Truth be told, there is no ULTIMATE kayak weekend in Gros Morne, because really, there are way too many great places to paddle in Gros Morne. This past weekend of kayaking however, was absolutely stellar.
We pulled in to St. Pauls (at the wharf to the right of the big bridge on the highway - you can’t miss it) around noon on Friday. The birds were chirping, the water was calm, the perfect day to paddle. We quickly unloaded the boats, packed ourselves a lunch, jumped in the boats & headed toward an island in the middle of the inlet on our left. There, we began to see different groups of water birds hanging out. There were gulls and different types of terns that I couldn’t quite identify.
As we rounded the corner to the back side of the small island, we saw about a dozen ‘rocks’ sticking out of the water all over the place. To our surprise, these rocks began to move and as we approached, we watched a domino effect of ‘rocks’ plopping into the water. These were seals! To our amazement, we watched seal heads pop out of the water everywhere we looked. Gradually, as they realized we were no threat, they climbed back onto their rocks to lounge in the sun and fought over who gets the better rock as we quietly sat & watched.
Side Note: Later that evening, we headed to Bellburns to stay the night. It was a beautiful sunset, so we headed down on the rocks to check out the neat rock formations there, and discovered so many different fossils in the rock (Thanks for showing us Katie!). These are fossils from the Ordovician Period, and everywhere you look, there’s ammonites (spiral shells) and Orthoceras (like squid), and I’m sure many other different types of fossils. It was absolutely fascinating.
Saturday, we woke up in our cozy Bellburns cabin, cooked ourselves a nice breakfast and headed out for some morning berry picking. Several hours later, after successfully filling our container to the brim, we headed back to pack up our things, and headed to Rocky Harbour to meet some friends.
In Rocky Harbour, we decided to go for a swim in Rocky Harbour pond & grab some pizza at Earl’s. We then headed to Wild Cove, Norris Point located in Bonne Bay to do some night kayaking in attempt to see bioluminescent dinoflagellates. We set out for Norris Point, grabbed some munchies to have around a fire, and built a nice fire with drift wood along the beach.
As darkness fell, the water grew still. From afar, the sea water looked as it would any other evening. But, as you approach the water, it sparkled a bluish glow. When you touch it, the water looks like a blue glow stick lighting the water in every direction. It’s phenomenal. We hopped in our boats and paddled the shores of Wild Cove. With each paddle stroke, that water came to life with a blueish glow. As my friends paddled beside me, I could see the bottom of their boats slightly glowing and each paddle splash glowed in blue. For a while, we just sat their stirring the water, staring down in amazement. Occasionally we would see a streak of brighter light layers underneath the surface. This must have been small fish passing through. On top of that, not only were we paddling in bioluminescent waters, we were also at the month of a double armed true fjord! How wicket is that!
Note: Gadd's Harbour is also a great place to paddle & see bioluminescence due to the lack of light pollution in the area. For bioluminescence, the darker, the better!
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to shoot any cool photos of the bioluminescence because I was to busy admiring and living it. Maybe next time, because, of course there’s going to be a next time.
If you’re ever in Gros Morne, these are short kayak activities you can enjoy, and still have time to spare!
Things to Remember:
- Both of these kayak destinations are in the ocean, though they are more sheltered inlet areas, they can get pretty windy at times, so keep an eye on the wind before you go.
- Always bring a head lamp at night.
- Safety first!
- Respect the seals!
Happy Kayaking! 🙂
Jenna Brake is a local photographer, based in Corner Brook. She loves kayaking, mountain biking and rock climbing. You can follow her on Instagram @jenbrakee for more amazing images from her adventures!
