Port au Choix, Newfoundland

EASTERN CANADA ROAD TRIP 2019

Our next stop along the western coast of Newfoundland was at Port au Choix. This area’s most notable feature is perhaps the Point Riche lighthouse, which is still active. It’s perched at the top of these long layers of rocks, which were fun to scramble along.

There were even neat formations in the rocks - fossils of some kind, maybe?

The highlight, however, were the caribou that roamed the parking area. We had never seen a caribou in the ‘wild’ before, and were delighted even at the sight of this scruffy one. There were three in the area, grazing nearby and then walking out to the shore, just like us, haha.

Port au Choix is a National Historic site because it was found to be an important place for Maritime Archaic peoples and their ancestors, as well as a major fishing settlement for the French and English. This ‘cultural crossroads’ is still home to a town and also to a fantastic museum that tells the story of this place. Right across the street from the museum, we took the Dorset Trail, an easy route through the limestone barrens and the tuckamore.

These beautiful lady slippers, and several other wildflowers, were growing in the delicate soil along the trail.

This is tuckamore - if you are not familiar with that term. It refers to short, bent spruce that have been shaped by the strong winds. They can be alone or in groups where they seem too thick to walk through.

We walked through the trees for a short way, and then it opened up to some boggy areas.

Not far beyond the bog was a lovely lake.