote and barely accessible interior can be arranged at Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor. An interpretive centre and active excavation site at Boyd’s Cove on the Kittiwake Coast recounts the history of Newfoundland’s mysterious Beothuk people, who once populated much of Newfoundland’s shores. Driving tours through the Kittiwake coastal area begin at Gander and wind through the fishing communities of Bonavista Bay. The Banting Interpretive Centre at Musgrave Harbour on the Gander River honours the life and history of the Canadian scientist Sir Frederick Banting, co-discoverer of insulin. Icebergs can be seen from the sandy shores of Cape Freels. Further south are the communities of Greenspond, a small fishing village that dates back to the 17th century and Indian Bay, which is known for its sport fishing opportunities. Blueberry fields abound in Indian Bay, which is a popular stopping point during the warm sunny months of August and September. NORTHWEST: The Long Range Mountains dominate the western seaboard, along which runs a 715km (444-mile) coastal road affording good views of the fjords, mountains and beaches. Corner Brook, the island’s second city, set in a deep inlet halfway up the coast, is an outfitting centre for expeditions to the many lakes and rivers of the interior, many of which are accessible only by air. Wiltondale Pioneer Village demonstrates everyday life in the 19th century. Newfoundland’s west coast, the French Shore, has vibrant folk traditions. The Great Northern Peninsula is a wilderness area of outstanding scenic beauty. It is best seen from Gros Morne National Park, a blend of rugged mountains, deep fjords and bays on the Gulf of St Lawrence. There are regularly scheduled boat tours. A national historic site at nearby Port au Choix pays homage to the Maritime Archaic People, whose local history dates back more than 5000 years. At the northernmost tip of the peninsula at L’Anse aux Meadows (which, like Gros Morne, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site) lie the restored remains of the earliest European settlement in the New World, a group of six sod houses built by Norsemen around the year AD 1000. Labrador The largely undisturbed wilderness of Labrador, which lies northwest of the Island of Newfoundland, has only 30,000 inhabitants, and can be reached by air or by ferry from the port of St Barbe on Newfoundland’s northern coast. The 16th-century Basque whaling station of Red Bay on Labrador’s southern coast is the oldest industrial complex in the New World. Close by, the Labrador Straits Museum has displays on the Maritime Archaic Indians who built a burial mound nearby at L’Anse-Amour around 5500 BC. Much of Labrador is undeveloped and, except in the few isolated towns and Inuit, Innu and Métis coastal villages, uninhabited. There are two principal road systems on the island, one which connects the inland mining town of Labrador City with the eastern inlet of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and a coastal highway that extends along the eastern coastline and links most of the region’s Atlantic fishing villages. Both provide opportunities for short day tours. Longer trips to the Labrador interior can be arranged through the many tour operators and outfitters that service the Labrador region. A boat tour of the Labrador coastline, taking 12 days, is available during the summer months. Winters can be bitterly cold in Labrador and travellers should come prepared. Labrador City, near the Labrador-Quebec border, is a favourite destination for snowmobiling, cross-country and downhill skiing. Sport & Activities Outdoor pursuits: Newfoundland’s coastline offers a wide range of boating excursions and other water-based activities, as well as a rich concentration of marine life. More than 360 species of bird have been spotted here, but the province is most famous for its 60 major seabird colonies that are the summer nesting sites of millions of puffins, gannets, kittiwakes, murres and petrels. Many birds and whales can be seen in the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, which visitors can travel through by boat or kayak. Caribou, black bears and, very rarely, polar bears can be found in the Avalon Wilderness Reserve, while Cape St Mary’s Ecological Reserve is best known for its golden-headed gannets. Illustrated talks, guided walks and nature hikes with experienced naturalists can be booked at the visitor centre. Whale watching is very popular around the waters of Bay Bulls and Witless Bay, which are home to a large population of humpback whales as well as smaller pods of fin and minke whales. Eastern Newfoundland, a region of sheltered coves and sandy beaches, is a popular destination for sailing and swimming. In the interior, salmon fishing is particularly good in the Exploits and Gander rivers. The salmon fishing season runs from 24 May to 15 September. A qualified guide is required for visitors intending to fish in licensed