On our last full day at the park we decided to get out in the kayaks and paddle over to Mazinaw Rock. Last year I brought my GoPro with me but this year I decided to bring along my Nikon D800 with me. I just prayed I wouldn’t tip the kayak over and lose the camera. (Spoiler: I didn’t flip. Whew!)
Feeling Small
Paddling out the rock its hard not to feel small as Mazinaw towers over you. One of these days I”m going take the ferry over and hike the top of the rock.
Getting up close with Mazinaw Rock
It’s an unforgettable experience to be out in the water and up close and personal with Mazinaw.
This last day of our trip we headed out early to check out the lighthouse at Lion’s Head and see if we could get a shot of the waves crashing. It was very windy but the waves were not as high as expected. I guess it was just wishful thinking on our part. I now have lots and lots of shots of waves crashing into the beach or the lighthouse. (Delete key is ready folks..lol)
Lions Head Lighthouse
We headed back for breakfast at the B&B before heading out for a hike along the bluff at Lion’s Head.
Lions Head Trail
The first section of the trail was nice and wide with room for lots to hike but eventually that turned into more of the typical Bruce trail type hiking trail.
The Escarpment
I’m not complaining – look at these fantastic views. From this vantage point we can see Lion’s Head way in the distance.
Sadly after our hike it was time to pack up and go home. We made one last stop. When we stopped at Jones Falls on the way up we had both taken some photos of a large tree. I call it the Grandmother tree or Big Mama. Both of us had decided that we hadn’t done it justice with our original photos so we headed back on the trail to photograph this beautiful tree.
Back on the road again and this time we’re headed from Corner Brook to King’s Point. Before leaving the Corner Brook area we went to check out Lark Harbour, a small cove surrounded by mountains. A small overlook is part of a trail system called Cedar Cove.
Cedar Cove Trail
King’s Point is a town north of Springdale in the central part of the island. After checking into our rooms we decided drive up the peninsula before heading to dinner. Heading north we found a couple different rocky beaches before getting into the town of Harry’s Harbour. There we met a gentleman who told us to climb down a short path to a small beach where a sea stack stood with its lone tree.
Harry’s Harbour
We couldn’t believe our luck! After spending about an hour here exploring the beach we knew we had to get back to the hotel to get some dinner in us but as we pulled up we decided to explore the area before the beautiful light vanished for the day.
Fishing Pier
The late day sun was spectacular and during dinner a small rain shower appeared and we were shown a double rainbow. I think Newfoundland was tempting us to stay.
It’s been too long since I’ve done a road trip. Yeah, yeah I know I was on one just a month ago but it feels like it’s been forever. Since it’s Thanksgiving weekend in Canada this weekend and I was able to swing an extra day off, my friends Nigel Banks and Paul Berkloo joined me on a trip to the Finger Lakes region in New York State. We are heading for Watkins Glen State Park to explore a gorge full of waterfalls. Yay, Waterfalls!
But before we get there a stop at Letchworth State Park to wet our whistle on some waterfalls was our first destination. First up was the Wolf’s Creek. The waterfall itself is awkward to photograph without putting ourselves in danger so we settled with getting some photographs of the cascade above the falls. Not to worry there were more waterfalls in our future that we could photograph safely.
Wolf’s Creek the Upper Falls.
For example the Upper Falls. A paved path takes you right up to a number of possible views of the waterfall. There is a train trestle above the falls so photos of it can be challenging unless you embrace the trestle and make it part of your photograph. Other options are to create detail shots of the falls or some major editing later. All up to you as you are the creator of your art.
Upper Falls
Downstream from all the main waterfalls is a wonderful pyramid shaped mountain with a flat top. As you can see we lucked out with some great cloud cover. (It was a little of a drizzly start this morning but the clouds worked for us).
Natural Pyramid
I saved the best for last with the Middle Falls, one of their most dramatic falls. Isn’t she a beauty?
Middle Falls
After exploring a good portion of the park it was time to get back on the road and make our way to our home away from home for the night. Tomorrow’s plan was an early start at Watkins Glen State Park.
Today was the day. We were finally going to see puffins!! At least that was the hope when we left our guesthouse this morning. Fuelled up on breakfast we were all anxious to get to the place that was supposed to be crawling with puffins. As with every other day the drive started with scenic views. It has been non-stop jaw-dropping scenery here.
Borgarfjörður Eystri
All one has to do to get a great photo is pull over and shoot. There is nothing here that isn’t worthwhile to point your camera at. I still feel in a daze even though we’ve been here over a week – it’s surreal. We followed the road that would takes us out to a fjord and all we had to do to find puffins is drive until the road didn’t go any further. Simple enough. At the end of the road we found a parking lot got our gear together and explored a little hill that stood there. There were staircases to help us climb up to the top to get some good views of the ocean.
Overlook
From our views we saw a lot of yellow grass, some birds in the water and way in the distance, looking like little tiny specks of nothing were the puffins. Disappointment went through me as we attempted to get some shots of these little guys with our long lenses. After awhile our cohort Kathy ask used if the birds we were looking for were the ones behind us. Turning around we saw them!! Oh my god there they were. And as we stood there taking our shots more and more started showing up along the cliffs. It was amazing!
The Sentry
Seems that they only come in to land in the early to mid afternoon. Lesson learned – we did not fully do our research on the puffins and so we were very lucky to see them just because we happened to get there at the right time. Researching pays off kids – don’t forget to do it before you travel a long distance away from home.
