Welcome to Newfoundland

An Eco-Culture Experience

"Newfoundland. Air so clean and fresh it makes you dizzy with life. One or two puffs and you are cured of all things. All things."  Excerpt from Jan Arden's travel journal.

Here on the doorstep to the new world is a heritage rich in tradition from the cultures of England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Portugal, and Spain. With accents unique and a turn of phrase that would not be amiss in Shakespeare's time, you will find lifestyles, house styles, music and cuisine unlike any where else in the world. European traditions abound in a land where Innu and Inuit culture still thrives. All different, all kept alive by generations of Newfoundlanders who value the unique geographical location of their land and the centuries of isolation that have molded this legacy into a culture like no other. Who would call their home Ha Ha Bay, Come By Chance, Witless Bay or Heart's Delight? Who else but people with a quick wit, and endless charm.

Come meet hangashores and seafaring men, boat builders, craftspeople, musicians, and artists---all ready to share a legend or two, or at least a tall tale.  There's plenty of food for thought and food you've never heard of to taste...cod tongues and cheeks, scrunchions and partridgeberry pie... tastes you'll never forget

It is the sea that defines Newfoundland - an underwater continental shelf that stretches out hundreds of miles from shore that includes the Grand Banks. Over these shallows wash the nutrient rich cold waters of the southward moving Labrador current, bringing with it Arctic sea ice and huge icebergs. From the south the Gulf Stream brings warm water from the Caribbean. The mixing of these waters creates an environment where marine life flourishes. This abundant sea life provides food for millions of seabirds to raise their young, and also entices whales to tarry awhile on their way to summer feeding grounds in the Arctic.

Almost five centuries after the Vikings landed, an Italian explorer we know as John Cabot sailed west from Bristol, England seeking the other Far East - China. But in 1497 he landed in the New-Found-Lande. Instead of spices and gold, he discovered the richest fishing grounds in the world.

Newfoundland's location has always played an important role in its history. During the past two centuries the island has been the landing site of the first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable, the jump-off for the first non-stop air crossing, and where Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic wireless message.

Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, hardy folk from the west of England and Ireland settled in Newfoundland's sheltered bays along the rugged shores to catch fish. In the small villages and towns their descendants still pursue a way of life that has changed little over the centuries.

Words and expressions that were familiar in Shakespeare's day still grace the tongues of coastal residents. It's in these outports you will find local festivals. Dory races, farmer's field days and folk music festivals are wonderful places to meet the folks who live here. Newfoundlanders are universally recognized for their warmth and openness. Strike up a conversation with someone in a store, on a wharf or at the post office and you might just find yourself in someone's home.

In cosmopolitan St. John's you can walk out of a fine restaurant and down the oldest street in North America. This old port has changed from the rough-and-tumble days of pirates and adventurers, but it's still a lively seaport.  St. John's has some of the best nightlife anywhere. There's music for every taste, from a harpist in a hotel restaurant, to jazz, rock and traditional, toe-tapping jigs and reels in the local pubs. It's like a permanent Mardi Gras without the excesses. Art galleries, a theatre, the Newfoundland Museum and a fine wine cellar are just a few of the attractions. From atop Signal Hill, where in summer cadets perform 19th century military maneuvers, the ancient city stretches out before you. Brightly coloured houses ramble up a hill topped by a cathedral. Ships move in and out of the harbour at all hours of the day and night. Stories, songs and local lore are all delivered in a distinct accent that is a mixture of English and Irish dialects that have mingled into a unique language. It's so distinct there is even a Dictionary of Newfoundland English.

An hour's drive south of St. John's is Ferryland, where Lord Baltimore's 17th century colony is being excavated. In Conception Bay you can visit Brigus, the home of Captain Robert Bartlett, who accompanied Admiral Robert Peary on his polar explorations. His house is a National Historic Site. Nearby Cupids is the oldest English settlement in Canada. In Harbour Grace the local museum is built right on the spot where pirate Peter Easton had his headquarters.

Further along the north shore is Northern Bay Sands, one of the finest beaches in Canada. At Heart's Content in Trinity Bay you'll find the cable station from where telegraph messages traversed the first Trans-Atlantic cable. Everywhere you go you'll find people willing to tell you the history of their area. Newfoundlanders are proud of their past and have conserved many artifacts in local museums. In Hiscock House at Trinity, for instance, you'll see how a local merchant family lived in the nineteenth century. Trinity is also the site of a summer theatre festival. At Boyd's Cove in Notre Dame Bay a new centre interprets the now-extinct Beothuk aboriginal tribe.

Discover the special charm of a Newfoundland vacation along the hundreds of roads that take you to the heart of the place and the soul of our land. Newfoundland, known as the Far East of the Western World, is renowned for its friendly people, marine wildlife, long history and stunning seacoasts.