jskinnell

Our Canadian Maritimes Adventure Week 9 (Part 1) – Bonavista

We arrived in Bonavista and stayed at Paradise Farms RV Park. We even managed to get a 50amp water & electric site. (Most of the trip we’ve had 30amp, so the 50amp was a surprise.) We had a few things on our must-see list, and we managed to check them all off the list.

Cape Bonavista Lighthouse

Cape Bonavista Lighthouse sits high atop a hill along the north end of the Bonavista Peninsula. This lighthouse was built in 1843 and is one the most photographed locations in all of Newfoundland. It was fascinating to see how the lighthouse keeper and his family lived “back in the day”.

We were even able to spot whales off in the distance, but they were too far for pictures.

A man and a woman posing for a selfie with a lighthouse in the background, surrounded by greenery and rocky terrain.
A vintage-style living room featuring maroon wallpaper, wooden furniture, and a patterned area rug. The room includes a sofa, rocking chair, wooden table with lace, and various decorative items.
A blue liquid-filled mariner's weather glass hanging on a wall, accompanied by an informational sheet describing how it works and its uses, against a floral-patterned wallpaper background.
Interior of a vintage bedroom featuring a wooden bed, a decorative trunk at the foot, a chair, a dresser with drawers, and a washbasin on a stand. The walls are covered in patterned wallpaper, and a colorful patterned rug is on the floor.
Interior view of a rustic workshop with wooden floors, a workbench filled with tools, barrels, and ropes. A red door is visible, along with a staircase leading down.
A vintage bedroom featuring a wooden bed with a quilt, a dresser, a rocking chair, a black dress on a mannequin, and an antique cradle, set on yellow wooden floorboards.
A historical room with patterned wallpaper, featuring a large red and white flag, a wooden desk with papers, a chair, and a shelf displaying rolled fabrics in various colors.
View looking up at a circular light fixture with multiple copper bells, surrounded by large windows in a dome structure.
View of a pulley system inside a lighthouse, featuring a coiled rope and gears, with two people in the background.
A red and white striped lighthouse with a dome, surrounded by rocky terrain and a clear blue sky.
While the original lighthouse is no longer in operation, you can see the new “light” that is used standing behind it.
A couple taking a selfie near a rocky coastline with the ocean in the background. Both are wearing hooded sweatshirts, and there are cliffs and greenery around them.
A man and a woman take a selfie in front of rocky cliffs and the ocean on a sunny day.
Views from behind the lighthouse where puffins and other birds are on the island.
A man and a woman pose for a selfie in front of a statue of John Cabot, with a blue sky in the background.

A short drive down the hill is this statue of John Cabot, who came up the Bonavista Peninsula in 1497. More about him in a minute.

And yes, it was quite windy out on the Cape!

Dungeon Provincial Park

Dungeon Provincial Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s a short drive from the lighthouse, and we were able to do all in the same day. The road into the park is a bit rocky in spots, so be prepared to get bounced around. It is also a free range pasture for cows, horses, sheep and goats!

The highlight is what is known as “The Dungeon”. This is basically a land bridge with two sea caves carved out of the rock where the ocean meets land. It’s pretty spectacular. Not to mention the fact that the views of the coastline are amazing.

Two horses grazing near the rocky coastline with ocean waves in the background.
A white horse grazing near the rocky shoreline with a calm ocean in the background and a clear sky.
Sheep grazing on green grass near rocky shoreline and ocean waves
A coastal view featuring rocky cliffs with two sea caves opening into clear turquoise water, surrounded by greenery and a scenic backdrop of the ocean.
A rocky coastal landscape featuring a deep cave opening into a turquoise lagoon, surrounded by green grass and wildflowers, with the ocean visible in the background.
A couple taking a selfie in front of a scenic coastal landscape featuring cliffs and ocean water below.

The Matthew Legacy

John Cabot and his 19 sailors sailed into Bonavista Peninsula and landed in Bonavista in 1497, discovering this part of Newfoundland. The Matthew Legacy is a museum dedicated to this historic achievement.

“In 1497, a small wooden ship called the Matthew set sail from Bristol, England destined for the Far East. Onboard was the Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto with a crew of around twenty men. Within six weeks, they made landfall. They landed, not as intended in the fabled land of Cathay, but on the shores of the New World.

Here, they discovered a treasure that would change the course of history.”

matthewlegacy.ca

The Matthew is a 1:1 recreation of the original Matthew that John Cabot sailed. You can tour the vessel and learn the history of how it was built. There are 30,000 feet of rope used!

