More to see and do in Southern Labrador

by Keith and Heather Nicol

     On Thursday, August 29 the weather improved greatly from the previous day and we awoke to bright sun and light winds. We first set our sights on the Point Amour Lighthouse and it was a splendid day to be along the coast. This lighthouse is the second tallest lighthouse in Canada and is 109 feet tall. You can climb the 132 steps to the top where we got a bird’s eye view of the surrounding area. While we were there the staff suggested doing the short 1 km trail to see the wreck of the HMS Raleigh which ran aground in dense fog on August 8, 1922. The trail winds along the coast and is easy to follow. 

Be sure to visit the Point Amour Lighthouse

  While in this area be sure to see the plaque marking the oldest known burial mound in North America which is along the road heading to the Point Amour Lighthouse. It appears that a young Maritime Archaic Indian boy was ceremonially buried at this site roughly 7500 years ago. Along the Labrador Coast Drive is the Labrador Straits Museum near the turnoff to the Point Amour Lighthouse and we spent an enjoyable hour chatting to Iris Earle who is the museum supervisor. This museum was started in 1979  and features a craft shop as well as artifacts which record various aspects of the way of life along this coast.

Iris Earle demonstrates how to use a hoop to carry water buckets at the Labrador Straits Museum

   From there we headed into adjacent Quebec where we had heard about a new tour being featured by Aqua Labadie. Clair and Philippe Labadie have been scallop farming for some time but last year decided to do scallop farm tours. Scallops happen to be one of our favourite seafoods so how could we resist! We opted to do their 2 hour tour which included a luxurious boat ride of scenic Salmon Bay as well as a demonstration of how the scallops are farmed. The tour ends with a sampling of raw and cooked scallops and a glass of wine. We found the whole tour very informative and it is a great way to spend an afternoon. They can be contacted at: aqualabadie@gmail.com .

The boat tour with Aqua Labadie was amazing

 Unfortunately we had to leave Labrador the next day so we spent a comfortable night at the Northern Light Inn (www.northernlightinn.com) in L’Anse au Clair which is just a few minutes from the ferry terminal.  On our next visit we want to try more of the hiking trails in this area since it seems like almost every community has a trail worth exploring. Also if you want someone else to plan your tour of this area then check out: http://www.tourlabrador.ca/home/ .

The Northern Light Inn in L'Anse au Clair is a comfortable place to stay