Tip of the iceberg

Moving day and on the way to our next campsite we drove through Terra Nova National Park. Here's the description from the park brochure. Terra Nova is a magnificent coastal landscape, with long inlets from the sea touching the sheltered landscape of an island boreal forest. Since the days of the Beothuk and early European settlers, people have found refuge in this area. From mighty whales roaming the rich feeding grounds of the Sounds to the beaver, bear and orchids of the boreal habitat, this area has supported an impressive array of marine and terrestrial life for thousands of years.

There are some challenges facing the park. Over 90% of the park is forested but in places the forests are dying off. One reason was because it used to be that Parks Canada had a policy of putting out forest fires, but the black fir, the dominant tree in the forests need fire to release their seeds.  Parks Canada is now developing a program of controlled burns. But a more serious danger to the trees come from the moose. I think we mentioned before that moose are not native to Newfoundland. They were introduced to the province a little more than a hundred years ago. With no natural predators, and living in a national park where hunting is not permitted, the moose are multiplying at a dramatic rate and one of their favorite foods are the new growth on the black fir trees. The presentation we heard mentioned that the park is now engaged in a control program. They will allow "qualified harvesters" to reduce the moose population. 

Right outside the Visitor Center kayakers were venturing out into Newman Sound which is part of Bonavista Bay.

The Visitor Center also had a nice exhibit on icebergs - how they form (off glaciers in Greenland), and travel along the currents around Newfoundland.  

We took a very brief hike near the Visitor's Center.

We are now camped at Woolfrey's Pond Trail and Campground. I think it is run by the City of Lewisporte where it is located. We are right on a pond and there is a trail, 7k, that takes one all around the pond.  

This is Christa and her daughter Carla Rae. They were enjoying a day at the beach on the pond. Christa is a first grade teacher and her brother is the City Manager for Lewisporte. She gave us a number of good suggestions of places for us to visit while we are in the area.

A view of the pond from the trail.

The beach furniture was in what we can now identify as Newfoundland colors. Vivid greens, pinks and the yellow bench in the background.