Dunfield, Newfoundland, Canada

While we are not actually 'doing' much to write about I realised that I have probably not really managed to convey the spirit of where we are.

Part of Dunfield from the hill behind our cottage

For me a city girl, it is a novel experience to be part of such a small isolated community. For Alan, who grew up in a small isolated village, in Australia, similar to Dunfield, it is a familiar feeling. Although even Lowanna where Alan grew up, had a corner store and a post office, Dunfield has neither. There is no public transport so a car is an essential and if you have to get to work in all weathers then 4 wheel drive is almost compulsory. People who do not have cars rely on their neighbours to take them to the shops or doctors appointments etc. Many of the villagers are second and third generation and live in the same houses their parents and even grandparents were born and grew up in. About 40 houses are occupied here. Many of the villagers share common surnames like Spurrell or Clarke and even if they are not related they have known each other all their lives. Everybody knows what is going on and who is doing what. There are a few newcomers who have restored old cottages here as summer residences and only visit for a few weeks at a time.

Our local "corner store".

The closest shop of any kind is several kilometres away and is a basic convenience store and while it stocks all the basics, like most small convenience stores anywhere it is expensive. You still have to drive to get there. 

The big supermarket at Port Rexton

A few extra kilometres brings you to Port Rexton which has 2 small supermarkets, one of which is a co-op and has good products at reasonable prices. The other supermarket also has a liquor store attached as well as petrol pumps. In addition there is also our closest open restaurant called Coopers, which sells basic burgers, fish and chips and a tasty concoction called a truckers special of chips, mince meat cheese and gravy. No health food here!

A house in Trinity

Next to Port Rexton is the well known village of Trinity which is full of beautifully restored buildings on a hill with water all around. There is a church, theatre, bank,several craft shops, cafes B&B's and holiday cottages. However, only about 4 families live there year around and right now it is like a ghost town as all the tourist places are closed until May.

Bonavista lighthouse

Our closest 'town' is Bonavista about 50 kilometres away on the northern tip of the peninsula. We pass through many small villages on the way, but Bonavista has several eateries, and supermarkets and other small shops. It is mainly a fishing town and there is a fish processing facility. And of course in summer there are tourists who come to see the lighthouse and a replica of John Cabot's ship the Matthew. Cabot arrived in Newfoundland over 500 years ago. It takes about 45minutes to drive there.

For a big day out we go to Clarenville about 70 kms away and is a solid one hour drive each way. Clarenville has a hospital, Wallmart, Canadian tire (wallmart type place) 2 small malls, a variety of shops and eateries mainly of the fast food type.

Ice on the bay at Dunfield

For us, the Trans Canada Highway starts at Clarenville so it is all country roads until we get there. The roads cut through beautiful forest land with lakes and frozen ponds everywhere.

We love the cottage it is very comfortable and cosy. We had wanted to have a log fire but actually we are glad we don't have to worry about keeping the fire stoked and the supply of firewood. The electric heating is included in the cost of the cottage and works very well. Our kitchen, dining and living and bedrooms all look over the ocean and our private cove. There is an island on the horizon which looks like a mini Ayers rock in the middle of the ocean. We have rugged cliffs behind the cottage and pine forests all around the other sides. On bright sunny days the water sparkles even though it can be sub zero outside.

Our first ever attempt at a snowman

Today we have had the biggest snowstorm since we arrived in Canada, our island has disappeared in the fog and snow is swirling around the cottage. It is building on the window ledges, the car is just a huge white mound and the sea laps against a snow covered beach. It is always very quite here, except for the sound of the ocean, however the snow dampens all sound so it is even quieter than normal, The cliffs are all white and the fir trees are weighed down with the soft white powder.

We could probably have gone somewhere less remote to experience snow. There are plenty of European countries,like Austria and Switzerland with snow, even Scotland. But they are also major winter sports destinations and that's not what we wanted, although Alan is very keen to go snowmobiling. Seeing as just about every rural Canadian owns a snowmobile I don't think it will be hard to get him a ride, we just need enough snow, and if it keeps up like it is today that shouldn't be a problem!

a local road in Dunfield

The Newfies are excellent at keeping the roads clear. 

One type of snowplough,

Time get the car out....

The snowploughs are out the minute the snow lays down. It's not just dedicated snowploughs, 4 wheels drives and even quad bikes all have blade  attachments so the locals just get out and plough away, especially in the more remote roads.

