4 hr 20 min, 75 km
Today was a beautiful sunny day, and we had some spectacular views of this part of the Newfoundland coast.
The highway was much busier than usual. Unfortunately, the Trans Canada Highway is still closed at Gambo, and likely will be for several days. This means everyone who would normally be on the TCH is on the coastal route with us.
We discovered today what it is was like to jump off the road to the gravel shoulder to allow trucks to pass. We had read about many others doing this, but had never had to do it ourselves. We are very glad for our mirrors, as they allow us to determine if the vehicles behind us will pass us properly or not. We only jump off of the road if there is a semi coming and it is either a blind corner or there is oncoming traffic. The large trucks in Newfoundland always do a very good job of passing us with at least half a lane separation, so we return the favour when it isn’t feasible by getting out of their way. So far, our vote for the worst passers are trucks towing 5th wheel RVs. They tend to forget that their trailers are wider than they are, so although their trucks pass us well, the trailers sometimes come a little closer than we would like. Overall, our experience with traffic in Newfoundland and Labrador has been overwhelmingly positive, contrary to some reports we had heard.
We are staying at the Windmill Bight campground just outside of Lumsden. We have a nice private site, and there are both fresh water and salt water beaches, but there is no drinkable water or showers. It seems that our $13 gets us a picnic table and a flat spot with other people around us. Since the water is “do not drink” as opposed to “boil for X minutes”, Scott got to go back up the last hill to the convenience store we just left, and buy 8L of bottled water.
We are wondering if maybe wild camping might be a better thought for tomorrow night. If we can’t make it to Gambo tomorrow, it looks like wild camping will be our only option. The only requirement to making wild camping work is that we have enough water with us, which is easy enough if we plan for it.
Hi guys, glad to hear that you are doing well and the sun has finally come out! My uncle is telling me to tell you to make sure you get in touch when you go through Truro. Which way are you going to get there? If time permits, it might be nice to go along the north shore of NS to Tatamagouche and then to Truro. Shouldn’t be too much traffic that way either. You could probably wild camp around Balmoral Grist Mill and all kinds of other places. Lots of campgrounds around that route too. Let me know when you near NS and I’ll try to think up lots of tips for you!