The Discovery Trail & the Bonavista Peninsula

There are three gateways to the Bonavista Peninsula. You can take Route 233 at Port Blandford, the road at Thorburn Lake or the entrance onto Route 230 at Clarenville. On this trip we will take the eastern route through Clarenville, loop up through Trinity and Port Union to Bonavista, then down the western shore to Port Blandford.

Mention "Bonavista" and people think of John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto), just five years after Columbus landed in the Caribbean, the burghers of Bristol, England sent him to find out what lay in the northwest Atlantic. He found huge quantities of fish and up on his return to England, his discovery prompted a race to harvest the resource.

A more recent Italian connection will be found on Balbo Drive. It is named after General Italo Balbo, the Italian fascist who led a squadron of flying boats into Shoal Harbour on his way back from the Chicago Exhibition in 1933. He was welcomed and paraded in Clarenville and flew off with specially stamped mail.

Clarenville is a friendly and modern town and the service centre for the peninsula. Originally known as Clarenceville in honour of the Duke of Clarence, it dates from the 1890s, making it relatively new by our standards.

It is home to the White Hills downhill ski resort just west of town. White Hills has 15 runs and lifts that can accommodate 3,800 people an hour. there's also excellent cross-country ski trails in the area.

Through Clarenville and on past Shoal Harbour, there is a piece of land in Milton where shallow waters of Northwest Arm lap a shore that is deep on history. It was from this area that in 1822 William Epps Cormack and his Micmac guide Joseph Sylvester left on their now-famous jaunt through the Newfoundland interior. they did not find any Beothuks, as they had hoped, but he was the first European to walk across the island and write about it. Near a commemorative plaque is the now abandoned Bonavista Branch Line of the Newfoundland Railway. Alder and scrub are encroaching on the line, but its a pleasant place to walk through the woods and along the shoreline in either direction. There is a Canada Goose refuge here so keep your eyes open for the birds.

As you cross the causeway and take a look around Random Island, two things are obvious; a few hundred yard of water spelled isolation for the people of this large island until the causeway was built in the 1960s; and, two centuries of logging have not exhausted the island's robust forest. Hickman's Harbour has long been the island's logging centre but everywhere you go you will find evidence of its economic impact.

It is easy to believe why people think that the island was the last stronghold of the Beothuk indians. The deep forest would have e provided ample hiding places yet they would always be close to their food supply-the sea.

Back on the mainland, you can find Cormack's actual starting off point at Smith Sound Provincial Park on Route 232.

Heading north again on Route 230, the next stop is a very special part of Canada: Trinity. This little gem of a town is a national treasure. a must-see on anyones list. Most of the old town is a national heritage community, and there are several provincial historic sites, as well. People interested in Newfoundland history will find plenty of it here. Three years after Cabot's voyage, Gaspar Corte Real explored Newfoundland's coastal waters and named Trinity because he arrived on this section on Trinity Sunday in 1500. Much later Trinity became an important fishing and mercantile centre. The English considered it so valuable and prized a harbour they went to the trouble of building a fort here, one of the few places in Newfoundland that they went to that expense. What is left of the fort is barely accessible along the road to the lighthouse.

What strikes you about Trinity is how solid the houses are. The 19th century styles of architecture that are preserved seem derived from an earlier era. This once was a prosperous and progressive town. During the late 1700s, Dr. John Clinch, a doctor and minister became the first North American to test the smallpox vaccine. Get out of your car and wander the lanes and back alleys between the homes. Stop at the community museum, which has lots of exhibits and community records dating back to the 1600s. Or drop in at the forge, once an important part of the town's commercial life.

Mountain Ash Manor is where, around the turn of the century, widow Emma Hiscock and her daughters lived. The style and grace of that period has been captured in this Provincial Historic Site. In the business section you will find garland House. Now a noble ruin, this brick house must have been the talk of the town when Francis Lester built it after arriving in the 1770s, and from where he ran his fishing empire. Nearby is the Ryan Property, another restoration project undertaken by the provincial government, which re-creates a 19th century merchant store. take time to visit the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches and the Society of United Fisherman (S.U.F.) Hall which was built 150 years ago.

Night Moves 19" x 32" Etching

By: Allen Smutylo

In addition to its history, Trinity has the good fortune to have other attractions, during the summer there is a daily "Trinity Pageant" as well as a children's amusement park and also whale-watching boat tours.

When you headnorth again, take some time to drive around Trinity East and Port Rexton for some great views and in the early summer icebergs. Lockston Path Provincial Park on unpaved Route 236 is a good place to camp and watch for moose. The woods grow close to the road and as you drive along you might spot the cuts in the forest that the moose use for their highways.

The next stop is Port Union. Built earlier this century, its close by Catalina, as a model town by William Crocker and the members of his Fisherman's Union Trading Company and the Fisherman's Protective Union. Port Union has row houses for the fish plant workers which is unusual for rural Newfoundland. The old railway station houses a display on Coaker and his time, Croaker is buried in a marble sarcophagus topped by a half-statue of the controversial man himself.

Take a side trip to Maberly, before reaching Bonavista, if you have your binoculars to see the kittiwakes, murres and puffins near Maberly Provincial Park.

Up to now, the Bonavista Peninsula has been thickly wooded, except for the more frequent spots where peat bogs dominate. Now as you reach the top of the hill overlooking the town of Bonavista, the traditional barren coastline comes into view.

Last House on Barron Street Silver Print, 18" x 14", 1978

By: Manfred Buchheit

The best way to see Bonavista is to get lost in the lanes and narrow streets wandering over the gentle hills. Be sure you drop in to the Bonavista Museum on Church Street, there you can trace long-lost relatives in the archive and pick up lots of information about the town's history.

The Mockbeggar Property, is a provincial historic site that will; give you a taste of life in the old days. Parks Canada owns the old Ryan premises not far from Mockbeggar and they plan to restore the property after extensive research.

In the Methodist Cemetery you'll find some of the oldest gravestones in the province. In front of the Court House is a recreation of the old Whipping Post, where rough justice was administered to lawbreakers in centuries past.

At Cape Bonavista is the lighthouse built in 1843, it has now been restored as a historic site where visitors can experience the isolated life of a nineteenth century lighthouse keeper. In the nearby municipal park is a statue of John Cabot.

Back through Bonavista, you head down the pretty west side of the peninsula. The highway weaves through timeless coastal fishing villages and near several pebble beaches filled with beachcombers' delights.

"Rest Ashore" 15" x 30", Water Color

By: Leona Ottenheimer

Drive out of the south side of Blackhead Bay to Keels. One of the local traditions has it that cabot left a keel-mark here while stopping for water. Others think it might be the Kialarness of the Viking sagas. There are families here with the surname for Keel, but the outport predates their arrival. It was a fishing station in 1675 and appears on maps a century before that. Mainly a fishing community, it is also frequented by American art students who attend a summer arts program.

Returning from this side trip, have a look around King's Cove. Though most of the peninsula is English, the Irish established the first Catholic church north of Harbour Grace here in 1815.

The large stands of deciduous trees in the area make this a wonderful spot in the fall, and snowmobilers love the vast expanses of wilderness to explore in the winter.

The base of the peninsula is farming country around the towns of Lethbridge and Musgravetown. A good place for a panoramic view of this area is Brooklyn.

Just off the beaten track are the delightfully named outports of Hatchett Cove, St. Joan's Within, Caplin Cove and Little Hearts Ease.

To Scenic Tours: Eastern Region