NTS maps - 1:250,000 scale, Botwood 2E
1:50,000 scale, Twillingate 2E/10, Comfort Cove-New Stead 2E/7
Map of Route (Map by Dan Miller)
"Leave no trace - take your garbage home with you, and leave nature the way you found it"
During July, 2000, I circumnavigated New World Island with four other kayakers from Newfoundland and the mainland (Eric West, Jane Inch, Melinda Tan and Malcolm Edwards). I highly recommend this trip due to its scenery and camping sites.
The weather was calm and sunny throughout the third week of July, and we didn’t miss any days due to bad weather. We travelled at a fairly leisurely pace (12 km a day) for seven days in a row. We decided to exclude Twillingate Island to avoid exposure to the open ocean.
Our group departed from Dildo Run Provincial Park. There are several campsites with water access that make departure relatively easy. Cars can be left at the campground for a small charge.
Water did not seem to be available easily, so we stocked up in advance and refilled our 20 L water cubes twice on the trip. Due to the many small communities around the island, there are abundant opportunities for water and emergency landings.
We spent one week travelling right around the island. Campsites were relatively easy to find. Several times we camped just above a boggy area near the shore, and other times we camped on or above pebbly beaches.
(Photo by Eric West)
We travelled counter-clockwise around the island camping at the following locations:
The best parts of the trip were between Cobbs Arm and Cottlesville. The first and last days of our trip were more peopled, had more boat traffic and were through more islands and less interesting scenery. Navigation through islands was a bit tricky and necessitated compass bearings occasionally.
There was little wind even on the days we were most exposed to the open ocean. To avoid one of the most exposed areas (the northwest shore of New World Island), we cut through:
Wildlife sightings consisted of minks, seabirds and whales. Minkes appeared near Tizzard’s Harbour and both minkes and humpbacks accompanied us through the Bay of Exploits.
It’s a great trip with lots of interesting cliffs, arms, harbours and whales (in July!) and iceberg sightings are possible (we saw one from Twillingate after our trip).
(Photo by Eric West)
(Photo by Eric West)
(Photo by Eric West)