Interior view of an old ship's structure featuring wooden beams, rigging, and ropes, showcasing the ship's sails and deck area.
Interior view of a historic sailing ship, featuring a cloth sail and wooden structure, with ropes hanging from the rigging and a staircase leading up.
Wooden ship named 'Matthew' with a sail and ropes, situated indoors with a staircase leading up to it.
Interior view of a historic ship, showcasing wooden beams, a large central post, and various ropes and pulleys on the deck.
Interior view of a wooden ship with rigging and ropes, showcasing the main deck and surrounding structures.
A man and woman standing on a ship's deck, with a sign displaying the name 'Matthew' visible in the foreground. They are surrounded by ropes and sails in the background.
A detailed wooden model ship with two sails and a colorful deck, displayed on a wooden stand against a plain wall.

After a stop at Bonavista Brewing Company for a beer and plate of nachos, we headed to one of our favorite stops on our list.

Puffins!

We saw puffins in Alaska last year, but they were in an aquarium. We wanted to see them in their natural environment in Elliston, and the owner of our campground gave us a pro tip: Morning or evening were the best times to see them. He was right! Sorry, but here is a slide show overload of cuteness for you. And yes, I used my Iphone and zoomed in, but we were actually feet from them.

Trinity and the Skerwink Trail

The next day we drove over to Trinity to hike the Skerwink Trail. This trail is ranked as one of the top 25 trails in North America, and we could see why. At a little over 3 miles, this looped trail has views at every turn. Pro tip: Get there early, because parking is limited and fills up fast.

A man and a woman smiling for a selfie on a coastal trail, surrounded by rocky cliffs and trees, with the ocean in the background.
Scenic coastal landscape featuring tall rock formations along a calm ocean, with shimmering water under a clear blue sky.
Scenic view of rocky cliffs standing by the calm sea, featuring tall rock formations with greenery on top, under a clear blue sky.
Aerial view of a rocky cliff descending into a calm ocean with sunlight reflecting on the water's surface.
A hiker walking up a grassy trail on a hillside, surrounded by wildflowers and low vegetation, with a rocky cliff in the background and a clear blue sky.
A scenic view of a coastal landscape featuring a lighthouse on a rocky island, with a village and hills in the background, under a clear sky.
A selfie of a couple standing on a viewpoint overlooking a lake and hills in the background, wearing hats and smiling.
A hiker standing on a grassy cliff overlooking a calm body of water with distant islands and a lighthouse in the background.
A coastal view of a small town with colorful houses against a backdrop of rolling hills and blue sky with scattered clouds.

After our hike, we drove over to the small town of Trinity which we had seen across the bay on our hike. This quaint town reminded us of Colonial Williamsburg, and a stop at Aunt Sarah’s Chocolates was worth it!

A scenic view of a coastal road leading to colorful houses, with a green hill and a tranquil water body in the background under a partly cloudy sky.
A scenic view of a coastal village featuring red and gray buildings along a gravel road, set against a backdrop of greenery and hills, with reflections in the calm water.
A coastal view featuring a grassy foreground with colorful houses on the hillside, a church with a steeple, a wooden dock, and a calm water body.

However, we were hungry for more than chocolate and a tour bus had just arrived and filled the couple of restaurants in town. We decided to head back to Elliston and an interesting restaurant we’d found on our puffins adventure.

Elliston is known not only for puffins, but for the large number of root cellars around town.

An ancient stone structure with a wooden door, partially open, set against a grassy hill.
An open wooden door leading into a dark stone structure with a grass-covered roof.

We decided to check out Nanny’s Root Cellar Kitchen. When we’d passed the day before, there were a lot of cars in the parking lot so we took that as a good sign.

While I dined on roast beef and mashed potatoes, Mike went for the unbelievably priced 2 lb lobster and side salad. At $28US, it was a steal and he said it was delicious.

Sign for Nanny's Root Cellar Kitchen in Elliston, featuring the tagline 'Root Cellar Capital of the World'.
A freshly cooked lobster on a white plate with lettuce, set on a wooden table. A person wearing a gray 'Life is Good' t-shirt is partially visible in the background.

I think the shirt he is wearing says it all. In Newfoundland, life is definitely good.

Conclusion

Bonavista is not to be missed. There was still more we could have seen, but we had to continue on.

We’re Mike & Jennifer Skinnell, and together we are The Rambling Quilter. We travel the country full-time in our 42 ft. fifth-wheel pulled by our F-450. Jennifer writes our blog, travel articles, contemporary romance, cozy mysteries, and “Don’t Wait – Our Full-Time Journey Through Breast Cancer”. Our blog is purely for information and entertainment purposes. However, if you’d like to support Jennifer’s writing career, her author link to her books is below.

Jennifer’s Author Site

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One comment

  1. Wonderful pictures! I remember my parents judged a restaurant by how many cars were in the parking lot. 🙂 The puffin pictures are wonderful.

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