Puffins, puffins, puffins and more puffins - did I mention puffins?
- brianzurek
- Jun 18
- 7 min read
Eva had a conference this past May in St Johns, Newfoundland so I chose to fly out and meet her - after which we were able to do a nice little road trip and take in the sights (I mentioned puffins, right?). So we traded in the van for a rental car and went from van lifers to rental car'er influencers - I hear all the hip kids are doing it...
By the way did I mention puffins?
That said there is much more to Newfoundland than puffins - there is of course rain and wind... haha - I'm sooo funny. of course there are also icebergs, moose, whales, caribou and robins.
The trip started out with beautiful weather, from the sky, what a way to start a trip
St Johns and east coast of NL
The trip started in St Johns - 3 days - I landed on cold gray day and left on a cold gray day. Thankfully I bought a post card so I can see what it looks like when the rain isn't going sideways.
We used the wet and cold as an opportunity to check out a very nice museum, the Rooms. Sadly I have no photos, so it may or may not of happened, I'll let you be the judge of that. Rumor has it the building was very nice and had several nice exhibits on the history of Newfoundland.
We did have one nice day squeezed in, were we managed to get out and go as far east as one can go in North America (excluding Greenland of course) Cape Spear. We also did a nice puffin, whale, and iceberg watching tour out of Bay Bulls.
A lighthouse marks the barren Cape Spear
watching the ships come in
After checking out Cape Spear we headed down to Bay Bulls for a Puffin, Whale and Iceberg tour
We were promised Puffins and saw puffins, whales (Mink and maybe a humback) and an iceberg.
While we saw a Mink whale and maybe a humpback (might have been a fishing boat), alas we have no pictures. On the other hand photographic evidence of the iceberg does exist
said photo
after an up close encounter we sail away and it comes into view
up next Gull Island - home to Puffins, Razorbills and Common Murres
As we get closer a few more birds appear
The Island is a bird sanctuary host to multiple bird species
The main attraction is of course the Puffin
Very animated and fun birds to watch
Puffins...
while most people watch the birds on the island, I enjoy watching them fly around the water
finally its time to move on
Thankfully we had a nice sunny St Johns day for the tour
While Newfoundland is known for its fried food we were able to find some yummy food from the sea
A good bakery was also located right by our residence
Thankful for a break in the weather
Gross Morne NP
After spending a few wet, sunny, gray, windy days in St Johns we crossed the island to visit Gross Morne NP. On the way we stopped at Terra Nova NP to look for birds... Brian bought a new lens a while back and has become somewhat obsessed with taking bird pics
Terra Nova is designated a migratory bird sanctuary so Brian thought what a great place to stop....
Eva unimpressed pulls out the binoculars
Thankfully a few birds are spotted flying high overhead
Not only are we on the lookout for birds but the Moose, introduced to the island 100'ish years ago, is on the loose
Rumour has it the island is overrun with Moose
Brian not satisfied with just seeing a moose, tries to make friends with the local population
Thankfully in Gross Morne we had some pretty decent weather, which is a good thing as we would spend the next couple of days car camping
We even had a little bit of wildlife visit us in camp
Our spot was right next to the water but was protected from the wind (good thing) by some trees.
with some more stable weather we were able to enjoy some nice walks from camp
with lots of cool places to explore
Gross Morne is known for its geologic landscapes including exposed mantle rocks and impressive glacially cut landscape.
2 perspectives because its the mantle
Our first stop was the Tablelands an area with an exposed ophiolite complex
The rocks are toxic and hence there is a lack of life in the area - that said we did spot our only Caribou of the trip
next we hiked down to the green gardens to check out some pillow basalt's
In a single day we managed to traverse the oceanic lithosphere
After checking out the mantle it was time to head to Geologic Point
Geologic point is where geologist found fossils that define the boundary for the Cambrian and Ordovician periods.
its also just a nice spot to watch the world go by
and watch the sunset
Next up was a boat excursion to check out some of the large glacially formed landscapes. What was once a fjord is now just a 'pond' as it is no longer connected to the sea
continuing up the walls close in
amazing the difference in lighting going towards and away from the sun
as the tour comes to an end the winds pick up and ends what was a very nice tour
While in Gross Morne we also had ample opportunities to go hiking
We spent a good amount of time looking for wildlife
Still looking
wait, whats that?
Eventually its time to head back
and with that we bid farewell to Gross Morne NP
Twillingate
Next up is Twillingate
Brian thought it was known for its Puffins but nope, its the place to see icebergs
They are just kind of everywhere
and make for some nice sunset photos
more icebergs
Even seeing them in real life its hard to tell the scale of their size
Hard not to take too many photos
Twillingate is kind of one of those iconic Newfoundland towns, here we put away the camping gear and settled into a nice bed and breakfast
Newfoundland surrounded by water must have seafood besides fish and chips
Bonavista
Bonavista, here is where all the Puffins are
go to the right spots and they are literally everywhere
One can even get up close and personal
how close?
Who thought birds could be so expressive?
That said Bonavista is also known for its landscapes and geology
leaving lots to explore
and see
of course there is a lighthouse
South of Bonavista is Trinity supposedly the most beautiful town in Newfoundland
Complete with colourful churches
and a nice protected harbour
In the morning Brian went on a whale watching tour while Eva explored the local community
So fixated on seeing whales Brian sadly didn't get a photo of the boat.... he did however see some bald eagles
though it was a little too early in the season to see whales we did see 1 mink (no photo) and got to watch a humpback surface and dive for about 20mins
Spaniards Bay
We spent our last couple of days staying at another B&B in Spaniards Bay. Here we can check out some of the classic Newfoundland wind swept landscapes and get a little history at the same time
Checking out another lighthouse
This is also the region in which the first trans-atlantic telegraph cable was laid
The museum was quite educational and worth the visit
The highlight of the trip though might very well have been on the very last hike, on the very last day we got to watch a humpback breach multiple times.
As our vantage point was from very far away, we decided to quickly hurry down and see if we couldn't get a closer view. Sadly by the time we got down the humpback was gone...
but we were treated to one last lighthouse
and some birds
and that's the way it was on our 'summer' 2026 Newfoundland trip
Trip map
