The annual Excellent Adventure has come to a close for 2015 and this year, the four of us (myself, my friends Tom Green and Doug Winnie and my son Joseph Hutt) went where none of us had gone before; the Rock. It was a great week. We saw many amazing things in Gros Morne National Park and Woody Point where we stayed, and got a good dose of culture and history in St John's (All four of us became Honorary Newfoundlanders at a Screech-In on George Street in St. John's).
I have culled nearly 560 photos down to about 160. That series went on Flickr last night. This series is culled further, but it's still large enough that I've decided to break it up into parts (a technique I'm stealing from fellow Behancer - David Martin.
Part 1 was the beginning of the adventure, so you will see photos from Pouch Cove.
Part 2 includes photos from Witless Bay, Colony of Avalon.
Part 3 covers St John's, Cape Spear and Signal Hill.
Part 4 will be the first two full days at Woody Point (Sunday night to Monday night).
Part 2 includes photos from Witless Bay, Colony of Avalon.
Part 3 covers St John's, Cape Spear and Signal Hill.
Part 4 will be the first two full days at Woody Point (Sunday night to Monday night).
Part 5 encompasses the Hike from Hell.
Part 6 focuses on a much nicer hike to West Brook Pond.
Part 6 focuses on a much nicer hike to West Brook Pond.
St John's and Signal Hill
Ironically, I have VERY few photos of St John's itself, except from a distance. While it was our base of operation for two days, we were housed a fair bit off the beaten path, so the city itself was sort of "on our way" to other things. Like Signal Hill, for example.
Yes, I did make the obligatory images of the tower itself, but I saved that until the end. I did my tour of the surrounding area aroudn the tower first, getting a real appreciation for its location and the vistas (and clear signal) the area provided.
Signal Hill was the site of St. John’s harbour defences from the 17th century to the Second World War and where Guglielmo Marconi received the world’s first transatlantic wireless signal in 1901.
There was a really impressive walking trail that took you all the way down to the shoreline and then back up to the visitors centre. I stuck pretty much near the top, but my son made the entire walk.
On The Edge - Literally. I took this shot with my Rokinon 14mm lens, hile sitting on on the foundation of the old Canteen on Signal Hill. The stone in the corner is the edge of the foundation of this old building, and it's a BIG single step down if you move much further.
Very quick iPhone panoramic, to show scale, taken from the foundation wall of the old canteen building. If you look towrds the right, you will see part of the walking trail that takes you from the top of Signal Hill, out to the coast and then back up to the visitors centre.
Cape Spear Provincial Park
The views - everywhere we went in Newfoundland - were stunning and often jaw-dropping in thier harsh beauty and magnificence, but Cape Spear really set the bar high. I could have spent the entire day at this park and not made the same image twice.
It never ceased to amaze me that there was absolutely no fencing around the edges of sheer cliffs with long drops. Don't get me wrong - I LOVED it! Being able to photograph scenes like this without a safety fence getting in the way really helps the impact of the images, in my opinion. You. Just. Have. To. Be. Careful.
A brief history of Cape Spear, courtesy of Wikipedia:
A lighthouse has operated at Cape Spear since September 1836. The original Cape Spear lighthouse was the second lighthouse built in Newfoundland; the first was built in 1810 at Fort Amherst, at the entrance to St. John's Harbour. In 1832, the first legislative assembly for the colony created a lighthouse board. Cape Spear was chosen as the site for a new lighthouse because it was on the rocky eastern coast near the entrance to St John's harbor.
Nicholas Croke and William Parker, two St. John's builders, won the contract for the lighthouse and work began in 1834 or early in 1835.[2] The first lighthouse was a square wooden building with a tower in the middle containing the light. A foghorn was added in 1878. The first light used at Cape Spear had already been used since 1815 at a lighthouse at Inchkeith on the east coast of Scotland. This light used seven Argand burners and curved reflectors. This was later replaced by a dioptric lens system; the light was first lit by oil, then acetylene, and finally electricity in 1930.
Because of its proximity to convoy routes during the second World War, a gun battery was installed at Cape Spear to defend the entrance to St. John's harbor. Barracks and underground passages leading to the bunkers were built for the use of troops stationed there.
A new concrete building was built to house the light in 1955. The lighthouse is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland and the location has been designated a National Historic Site of Canada.[3] The original lighthouse building and the light keeper's residence have since been restored to the period of 1839, and are open to the public. The visitor centre includes a gift shop.
Original Lighthouse, restored to its 1836 condition.
