THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN, JULY 20-21, 2019 12 TRAVEL + INDULGENCE theaustralian.com.au/travel

NATURAL SELECTIONS Wild times in

JEREMY BOURKE

ccording to the Newfoundland free to a good home, and snaring one can pro- Dictionary of English, what I duce liquid gold. At the Fish Exchange res- have in my hands today is the taurant in the Newfoundland and Labrador remnants of a “growler”. Defi- capital, St John’s, the waiter assures me both nition: “A piece of floating ice; the gin and the beer with “iceberg” on the very unstable.” In the hier- label are the real deal. Aarchy of such descriptions, growlers sit at the The water is taken either from shards col- bottom, just below “bergy bits”, and there are lected in the bays or, if they’re confident the plenty of both circling their “mother ship”. berg has grounded itself, a boat will use a Welcome to Iceberg Alley. huge claw on the bow to dig out the ice. Every spring hundreds of icebergs that Quidi Vidi Iceberg Beer certainly is re- have slid off glaciers in Greenland several freshing; it needs to be to balance the rather years earlier arrive off Newfoundland’s At- sinewy texture of my fried cod tongue appe- lantic coast. This coast should almost be tiser. It sounds like a dish spoofed up for gull- called Iceberg Graveyard, because here ible visitors, such as seal flipper pie. But this is they’re in the last throes of life. “In a month a genuine local favourite, as is char-grilled this one will have gone,” explains Kris Prince, halibut. Later I walk off the fine meal with skipper of our inflatable Zodiac, as we ap- some twacking, which the Newfoundland dic- proach an iceberg that’s toying with the light, tionary defines as “window shopping”. constantly changing our perception. On first As far east as you can be in North America, view it’s like the sails of a two-master, one a this rocky shore fooled Anglo-Italian explor- copy of the other except that the front speci- er John Cabot who, although credited with men is a deep, rich blue while the one naming this “new-found-land” in behind appears almost trans- 1497, believed he’d reached lucent. Asia but didn’t stay to From another angle, take a proper look. picket-fenced cottages are the same colour. The evening meal is a boil-up courtesy of it’s horseshoe-shaped, Even though the exact Everything used to be white, but the profes- Bonnie Stagg, whose Bonavista Adventure brilliant white with a spot of Cabot’s land- sionals from St John’s seeking a weekender Tours offers an experience to visitors that’s sloping top and several ing, anywhere from haven discovered it 20 years ago and brought just normal for locals. “In summer it’s too hot distinct cracks. Further Labrador to Maine, is the capital’s jellybean palette with them. to cook inside, so we come to the beach.” around again and we’re disputed, St John’s has The most prominent building is St Paul’s Over firewood burning on the shore, Bonnie peering into an icy can- an impressive stone Anglican Church, said to be the largest wood- boils delectable snow crab and lobster and yon, so bright it’s almost Cabot Tower to under- en church in North America, while down by roasts capelin. Similar to a large sardine, cap- dazzling. And that is just the 10 score its claim, and it was the harbour, historic Lester Garland House elin is beloved of both whales and Newfound- per cent that’s visible. JEREMY BOURKE from here in 1901 that another sig- was the first brick building in Newfoundland. landers, who scoop them up on the beach. Kris runs Sea of Whales cruise company, nificant trans-Atlantic crossing was achieved Closed for 40 years, the blacksmith’s forge is In contrast to this icy east coast, the west and his stock in trade is whales; the minkes, when Marconi received the first radio signal hot again, producing everything from letter side of Newfoundland merely chills out. A few humpbacks and sperm species that feed from Europe. openers to anchors. small communities cling to its inlets, and around Newfoundland’s Bonavista Peninsula. While the Atlantic beyond can often be Meanwhile, traffic on Iceberg Alley is within its World Heritage-listed Gros Morne But if the whales are being elusive, like today, knotty (Newfoundlandese for “rough weath- humming, and a drive to the top of Bonavista National Park lies a rare landscape. The layer then at the right time of year, from late April er”), St John’s is a rainbow, where a row of Peninsula provides a postscript to the morn- of earth we live on is the crust, thin but solid. to June, icebergs are guaranteed. And they’re timber terraces can present individual facades ing’s successful cruise. Heading through Ellis- Below it is the mantle, a constantly moving as menacing as they are astoundingly beauti- in purple, apricot, burgundy, butter, teal and ton on the way to a nearby puffin-viewing layer of slushy rock. And in only three places ful. This one is sitting in Blackhead Bay, off pistachio. These are called jellybean houses. site, a bergy bit sits in the bay. Later, as the does this slush, now solidified, show its face: Cape Bonavista, and on our approach the My accommodation is in a sturdier water- road descends to Bonavista town, there’s an- Oman, Papua New Guinea and Gros Morne, ocean is surging at one end. A slice has just front warehouse converted into the maze-like other just off the beach, the size of a cruise Newfoundland. broken off, and we’re lucky not to have been Murray Premises Hotel, where my guestroom ship. The exposed section here is called the too close. Pieces as big as a bus can be is an expansive haven, with a fake fire set in Tablelands, and while the texture is stony but launched into the air by the wave force of a front of a comfy lounge chair and welcoming spongy, the striking feature is its burnt orange cracking iceberg, Kris says, adding that it chocolate. colour. According to Parks Canada guide “sounds like thunder”. Residents reckon the I intend to start my iceberg quest in St IN THE KNOW Chris, who leads tours into this stark wilder- crockery rattles when one blows close to the John’s because Cape Spear, 15km south, is one ness, the peridotite rock is toxic so nothing coast. When smaller bits break up, the escap- of the best land-based viewing spots in the Newfoundland’s main airport is St John’s substantial grows. But peridotite produces ing air makes a guttural sound, hence the province. According to icebergfinder.com, but there are also direct flights from the methane, just like on Mars, and research sci- “growler” description. with its clickable map and photos, there are likes of Toronto to Deer Lake on the entists love this place. As do caribou. Nor- Even bergy bits and growlers can do the some splendid examples awaiting me. But a opposite side of the island. Car ferries mally camouflaged according to the season unexpected, but Kris reckons we’re OK as he diaphanous iceberg has no chance against the connect Newfoundland with mainland (white in winter, brown in summer) on this nets a few offcuts to taste. Despite the briny fog that has enveloped the peninsula, so I pin ports in summer. late-spring morning a still-white herd trun- environment, this ice is the purest water im- my hopes on better luck with Captain Kris on ■ icebergfinder.com dles through the gully below us. aginable and the oldest, having fallen as rain the Bonavista and set the sat-nav for Trinity. ■ newfoundlandlabrador.com Gros Morne’s other standout is Western or snow between 10,000 and 25,000 years If you wanted a template for Toy Town, ■ pc.gc.ca Brook, a half-hour drive then a 45-minute ago. Trinity is it. Dotted across a peninsula that ■ explorecanada.com.au walk north of Rocky Harbour. On a two-hour Despite their unpredictability, icebergs are juts into a natural harbour, no two of its cute cruise into this landlocked fjord, the sen-

