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One  National Park

Terra Nova National Park is located at Bonavista Bay where native Archaic and Paleo-Eskimo peoples stood more than 5000 years ago. Established in 1957, it is the Province’s first National Park. Located on the eastern edge of Newfoundland and also Canada’s most easterly national park, the park's beautiful rugged coastal area has a variety of habitats. Fingers of the Sea protect remnants of the ancient Appalachian Mountains. Rocky headlands provide shelter from the awesome power of the open ocean.

    Its 154 square miles of pristine wilderness includes thick marsh land, rugged cliffs and sheltered inlets of the coastal region to the rolling forested hills, bogs, marshes, coves, ponds and boreal forests and inland sheltered bays. The natural and untouched ponds and bogs provide a safe haven for moose, black bear and lynx. Fourteen native species live in the park, but that is a small number compared to the 40 species in Labrador and 50 in Nova Scotia. It is home to the largest bald eagle population in North America.

    Cultural history abounds in the remnants of sawmills and past human cultures. It is an excellent area for nature viewing. Whales can be seen from the shoreline and birds soar above the trees. Kayaking is a popular activity, and there are 60 miles of hiking paths.

    At the Discovery Center there is a touch and feel aquatic tank which was a fascination to many who had not experienced such a thing. A short movie runs almost continually.

   Not far from the park is the Joey Overlook giving a view of the village of Gambo located down by the river. Joey Smallwood is considered the father of federation. A man of passion and vision he fought hard for Newfoundland and Labrador to join the federation. Joey’s grandfather established a saw mill in Gambo in 1862. Fire a hundred years later burned the forest and brought that industry to an end. Joey, born in 1900, was the first of 13 children.

    Restaurants in the province were almost always connected to a motel and of course there was no fast food or cafés. We had wonderful food the whole trip---some of the best cod I’ve ever eaten. One memorable lunch included moose pie that I ordered and decided to top off the meal with wonderful piece of flaky rhubarb pie and ice cream! My mouth waters now as I recall the friendly staff, ambiance and great meal.

 

   One a Sunday a visit at the Salmonid Interpretative Center in Grand Falls was most interesting. Paul Parsons came in on his day off to tell us all about the center and tour us around the facility. The first thing Paul said was, “We operate under ERMA which stands for Environmental Resources Management Association, which is not a government agency, even though it sounds like one. We are the largest watershed enhancement center of Atlantic salmon. The Exploits River, largest river in the province, divides the province and has been industrialized for a long time, primarily by the paper mill.

    “The center came into being in the late 1970s. Fish ladders and a fish elevator at Red Indian Lake help the salmon get to their spawning grounds. After spawning followed by three years in fresh water then two years in salt water, the salmon return to spawn. These salmon are repeat spawners and do not die after spawning like other salmon do. In the beginning we had to seed the river. We removed eggs, incubated them and had a 95% success rate compared to only 10% in the wild. The salmon could not be removed to a new area because the new fish would still be imprinted to return to mom’s spawning area.”

    While viewing the salmon in the counting window Paul said, “The salmon are just beginning to return. We’ll probably open the gate in a couple of days and start this year’s count. The numbers have been steadily increasing and we expect that to be true this year.”

    Paul was a very passionate environmentalist. From the center it was only a short walk up to a viewing area to see the falls that the city was named for. The water was clear and clean. Purple and pink lupines bloomed in many patches.