Captain James Cook surveyed the area in 1767 and charts and maps he created (so accurate that. They are still used today) are. On display in downtown Corner Brook at a monument to this great captain. In the 1800's when the Newfoundland Railway stopped at Corner Brook on its way to and from St. John's. This major transportation link across the island also attracted people to make Corner Brook home but it was the construction of the Corner BrooK Pulp and Paper Company in 1932, that put this port city on the map. The picturesque town became the largest industrial city in western Newfoundland.
We had not planned a tour but shared a car with an American couple Lynn and Richard Kaplan who also wanted travelled to Gros Morne National Park which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It was at least an hour and a half trip but it took us longer as we stopped to take photographs and admire the scenery.
We stopped at a place in the park known as The Tablelands which was high up in a mountain plateau area. The Tablelands is referred to as "a geological wonder!"
We stood speechless as we looked at two apposing views of this area. From where we stood on the plateau, on our left-hand side
the plateau rose up into stark treeless red-earth mountains and on our immediate right the plateaux rose up to a similar mountain height but the mountain was green with a dense vegetation and trees. We have never seen such a stark contrast delineated by the plateaux floor.
Many trails cover the Tablelands and hundreds of walkers had already begun their trekking before we arrived, evidenced by the cars lining the roadway and parking areas. Our American fellow travellers were not intending to hike as Lynn has a heel injury so Ken did a 15 minute rushed hike alon one of the trails . He was a little hindered as a bus load of older tourists had started to wander through the Serpentine Loop track Ken had chosen. However, he managed to pass the leader and was able to complete the walk and look at the topography and geological changes on the plateau. The trail pathway went through streamlets, bogs and stony pathways and was one that required the hiker to concentrate on accurate footing placements.
As we drove towards the coastal lowlands we passed through little hamlets which were clustered around a river or fjord. These hamlets had their own schools and corner stores but they seemed isolated and their buildings reminded us of the sleepy little holiday towns we stayed at when we were kids. places like Lake Macquqrie, Toukley or Minnamurra used to be. We stopped at one river-beach cove and we walked along a grey sand riverfront. The sand was dotted with hundreds of colourful small pebbles and rocks. All the houses looked like holiday cottages and on front lawns most houses had at least one upside down rowing boat so we surmised that this was a fishing town. There was also a canoe hire, bait and tackle shop on the river front so this affirmed our summary of the area.
We could have stayed there the rest of the day as the sun was lovely and warm and the area was really relaxing.
One image that bought a smile to our faces was that of a line of many pairs of knitted socks. We had passed homes with signs saying, " For Sale - Knitted Socks " so we assumed that it gets very cold here in winter. The men fish and the women knit.
Towards lunchtime we came across a beautiful fjord. It's deep waters were ever so blue and nestling on the shores of the fjord was a tiny hamlet settlement which had once been a fur trading town. Today this hamlet town has a thriving fishing and tourist industries. The mighty Humber River is renowned as one of North America's best Atlantic salmon rivers. Tourists flock here to go fishing, canoeing, taking a tour of the fjord or dining at a host of restaurants. Most of the buildings and homes are of timber construction - the mountains are covered in forests of pine and birch. The picture of the blue house is a typical design of houses in the area. Each house is a different colour and most are two storey to take advantage of the views across the fjord and mountains.It was such a pretty and peaceful spot that we decided to stop and find a place for lunch.
We wandered past quite a few eating places and settled on the Mechants Warehouse bar and restaurant because it was right on the water and had an outdoor deck with umbrellas and table settings which stretched out over the water. It was about 28C by the time we sat down but the views across the water were magnificent and the gentle breeze so refreshing.
Nearby we watched the local ferry arrive with tourists who'd been tripping around the fjord marvelling at the reflections of the mountains in the deep waters. We ordered a lovely meal of really fresh cod fish with chips and salad. It was so delicious but just as we were tucking into it, with lots of "yums and mmm's " a rain cloud burst down upon us so we headed for shelter inside the restaurant. The rain continue throughout the rest of our lovely luncheon but the showers stopped as we headed up the road to begin our return trip back to the ship.
Looking back and across the fjord as we reached a mountaintop we could clearly The Tablelands, where we'd been wowed by "a geological wonder" that we still can't explain. Both Lynn and Richard our American friend were "hankering after" a root beer float because they are not sold in America anymore. They had seen a take-away outlet that sold this drink so we had to stop and try one. Ken joined them but I took one sip and decided I'd rather not have one. They are simply an icecream soda- a sasperella-flavoured soda drink with icecream in it. It's just that I don't like sasperalla flavour.
Our final tourist stop was to park on the side of the highway to view " the old man of the mountain" which are markings on the side of a mountain which form a profile of an old bearded man. See if you can see it too.
