Travel Manager Kathryn Green writes of her recent Destination Canada famil to Newfoundland & Labrador.

Best wildlife sighting?

Definitely the humpback whales! Moose prints in the mud (although we never saw the actual moose) caused a lot of excitement also.

The one wow moment of the trip?

An unexpected meet up with 2 humpback whales!

Best meal of the trip (preferably with some local Canadian flavour)?

Cod tongue – definitely the first time for all of us. All the seafood we tried was incredible. We began referring to the trip as the Seafood Chowder tour of Newfoundland. We ate a lot of seafood chowder, a local fave.

Most striking natural wonder?

Western Brook Pond Fjord.

What activity got your heart pumping or potentially stopping?
Zip lining across rushing waterfalls and amongst beaut alpine scenery at Marble Mountain (also Newfie’s only ski resort!)

Which hotel will you be recommending to clients and why?

The Seaside Suites at the Bonne Bay Inn in Woody Point. Any hotel room which comes with a fishing rod, pre-loaded ipod, binoculars and Muskoka chair is always going to be a winner.

How has this famil changed the way you will sell Canada?

The “Big 5” (Vancouver, Whistler, Rocky Mountains, Montreal, Niagara Falls) are all beaut – but if clients have a bit more time up their sleeve, Newfoundland makes for a very rewarding experience and a chance to connect with the people, landscape and wildlife in a more intimate setting.

Best three tips for selling what you have seen?

1. June/July is definitely the best time to visit for maximum Iceberg and Whale sightings.
2. Wear hiking boots, even if you do not plan on hiking. We all sunk in mud at some point in the trip.
3. Talk to as any locals as possibly – they are charming, informative and possibly the friendliest in Canada and are sure to open their doors to you for a chat, sing a long and possibly some seafood chowder.

Favourite Canadian word, phrase or saying?

“Any Mummers ‘lowed in?” This refers to an old school tradition which can only be seen to be believed. Super creepy but a lot of fun.

http://mummersfestival.ca/home/?q=node/26

How many times did you see a moose?

Zero! However, funnily enough we were always told, “Oh, you just missed it”. Hmmmm unlucky.

And the experience as a whole:

It is my third trip to Canada and I have finally made it out to the Atlantic Provinces to check out Newfoundland. I am joined by 10 other wide eyed travel industry representatives who like myself, were eager to delve a little deeper and a little further east than what we had previously experienced in North America’s fairest nation.

This Island of 500,000 people on the Atlantic coast of Canada is fairly uncharted territory for many Australian travellers and even my own understanding of Newfoundland as a destination was fairly limited. In anticipation of the trip, I envisaged icebergs, whales and Vikings. Boreal forests, rugged coastline and, of course, incredible seafood! But outside of this, I was relatively uncertain of what “Newfie” had in store for us.

The closest we got to an Iceberg was sampling the local Newfoundland brew – Iceberg beer. Turns out Mother Nature had other plans and we were a few weeks too late for the annual migration of Greenland’s Icebergs making their way down Newfoundland & Labradors “Iceberg Alley” but, this small matter of bad timing aside, boy did our Island destination deliver on everything else we expected plus a whole lot more!

Our Newfoundland adventure took us up and down the West coast of the island, beginning with a stay within a few small communities inside the Gros Morne National Park. The park itself, with its Boreal forests, one of a kind geological Tablelands, breathtaking fjords and glassy bays, offers some of the most unique natural beauties I have experienced in Canada. But what really allowed us to get to the know island and better, to get closer to the soul of Newfoundland, was the people. Everyone we met was a born and bred Newfie. A salt of the earth Canadian. An artist, a musician, a naturalist guide, a geologist, a proud hotelier or restaurateur, a thespian. With each local we met, we were let into their world and encouraged to let them into ours. Charlie Payne – resident artist, musician and perhaps the most colourful character in Gros Morne, invited us to his home after our seafood dinner one evening. He introduced us to the traditional Newfoundland “Kitchen Party” entertained us with his animated storytelling of life growing up on the island and serenaded us on his accordion with a few classic Newfie songs. We met Wayne and Reggie, who by day provide comedic commentary on boat Tours of Bonne Bay, perform “Scheech Ins” for honorary Newfoundlanders (it involves a shot of Screech rum, locking lips with a cod followed by dancing a Newfie jig) and by night appear in the cover band “Anchors Aweigh”.

Ed English, another friend we met along the way, regaled us with stories of life on Quirpon Island, managing a Lighthouse and encounters with local wildlife: moose, caribou, whales and orcas. With Ed as our guide, we headed north out of Gros Morne. Rocky beaches and dwarfed Tuckamore forests gave way to a much more dramatic scenery. Hills became cliffs and beaches became hilly peninsulas. It was on an impromptu trip out on his zodiac with Ed that we had our long anticipated brush with the most incredible of Newfoundland wildlife – two humpback whales, cruising along in the bay beneath Ed’s lighthouse inn. What a show stopper. Time stood still as our very loud group of travel agents from around the world became silent as we watched these two beasts make their way around the cove and then with a flick of a tail, indicated that they were heading back underwater. Humpback whales stay underwater for anywhere between 2 and 45 minutes, so we were back at full throttle on the zodiac for a scenic trip along the coast of Quirpon Island and back to the mainland.

Back on land, we moved west to L’anse aux Meadows Historic Site, the first Viking arrival site in North America. This was the second UNSECO World Heritage Site we had now experienced in a matter of days and had to take a moment, as the Parks Canada guide gave us the low down of the Vikings arrival into Vinland (now known as Newfoundland), to absorb just how significant the land we were standing on is to Canada’s and the world’s social history. That’s when I knew what set this trip apart from previous trips to Canada. Yes, Newfoundland has a quaint assortment of Bed and Breakfasts and unique inns as opposed to multi story hotels. Yes, it offers up homemade hospitality not possible in bigger, more populated destinations. Sure, it allows the opportunity to come face to face with some of the most sought after wildlife experiences around not to mention possibly the most incredible physical landscape (with so few other punters to share it with). But what really made this Canadian experience unique was having been inducted into what felt like an exclusive club. We were now a very small group of the travelling population who now understood the significance of Newfoundland’s historic sites, exceptional geology and openhearted people. This was reinforced by the departure salutation we were given by each of our new Newfie friends as we said goodbye “Go home and tell travellers all about us, just not too many people”.