The Sea Cave at Old Man Cove

Heading toward Newfoundland's North Peninsula, we reached Gros Morne National Park and camped on South Arm of Bonne Bay. From our campsite, we saw a number Mink Whales and one Humpback whale blow and tale display.

The next day, we headed out for some hiking in the Tablelands region. The second trail for the day turned out to be very interesting. It started with us picking our way over Tableland rock rubble.

The Tablelands were formed by pressure pushing the land almost straight up producing a mountain with a flat top and skirts of rock rubble extending down into the valley. Normally, mountains are a result of the earth's crust folding from pressure and the tops are peaked.

As we hiked, the trail took us into spruce bush, over the headlands, and down toward Old Man Cove. At times, there was mud, rock and steep climbs. When we reached the Cove, the scenery was quite spectacular.

We had a choice to beachcomb to the south or find a sea cave somewhere along the bluff to the north . We were interested in seeing the sea cave, but access depended on the tide. We were ill prepared and didn't know the tide schedule, and the two groups we had met on the trail differed on the details.

We headed off around the bluff with caution noting the tide level. It was slippery going over wet rocks, seaweed, and only meters between the rock wall and breaking surf to choose the right footing .

It didn't take long to reach the cave though it seemed much longer slip sliding along. When we got there, we weren't disappointed. Then of course, we still had to retrace our steps assuming the tide hadn't cut us off. So without delay, we took a few picture, and headed back around the bluff toward the beach.

We reached the beach without incident, and as it was getting late, we started back over the headlands.

We were sore and tired by the time we got back to the car. It was about suppertime, so we drove on to Trout River and the Seaside Restaurant. There, we enjoyed Cod and Scallop dinners with Wine, and took time to reflect on our hike to the sea cave at Old Man Cove.

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