Whale Sightings on the St Lawrence River

A few days to retrace SOME of our steps, and to negotiate the mighty St Lawrence River.

From Halifax to Campbellton (on the River Restigouche on the New Brunswick/Quebec border)  is five hundred and seventy seven kilometers on straight, fast roads with a fairly good road surface  (all things being relative!).  Apart from the odd glimpse of sea, we saw very little, thanks to pouring rain and low cloud the entire way!  We discovered a huge power ‘outage’ around Campbellton which had lasted all day, and put all shops and businesses out of service.  Apparently a problem with a big high tension wire in the middle of nowhere, created a logistical nightmare for engineers trying to reach it.  Lulu works on a battery and generator if necessary, so we smugly sat it out!

Sunshine and warmth greeted us as we entered Quebec province and drove further north to Matane, to take a two hour (smooth) ferry across the mighty St Lawrence River, to Baie Comereau.  Suddenly, we were back in civilisation – a city with lots of industry, big houses, smart cars and lots of shops.  Lulu coped well in the rush hour, as we headed OUT, and onto the northern shore of the river.  We were rewarded with spectacular views in all directions, idyllic river valleys, and majestic hills of mixed forest.  Warm sunshine helped to intensify the colours – the numerous greens of the trees, the blue of the lakes, the brown peaty water of the rivers – all of this interspersed with pretty little settlements with half a dozen tiny timber framed houses, each with their own huge area of ‘yard’.  Canadians have a ‘yard’ not a garden.  Thanks to the unending space,  yards are always huge.  Particularly in the countryside, yards are just grass, perhaps with a vegetable plot and a shrub or two.  Any colour, comes from annual flowers which are being hastily put in about now, for the relatively short summer season.  Remember, my comments are all relative . . . . . . . .in comparison to our gardens and growing season(s) in UK.

Forestville campsite had a space for the night – backing onto the beach, so good for an evening leg stretch!

Along this shore of the St Lawrence Estuary there are 1246 square kilometers of Protected Marine Park.  The Cap-De-Bon-Desir Interpretation Centre (one of several throughout the protected area) provided us with close up sightings of Minke whales as they passed the rocks.  I should explain that the river depths here vary from just a few metres to over 400 metres. Add to that the various underwater currents (Source, Saguenay and Atlantic) that meet in the area, and you have a salty, cold environment rich in nutrients that whales love.   A three hour boat trip out to where the currents meet gave us lots of fabulous sightings of Minke, Beluga and Humpback whales – what a treat!  There are 13 different kinds of whale who come to feed in the area  – depends on the time of year, as to what you see.   Sorry no photos  – I could only stand in awe of these beasts – they eat around 400kg of food per day, and yet can glide gracefully under the water, briefly showing us their fins as they surface to breathe.  One of nature’s gems.

Tadoussac campground provided us with the best view so far from Lulu.

The town is on the main Hwy 138, and has a very impressive FREE FERRY SERVICE across the mouth of the Saguenay Fjord.  The ferry runs 24/7, three times an hour, and there are 2/3 ferries in service at all times  – it’s a ten minute crossing.  Everything from huge log-carrying lorries, to small cars use the ferry – it is the only way travel the north coast of the river.  Very efficient service and presumably provides employment for quite a few locals.  The fjord is very deep and we can only assume that the extortionate cost of putting a bridge across, far outweighs the cost of running the ferry.  On a good day, you can see whales from the ferry – sadly, it was pouring rain and thick mist when we crossed!!

The next few days will take us back to, and around Quebec City and Montreal, before heading north-west to visit some dear friends near Ottawa.  Domestics and mundane jobs such as giving Lulu a ‘grease job and oil change’ will be incorporated on the way.  We’ve driven just over 5000 km now, so she’s ready to be ‘refreshed’.

See you next week, when I’ll tell you about life in a log cabin on a lake . . . . . . .