Rural Vitality

Mention "Bonavista" and people here think of John Cabot, a Genoese adventurer known in his hometown as Giovanni Caboto. He found fish, lots and lots of fish, and the race was on to scoop it up, dry it and ship it to Europe. Uncounted fortunes have risen and fallen on the fish trade. But you'll find a more recent Italian connection with the Bonavista Peninsula in Clarenville, where after turning off onto the Discovery Trail you will probably find yourself on Balbo Drive. It's named for General Italo Balbo, the Italian Fascist who led a squadron of flying boats into nearby Shoal Harbour, was paraded and welcomed in Clarenville and flew off with a load of specially stamped mail. He came to an unhappy end, however, as did many of his political ilk: after becoming governor of Libya, he was shot down over Tobruk by Italian guns in 1940.

Clarenville / Shoal Harbour is a friendly area, and a modern one. Now basically a service centre for the Bonavista Peninsula. There is much to do here year-round including great hiking trails, White Hill Ski Resort, a movie theatre and a railway museum, just to mention a few. Take some time to explore this town. Originally known as Clarenceville in honour of the Duke of Clarence, it dates from the 1890s, which is relatively new by Newfoundland standards.

As you cross the causeway and take a detour to Random Island / Hickman's Harbour, and two things are obvious: a few hundred yards of water spelled isolation for the people of this largish island until the causeway was constructed in the 1960s; and, two centuries of logging have not come near to exhausting the potential of the island's robust and well-managed forest. Everywhere you go there is evidence of logging and legend has it the eastern part of Random Island was the last stronghold of the Beothuks in eastern Newfoundland.

At the base of the peninsula, the town's of Lethbridge and Musgravetown welcome you. This area is considered farming country. In season, you can get lots of fresh vegetables here and farmers here gather dead seaweed that has washed onto the narrow, sandy beaches and truck it off to their fields to help replenish the soil. From here, you can continue on to Port Blandford where there is an opportunity for good salmon and trout fishing or golf in the town's championship 18-hole golf course.

Heading north again on Route 230, the next stop is a very special part of not only the Bonavista Peninsula or of Newfoundland, but of Canada. Turn onto Route 239 and head for Historic Trinity. This little town is a gem, a national treasure, and one of the communities that is hosting this forum. It is a place where visitors can feel, for just a few hours or days the special Trinity enchantment. Trinity is a must-see on anyone's calendar. Most of the old town is a national heritage community, and there are several provincial historic sites, as well. People interested in Newfoundland history will find plenty of it here.

In addition to its history, Trinity has the good fortune to have other attractions that appeal to a wide variety of visitors. From whale-watching to boat tours and world class hiking trails nearby, there is something for everyone in the area. While the main attraction on this visit is the architecture, the theatre festival run each summer by Rising Tide Theatre is worthy of a re-visit.

(FYI...there is another community named Trinity on Route 320 in Bonavista Bay. This other Trinity is a small village not to be confused with Trinity, Trinity Bay.)

When you head north again, take some time to drive around Trinity East and Port Rexton because the scenery here is wonderful. Lockston Path Provincial Park on unpaved Route 236 is a good place to camp. The woods grow close to this road and as you drive along you might spot a moose or two!

The next stop up the coast is Port Union - the only union built town in North America. Built in the early 20th century - it's next to Catalina and is a union town founded by Sir William Coaker and the members of his Fishermen's Protective Union. Port Union has row houses that were built for Union Members who worked with the Fishermen’s Union Trading company, something unique that you usually don't find in rural parts of Newfoundland.

In addition to the Coaker Foundation and the Old Railway Museum, Coaker's house is also open to the public (in season). The word "graveyard" just doesn't do justice to the grandiose little meadow atop where he is buried. His body rests in a white marble sarcophagus which is topped by a half-statue of the man himself which has, depending on your point of view, either its back turned to the sea or its gaze directed to the coast where lived the fishermen he served. This memorial cemetery must certainly be the grandest to any individual in the province, and a lasting monument to a man who was, according to how you view history, either a giant of a man or a master propagandist. Coaker left Newfoundland in the early 1930s - at the height of the Great Depression - and passed his later years in Jamaica and Boston, where he died in 1938.

You're getting closer to Bonavista, but first a side trip to Elliston is in order. The Root Cellar Capital of the World is home to the John C. Crosbie Sealer's Museum and Interpretation Centre. If you venture towards the community of Marberly you will notice, just off these shores, is a group of islands where puffins nest each summer to raise their young, so bring your binoculars!

Up to now, the Bonavista Peninsula has been thickly wooded, except for the more frequent spots where peat bogs dominate. Now, as you reach the top of the hill overlooking Bonavista, the traditional barren Newfoundland coastline is in view, this time thickly covered by the houses and other buildings that comprise one of our most famous towns. If you can't find your way around Bonavista, don't panic. Get lost. That's the best way to see the town. Street signs are rarer than hen's teeth. And keep an eye out for one-way streets. Lanes and narrow streets wander willy-nilly over gentle hills.

Back through Bonavista, you head down the peninsula's west side. This is a very pretty area. The road weaves through timeless coastal fishing villages and near several pebble beaches where beachcombers will spend time just looking, and maybe even finding. This section of the peninsula just begs for side trips. Drive out the south side of Blackhead Bay to Keels - a photographer's dream. Have a look around King's Cove and take a walk to the lighthouse and check out the churches here and in other small fishing communities along this part of the coast and you'll find some very fine architecture. If golf is your thing, the View in nearby Princeton offers up a 9-hole course that's sure to make your day and visit complete.

We hope you enjoy all that the Bonavista Peninsula has to offer!