4 Weeks later....

I can't believe we have now been in Canada for 4 weeks and in our cottage for 3, we are already a third of the way through our 3 months here.

Christmas was quiet, which was how we like it. Our Christmas tree looked lovely and it snowed on Christmas eve, just what we ordered!:) The cottage is homely and cosy and the views spectacular.

On Christmas Eve, Bruce a local guy who runs boat tours during the summer dropped by to invite us over for a traditional Newfie Christmas dinner of salt cod, served with molasses raisin bread and Partridge berry jam! (Newfoundland has a lot of unique berries, as well as Partridge berries, there are bake apples, and cloudberries as well) Apparently this is what all good Newfies have for supper on Christmas Eve. It was lovely to meet some of our neighbours and to see how other people celebrate Christmas eve. It was an early night as the family was off to church at 7 pm. As we had already completed our church going quota for the year, we begged off and were home nice and early.

We have had quite a few snowfalls since we have arrived and in between have managed to explore all the local villages and roadways within a 100 kilometre radius.

We have found out a bit more about the area where we are living. We are in what used to be known as an out- port. Newfoundland is an island full of little bays and coves and fjords and when settlers arrived they moved into most of them and made a living fishing. The out-ports had no road access and were only accessible by boat. During the period between the 50's and the 70's the government decided to try and resettle the population into more concentrated population centres and to build roads to those communities. During this time over 300 communities were abandoned and 30, 000 people resettled. Bruce's family is one of those who were resettled and he takes his boat tours to some of the now abandoned out-ports which are still only accessible by boat or quad bike in the summer or snowmobile in the winter.

Dunfield, where we are is one of the communities which had a road built into it and fishing used to be it's mainstay. However over overfishing in the 60' s and 70's (not by local fishermen, but foreign fishing boats dredging the floor of the Grand Banks where the cod fish used to spawn and basically decimating the fish stocks which have still not recovered)has killed off the fishing industry. Now the remaining folk here earn an income during the summer by working construction or partaking in the burgeoning tourist trade or else the young people move to the cities or the mainland to seek work. Most of the population of Dunfield are retired and they and their families have lived here for generations.

Electronic moose detection system

The country side is spectacularly beautiful, it is all forested, interrupted only by lakes and ponds. When it snows the already iced over lakes glisten in the sun like diamonds as the sun glints off the snow crystals. It is moose hunting season and nearly all the locals we have met have a hunting licence. We were at the local supermarket the other week and a ute pulled up with a fresh moose carcass in the back. Our landlord, Dustin gave us a jar of home shot and potted moose meat for Christmas, which we have yet to try. You can't buy moose meat in the shops but most people have a freezer full!

The novelty of seeing huge white snow flakes fall or watch huge icicles form from the roof when it melts hasn't worn off yet:)

We spend our days reading, watching TV or working on the computer.

The T.C.H. at Gander

A few days ago we decided to explore further afield and drive to the closest big town, Gander, about 200 kilometres away. In many ways it's a bit like being on the boat as we had to keep an eye on the weather to select a 'window' to make the trip. It was a 3 hour drive in each direction and we wanted to ensure we would have no ice, snow storms or severe weather while we were gone. We also wanted to try and be home before it got too late as moose on the loose present a huge problem on country roads at night. They are big animals (horse size) and can suddenly burst out of the woods and on to the road. Each year there are many moose related car accidents. In other parts of Canada where moose are prevalent, the highways are usually fenced. But Newfoundland is such a big island with such a small population it doesn’t make financial sense to do this, so we try and not to be out too late. Don't want a moose in the front seat with us:)

Dee's favorite doughnut shop in the whole world!

We made it to Gander and back without incident, but we had picked one of the coldest days we have had so far. Despite being sunny and bright it was very windy. The temperature was -14 degrees C but with the wind chill factor it was -26 degrees. Yes those are minus signs in front of the temps!! Our anoraks and snow boots kept bodies and feet cosy, although long johns would have been handy for the legs. Noses and cheeks got rosy quite quickly and that was just dashing from car to shops! No wonder they sell electric rechargeable shoes (battery lasts 7 hours) and all manner of warm, padded clothing we have never seen anywhere else. How else could you go moose hunting or keep building a house in those sort of temperatures??

We are so relaxed here and really enjoying experiencing something very different and that we could never do on Sunflower.