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promontory that looks across Trinity Bay to MORE TO THE STORY a typical Newfoundland lighthouse; square, wooden and painted red and white. And The biggest business in the Bonavista tonight, coming from that general direction, Peninsula village of Trinity is not that is the low groan of the foghorn. Tineke says apparent at first look. Artisan Inn is a some guests find the noise disturbing, collection of cottages scattered around although it’s happily lulling me to sleep after town. Some are historic gems, restored by a wonderful meal at Artisan Inn’s cosy Twine Artisan Inn’s founder Tineke Gow and her Loft restaurant, consisting of tomato soup husband John, while others are new but with iceberg gin, roast duck leg and a ginger built to blend seamlessly with the old, which cake topped with caramel sauce seasoned includes finding a colour that hasn’t been with screech which, according to the inn’s Clockwise from top left: Trinity; an iceberg off used elsewhere in Trinity’s rainbow copy of the Newfoundland dictionary, is the Newfoundland’s coast; jellybean houses in St streetscape. Mine is Blueberry Cottage, a province’s “rather dark and cheap rum”. John’s; St Paul’s Anglican Church, Trinity; lobster bright new three-bedroom house on a trinityvacations.com dumplings at Bonne Bay Inn, Woody Point ■

sation is of entering somewhere primeval. (indeed, I just have) for lobster dumplings the Ocean View Hotel three times a week and And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda. Then, The isolation of Gros Morne makes its hospi- with chilli aioli, deconstructed devils on give a good notion of what it is to be a New- to the vocal accompaniment of a surprising tality endearing. horseback and the chef’s take on a jam-jam (a foundlander. This includes, apparently, being percentage of this mainly Canadian audience, In Woody Point, yet another dreamy much-loved local biscuit) with black tea cus- able to play the ugly stick, a cross between a the band does play Waltzing Matilda. waterfront village, the Bonne Bay Inn’s own- tard and bee pollen. lagerphone and scarecrow. They canvass the ers have turned a 60s motel into a small hotel Across the inlet in Rocky Harbour, a group room for the state of origin of audience mem- Jeremy Bourke was a guest of Newfoundland with classy touches, from the subtly earthy of five veteran musos known as Anchors bers who get a song from home. and Labrador Tourism and Destination Can- decor to the food. I would drive a long way Aweigh perform rousing local folk songs in For Australia, it’s Eric Bogle’s poignant ada.

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