A Lighthouse Inn, Whales & Bergs
Live the life of a lighthouse keeper overlooking "Iceberg Alley".
General Details
Overview
Gros Morne National Park’s south side is the start of your odyssey with a visit to the Tablelands, mountains which make this park a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
North to your second UNESCO Site at L’Anse aux Meadows to visit the only spot where the Vikings are known to have lived in North America.
Out to Quirpon Island, the spot with Newfoundland’s longest iceberg and whale season, to explore the island and spend the night in the 4 Star Quirpon Lighthouse Inn.
A zodiac tour gets you close enough to the bergs and whales to overwhelm your senses and get amazing photos (with ANY camera!).
Labrador offers yet another UNESCO site at Red Bay. Here, Basque Whalers in the 16th century made fortunes and lost their lives in an astoundingly dangerous livelihood, far from home.
The north side of Gros Morne offers the chance to penetrate into fjords that tower over your boat and offer great chances to see moose as they patrol the shores of a remarkable lake, wrapped in cliffs over 2,000 feet high.
The local theatre creates plays that travel the world but here you can see them on their home stage, telling stories of our history.
Day 8 can take you on a hike to the highest point in the park, overlooking the fjords you saw from the boat yesterday, or allow you time to explore the local fishing communities and
Live the life of a lighthouse keeper overlooking‘Iceberg Alley’
Visit an amazing three UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Hear the Killer Whales’ call echoing off massive icebergs in your private cove
Sample Viking cuisine in an authentic sod hut
Explore the rugged landscape of the National Park
Sail to Labrador and see how the past also became our future
Wade in saltwater or hike to the falls where salmon jump at your feet
Photograph moose and caribou as you journey to see the exposed mantle of the earth
Live the life of a lighthouse keeper overlooking “Iceberg Alley”.
Hear the Killer Whales’ call echoing off massive icebergs in your private cove and awaken to the sounds of the Humpbacks calling you across vast stretches of the North Atlantic. Explore the rugged landscape made famous in “The Shipping News”, the Pulitzer prize-winning novel Judi Dench, Kevin Spacey movie.
Feel the salt spray sting your face as you journey out to remote Quirpon Island amidst the dolphins and whales. As you land in the cove, imagine you are returning home to the sod huts, thousands of years old, which lay undisturbed here. Forge a link with ancient humans as you stand in the remains of their huts overlooking the cove and picture the tiny beach coming to life as it was eons ago. Your home for the next few days lies atop the cliffs at the northern tip of this deserted island. The contrast of the rugged beauty of the island and the cosy luxury of Quirpon Lighthouse Inn will bring back your childhood feelings of laying by the fire as a storm raged outside. Imperceptibly your priorities in life will shift as you become part of the primal connection between humans and the remote reaches of the sea.
You are now in the best spot on earth to visit with whales and icebergs. At dawn, be certain to introduce yourself to your only neighbours – the whales migrating past your doorstep. An abandoned fishing village near the lighthouse is a great walking destination today. Learn of the tragic but romantic mass murder and suicide that inevitably lead to its demise. Our audio app of the island offers interpretation as you wander.
View the “vast cathedrals of ice”. On sunny days they appear lit from inside and on dull days other senses take over as they seem to grow in size. Their chilling effect spreads to your mind and you feel a timeless empathy for sailors who have dreaded these giants for millennia.
Europeans first arrived in North America 500 years before Columbus. These Vikings settled in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of L’anse aux Meadows. As you visit, one question will fill your mind- why here? Be sure to ask resident Vikings who work here today. Join them in their huts and sample cuisine from ten centuries ago.
Sail to Labrador where a 12 year old child was lovingly laid to rest in North America’s oldest grave – 8,000 years ago. Visit Basque whaling site where a boat from the 1500’s raised from the frigid waters shows how little technology has changed in 500 years.
Heading south along the Viking Trail you might experience time travel visiting isolated fishing villages which have hosted civilizations for thousands of years. At the Port au Choix National Historic Site, learn how little we differ from our ancient forbearers. Take time to linger because tomorrow you will be busy looking for the thousands of moose and caribou in Gros Morne National Park.
If you think the shoreline to this point has been spectacular wait until your boat tour of Western Brook Pond in Gros Morne. This landlocked fjord was left as a slash in the cliffs when the last ice age ended. 2000 vertical faces slowly come together as your journey on the purest lake in the world. This voyage is surreal but guaranteed to give you memories to savour back in the real world. Afterwards, stretch your legs on a valley of ancient earth’s mantle that has made this park a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The landscape evokes images of the moon more than the earth, but this geological wonder has its own charms.
Complete your odyssey with a taste of other experiences unique to our corner of the globe. Zodiac with the bergs and whales or walk into a falls to watch salmon jumping at your feet.
Tour Inclusions
7 nights accommodation (including 2 at Quirpon Lighthouse Inn)
2 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 2 suppers
Western Brook Pond boat tour
Ferry to Labrador
Park and site passes
Midsize rental (for self guided), ground transportation and a great guide (for guided)
Rates
Per Person Price:
Self-guided tour for $1,650 + tax, based on double occupancy. Available at any time.
Guided tour for $2,790 + tax, based on double occupancy (Min 4 /Max 5 people needed). Please call to discuss dates.
All prices are in Canadian dollars. Applicable taxes include 15% HST