rivers in Newfoundland and in all waters in Labrador. Apart from hiking, trekking and climbing, the Gros Morne National Park offers over 65km (41 miles) of mountain-biking trails. The T’Railway Park comprises over 800km (500 miles) of hiking trails between Port aux Basques and St John’s, through widely varied landscapes. Skiing is popular at the Island of Newfoundland’s Marble Mountain, 8km (5 miles) east of Corner Brook, the province’s second city. Labrador ski resorts include Smokey Mountain (near Labrador City); White Hills (at Clarenville) is in eastern Newfoundland. The best cross-country skiing trails can be found in Labrador. Folk music: Newfoundland, and particularly St John’s, is famous for its folk music, and there are plenty of bars in the provincial capital where visitors can see live performances by local bands. Folk dance lessons are available from the St John’s Folk Arts Council. The Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival takes place annually during the first weekend in August. Social Profile Food & Drink: The province boasts a hearty cuisine making full use of fat pork, molasses, salt fish, salt meat, boiled vegetables and soups. Fish is a staple food, predominantly cod made into stews and fish cakes, or fried, salted, dried and fresh. Salmon, trout, halibut and hake are also available. Brewis is a hard water biscuit that needs soaking in water to soften, then gentle cooking; often salt or fresh cod is served with scrunchions, which are bits of fat pork, fried and crunchy. Another speciality is damper dog (a type of fried bread dough), cod sound pie (made from tough meat near the cod’s backbone), crubeens (Irish pickled pigs’ feet) and fat back and molasses dip (rich mixture of pork fat and molasses for dipping bread). Pies, jams, jellies and puddings are made from wild berries. The minimum drinking age is 19. Nightlife: A St John’s pub crawl is a real cultural experience, with a particularly strong English and Irish influence. Water Street and Duckworth Street offer fine restaurants and nightclubs. Newfoundland also has its own music, mostly English and Irish, which can be found everywhere in local festivals, nightclubs, bars, taverns and concerts. George Street in St John’s has become a club and restaurant zone and holds a variety of seasonal festivals. However, on the whole, night entertainment in many regions is scarce. Shopping: Water Street in downtown St John’s is a must for any shopper – it is one of the oldest shopping streets in North America, and European merchants, sailors and privateers have bartered here since the 1500s. Handicrafts, Grenfell parkas and Labradorite jewellery are the best known products of the Newfoundland and Labrador area. Shopping hours: Mon-Wed 1000-1700, Thurs-Fri 1000-2200, Sat 1000-1800, Sun 1200-1700. (Malls generally open Mon-Sat 1000-2200.) Social Conventions: Newfoundland society shows the dominant influence of northern European – especially English and Irish, but also French – settlers in its dialects, folk music and dance. Aboriginal peoples with distinct cultures and traditions include the Mi’kmaq on Newfoundland and the Inuit, Innu and Métis in Labrador. Geographical isolation nurtured a fiercely independent spirit in the province, which joined the Canadian Union as late as 1949. Special Events: For full information on special events, contact Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation (see Contact Addresses section). Listed below is a selection of special events celebrated in Newfoundland and Labrador during 2003: Feb Corner Brook Winter Carnival. Jul Twillingate/New World Island Fish, Fun and Folk Festival, Twillingate. Jul-Sep New Founde Lande Trinity Pageant, Trinity. Aug Royal St John’s Regatta; Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, St John’s. Oct Oktoberfest Craft Fair, Mount Pearl. Business Profile Commercial Information: The following organisations can offer advice: Atlantic Provinces Chamber of Commerce, Suite 21, 236 St George Street, Moncton, New Brunswick E1C 1W1 (tel: (506) 857 3980; fax: (506) 859 6131; e-mail: apcc@atcon.com or info@apcc.ca; website: www.apcc.ca); or St John’s Board of Trade, PO Box 5127, St John’s, Newfoundland A1C 5V5 (tel: (709) 726 2961; fax: (709) 726 2003; e-mail: mail@bot.nf.ca; website: www.bot.nf.ca); or Department of Industry, Trade and Rural Development, Head Office, Confederation Building, PO Box 8700, St John’s, Newfoundland, A1B 4J6 (tel: (709) 729 7000; fax: (709) 729 4884). Conferences/Conventions: For information on conferences and conventions in St John’s only, contact the Meetings and Conventions Co-ordinator, Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, PO Box 8700, St John’s, Newfoundland, A1B 4J6 (tel: (709) 729 2777). Climate Very cold winters and mild summers. Required clothing: Light- to mediumweights in warmer months, heavyweights in winter. Waterproofing is advisable throughout the year. Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.