![]() ![]() Modern Newfoundlanders today have not been without their 20th-century challenges either. Culturally, they’re actually quite similar to Australians. They’re tough, affable, funny, enigmatic and self-deprecating. ![]() It’s as if history took every good part of an Englishman, an Irishman and a Canadian and instead of it becoming a joke, moulded them into Newfy. These are the things that make me want to go back. As I myself would later find that one of my direct descendants, explorer Sir Bernard Drake, led an expedition to Newfoundland in 1585.Īs each day of my tour went by and I peeled back another layer of history I wondered if that “ache” had perhaps been there all along. You can’t help but become enthralled by the stories that surround these places. The tour’s final days were capped off with a two-hour whale watching tour in the breathtaking Witless Bay, as well as an official and slightly odd “Screech-In” ceremony at a pub, only best described as a strange Jamaica Rum-drinking, frozen cod-kissing ritual, which supposedly makes you an honorary Newfy. We explored the historical sites of St John’s, which included Signal Hill and Cabot Tower, as well as Iceberg Beer sampling at the Quidi Vidi craft brewery.ĭays three through five are really for the history buffs who thrived in the spectacular Trinity Village, Cupid’s Cove Plantation (the site of Canada’s oldest British Colony) as well as the Colony of Avalon, founded in 1621, where ongoing excavations reveal foundations of houses and artifacts from the 17th century. “Jelly bean” houses in St John's rise up the hillside from Water St. While breakfast was included daily, as were four lunches and two group dinners, we were encouraged by our guide to choose one of the many historical pubs during our stay in St John’s which bookended the trip. Our daily coach trips, no longer than two hours for each leg, allowed for designated stops as well as plenty of time to explore. Our new Colourful Newfoundland seven-day taster tour was restricted to what is known as the Avalon Peninsula and, while we were based primarily at the Sheraton in St John’s, we had one night in Port Blandford at the beautiful Terra Nova resort.Įach morning started with a detailed briefing from our local guide, followed by a prompt 8am departure and 4pm return. ![]() The tours are well-organised, structured and comfortable but offer enough independence at well designed intervals to not feel like they’ve been over-engineered. Globus has several tour options in Newfoundland and Labrador – its mainland partner to the north. These stories of survival all come to life during a week-long tour with Globus, allowing us as visitors the permission to dive head-first into the origins of the province’s sometimes gruesome colonial past.Ĭolourful clapboard townhouses in St John's, Newfoundland. They knew very little about where they were going and their stories are a fascinating mix of stoicism, survival and madness. The colonial history of Newfoundland goes to the very essence and the beauty of this place for the 21st-century visitor.ĭuring early settlement, brave people poured onto its shores in search of a better life. But during the 38 hours of transit, I spared a thought for the first settlers who travelled by boat during the island’s early white history. The capital St John’s is 18,205km from Australia, about as far as we can travel overseas. You can’t fully understand this feeling until you’re in Newfoundland and although I’m not a local, after just one week, I left and felt like someone had flipped the table of my 1000-piece metaphorically finished puzzle. Humpback show their flukes in Iceberg Alley off Newfoundland.
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