Jeannies Sunrise Bed & Breakfast

THE WESTERN SCENIC TOUR

Port Saunders and Hawke's Bay and another area particularly attractive to sportsmen. There are many lakes and ponds, and two major salmon rivers - East River and Torrent River. At Hawke's Bay drop into the Tourist Information Center and join a guided walk across 3 km of boardwalk known as the Hogan Trail. This takes you to the salmon ladder on the Torrent River where, when salmon are migrating upstream to spawn, you can see them jumping up and over waterfalls and "climbing the ladder" to get upstream.

Rolling Back the Centuries

After Hawke's Bay the highway swings around the east end of the bay and then back west to a fork that take you to Port Saunders, Gargamelle and Port au Choix to the aboriginal burial grounds at Port au Choix National Historic Site.

Workers found the site by accident in 1967 while they were excavating a basement for a theatre. They found a mass of bones, tools and weapons. The following year archaeologists discovered three ancient cemeteries and scores of skeletons. By studying the artifacts and human remains, archaeologists have been able to determine the Maritime Archaic People, a group of hunters and gatherers who lived along the eastern seaboard from Maine to Labrador, occupied the site 3,200 to 3,700 years ago.

A new dig just off the main road near the eastern end of the community is uncovering the remains of a Maritime Archaic village, believed to be that of the people whose cemetery was uncovered, and promises greater understanding of their culture.

At another site near Port au Choix, Phillips Gardens, remains of a Dorset community have been discovered. These very distinctive people moved into the area after the disappearance of the Maritime Archaic group and learned to exploit the food-rich marine environment. An interpretation center located at Port au Choix will tell you more of this fascinating story, as well as that of the Groswater people who also inhabited this part of the coast. Before you leave the area you should visit the beautiful Point Riche lighthouse.

Port au Choix is the best-known archaeological site in this area, but there are actually hundreds of other sites, both prehistoric and dating from early European occupation, along this section of coastline north to Eddies Cove. An ongoing project at Bird Cove has uncovered a variety of both historic and prehistoric sites.

Over thousands of years, one people after another has moved into this area because of its marine resources, mainly fish and marine mammals. Cultural habits and technologies have come and gone, but dependence on the sea remains a fact of life, and a bond that connects half a dozen cultures over more than 50 centuries. The northern part of the Great Northern Peninsula is dotted with dozens of prehistoric and post-contact archaeological sites.

The French Shore

Offshore between Eddies Cove West and Barr'd Harbour is St. John Island. Now deserted, it is the subject of tales of buried treasure. The stories tell of fortunes left behind by the pirates who once harassed Labrador-bound ships along this part of the coast.

Anglers will enjoy this area as it affords some of the best salmon fishing on the island, particularly at Castors River.

Many communities here were once part of the French Shore, so named because France held shore-based fishing rights along Newfoundland's west coast until 1904. This part of the Viking Trail will be a center of celebrations in 2004 as we mark the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the French on these shores, Castor, which is French for beaver, is just one of many place names that show French influence. In Plum Point, Darby's Island and Brig Bay you'll find many relics of the French occupation. Old buildings, grave sites, tombstones and traditions are all that remain of the former French culture.

At St. Barbe you can take a ferry to southern Labrador. (See the Labrador region for a description of Labrador Coastal Drive, including the Basque whaling station at Red Bay.) The ferry makes two round trips a day between May and December. Cars cross on a first come, first served basis. For further information, call 866-535-2567, or drop into any Visitor Information Center along the Viking Trail.