By the time we got to Elliston the rain had stopped and we headed out to the Puffin Viewing site which is only 5 minutes from our airBnB beach house.
It was very windy on the site and hard to hold a long lens steady. It's a good thing we persevered even though we knew we would be back the following day. The wind was blowing in the right direction and the puffins were landing right behind us on the viewing site affording us some close up views.
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| Puffins "kissing" or "billing" where lifelong mates tap their beaks together to greet each other or just to show affection. |
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| This one picked up a feather - nest building? or just for the fun of it? |
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| Puffin conference |
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| Just have to make some noise |
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| The puffin rock |
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| This is the view out to the ocean on the way to the viewing site |
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| Puffin family deck chairs - beyond cute! |
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A root cellar - Elliston is officially known as the "Root cellar Capital of the World" with over 130 traditional root cellars built from stone and earth into the hillsides to keep root vegetables cool in the summer and frost-free in the winter.
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| Sunset over the Atlantic |
When we went back the following day, we were shocked to see the island with very few puffins on it. Some regular visitors suggested they may have discovered a large area with fish and had gone fishing. We were relieved they returned the following day but the wind direction has changed and they did not land as they did before in the viewing area.
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| Puffins gone |
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Herring Gull and chicks |
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| Taking a peek inside their burrow |
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| Having fun |
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| Going fishing! |
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An unusual rock face that looks like a lion with a mane
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This one reminded me of the Moai statues on Easter Island
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We went hiking the following day to explore the coast following the Spillar's Cove trail with its stunning Chimney stack and the neighbouring Dungeon Provincial Park with its "dragon's eyes". The golden hour drive through Bona Vista highlighted the colourful houses and changed my first impression of the town. We had cod, cod and cod the days we were on the peninsula - nothing like having seafood where they are caught! Oh yes, and seafood chowder!
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| We missed the trail head and scrambled all over this heath to get to the cliffs - memories of the treks over the tundra in the Arctic |
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| Spillar's Cove |
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The "Chimney" from different angles |
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| The "Dragon's Eyes" in Dungeon Provincial Park, almost right next to Spillar's Cove |
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| Love the coastal stacks in this area! |
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Bonavista - the town |
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| Ye Matthew Legacy - the Museum that houses a full-scale replica of John Cabot's ship, The Matthew - love the architectural lines on the building |
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The Old Pond |
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Cape Bonavista |
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| Apparently there are puffins here too |
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At Cape Bonavista - this is so Newfoundland! |
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| The Lighthouse |
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| Sunset in the Harbour |
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