By Holly Rideout
Trip July 22-23, 2000
1:50,000 scale NTS Maps - 2E/10, 2E/11
Map of trip (red line delineates the route)
"Leave no trace - take your garbage home with you, and leave nature the way you found it"
Group paddle included Dirk Muir, Patty Ivory, Janine Dawson, Holly Rideout, Richard Anstey, Stephen Barnes, and Lindy Rideout. Bernie Howgate joined us on the Island.
Located approximately 9 km from Cottlesville, Notre Dame Bay, is an island that was once bustling with a population of approximately 900 at its peak. It is now home to two people year-round. Exploits Island is rich with history, and remnants of the past are everywhere. Some would say there is a mystical air about the island that draws people back.
We start out on Saturday from my hometown of Cottlesville, and Loyde Rideout's wharf provides the perfect launch location, tucked away in a sheltered cove. Conditions are great - overcast skies, no wind and the ocean appearing like glass. However, crossing the towards South Samson's Island, we expect swells in this 5 km stretch, but are pleasantly surprised as conditions remain good. Being a novice paddler, I get a few tips from the more experienced of the group enroute to the island, which is to be our breakpoint. Upon entering Samson's Tickle, summer houses speckle the coastline making it a beautiful place to visit.
Photo of Holly on Samson's Island beach (Click on image to enlarge. Photo Lindy Rideout)
Samson's Island is home to my mother, and my grandmother is buried here, so before embarking on the second half of our journey, we walk the still beaten path to the graveyard.
We load up our kayaks and head for "Grassy Island" otherwise known as "Matthew Lane Island" on NTS maps. We have reservations for supper at Devon House at 7:30 pm so are pressed for time. Thoughts of steak cooking on the barbecue propel us forward. Finally, Exploits Island looms mountainous before us. However, the entrance to the harbour remains hidden from sight. The entrance would be hard to find by those who are unfamiliar with the area. Once we are in the shelter of the harbour, some of us look for a good landing place where we can "use the facilities." We find it on a beautiful stretch of beach.
Photo of beach after entering Exploits Harbour (Click on image to enlarge. Photo Holly Rideout)
The harbour is a about 1.5 km long and .5 km wide which makes it a playground for large boats and kayaks. Our home for the night ( a restored homestead) is visible. It’s located in Lower Harbour and has a beach located in front that is perfect for launching.
Photo of Dirk's house in Lower Harbour where we stayed for the
night
(Click on image to enlarge. Photo Holly Rideout)
I couldn't resist taking a dip in the ocean much to the surprise of the American kayakers who have also decided to camp here for the night. Our timing is not great because it’s about 6:00 pm when we arrive here. It has taken us about five hours in total to paddle here, however, we are not in a hurry, and the more experienced paddlers must slow down for the novices in the group. Normally, this trip would take an experienced paddler 2.5 half hours in good conditions.
We have dinner at Devon House that evening, and the meal is well worth the wait. Devon House is a restored bed and breakfast over 150 years old.
Photo of Devon House on Exploits (Click on image to enlarge. Photo Holly Rideout)
The next morning, everyone has their own agenda. Bernie is leaving to continue his solo trek around Newfoundland, so we decide to follow him as far as the lighthouse (approx. 3 km). After leaving Lower Harbour, I shout that I have spotted a whale. We paddle in the direction of the whale only to come a little too close to what's known as "Mad Moll rock." It would be easy to swamp your boat if you get too close to this rock. As we continued, the lighthouse beckoned above us on a jagged cliff overlooking the ocean. A part rope/step ladder hangs over the cliff beneath the lighthouse that one can climb up if they so wish. On our return, we stop at the breakwater at Lookout Point in Lower Harbour which was built by hand over 150 years ago.
Photo of Bernie Howgate leaving on his solo journey
(Click on image to enlarge. Photo Holly Rideout)
Photo of Exploits Lighthouse in the distance (Click on image to enlarge. Photo Holly Rideout)
Photo of Janine climbing the breakwater at Lower Harbour,
Exploits
(Click on image to enlarge. Photo Holly Rideout)
After our paddle, we visit the only remaining residents on the island - Richard Wells and Lydia Budgell. Richard, who some call the "Mayor of Exploits," and Lydia have remained on the island making a living from the land and the sea. Meeting Richard, I am thrilled to find out that he is actually my second cousin. It is also easy to understand why, after watching everyone else leave the island, Richard and Lydia decided to remain. They love the land here, and are dedicated to preserving the beauty of the island for future generations to enjoy.
Photo of Holly with Richard Wells on his patio overlooking the
harbour
(Click on image to enlarge. Photo Bernadine Fifield)
In the late 1800s, Exploits Islands was a thriving community supporting such industries as fishing, shipbuilding, a cannery, farming, as well as the importing and exporting of goods. Today, its roads are still intact, and you can easily visualize how this was once a prosperous community - the hub of Notre Dame Bay. Some structures still stand proud such as the schoolhouse with its pot belly stove in the centre. However, the area’s history is what intrigues you, knowing that this was home to several pre-contact peoples, mainly the Beothuck Indians. Shanawdithit (last of the Beothucks) lived on this island for five years and would spend days roaming across it in search of her lost people.
There is so much to see on the island that a weekend is not long enough. Hiking or just going for a walk here will transform you, and for a day, you will experience what it must have been like to be an Islander.
Exploits Harbour looking southeast (Click on image to enlarge. Photo Patty Ivory)
For more information about this trip, contact Holly Rideout at hollyrideout@netscape.net