It's a great year for icebergs!

Waterline of Bay Bulls iceberg

The past few years have been exceptional for iceberg watchers. Hundreds of bergs have made their way down the Labrador Current, drifting south along the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. 2016, in particular, has seen an unusually high number of tabular, or flat, icebergs. This isn't actually good news, since it means that increased numbers of icebergs are calving from Greenland's glaciers, but it's brought some impressive viewing for those who are willing to travel for a look at the results. On a mid-June visit to Bay Bulls and the islands of the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve with Gatherall's Puffin and Whale Watch, we were treated to some beautiful views of a small berg grounded along the south side of the bay. Although it was overcast, enough sun broke through the clouds to create a beautiful shade of blue near the berg's waterline.

An impressive pinnacle berg near St. Anthony

Finding that June iceberg while exploring the Avalon Peninsula was serendipity; however, near St. Anthony there's a good chance of seeing bergs in July and sometimes even into August. A trip with Northland Discovery Boat Tours is the perfect -- and safe -- way of getting a closer look. On a late June trip we encountered two bergs, one sharply sculpted and the other tabular. There were several others in the distance, including a huge tabular berg that appeared to be close to a kilometre in length. If you're lucky, they'll even manage to net a bit of broken ice from one of the bergs and provide a taste of ice that's over 10,000 years old; it's compacted snow from long before Earth's industrial age, so it's about as pure as it gets!

Pinnacle berg coming into view

Large tabular berg

There's still plenty of time to view icebergs in 2016 -- for the latest in sightings, visit www.icebergfinder.com

Cruising down the Saint Lawrence (Part 2) Bonaventure Island and PEI

Gannets on Bonaventure Island

Continuing down the Saint Lawrence after a stop at Métis-sur-Mer, we arrived at Gaspé for a visit to Forillon National Park. There were options for walks of various lengths and degrees of difficulty, or time in the town for a walkabout; the National Park walks were through forested hills and there were wildlife sightings along the way, including a glimpse of a black bear, and there were lots of great photo opportunities. 

Ocean Endeavour through Percé Rock

From here it was on to Percé, where we boarded the Zodiacs for a closer look at the famous Percé rock and the northern gannet colony on Bonaventure Island. The island is roughly circular in shape and measures a little over four square kilometres, and is one of the world's most accessible bird sanctuaries. In addition to nearly 50,000 gannets, the island is also a nesting site for seabirds like common murres, black guillemots, razorbills and a few puffins.

Trying traditional quillwork, Lennox Island

Returning to the Ocean Endeavour, we set off for our next stop, Prince Edward Island. Sometimes called the Garden of the Gulf, the island was known as Epekwitk (translated as "Cradled on the Waves") to the Mi'kmaq people who lived here before the Europeans arrived. Two main options were offered for shore excursions from our stop in Summerside: a visit to the North Shore with its Anne of Green Gables history, from the books of L. M. Montgomery, and Prince Edward Island National Park; or a visit to the Lennox Island First Nation where we visited the local school and were greeted by elders of the community to learn about its history, then had an opportunity to observe traditional crafts like porcupine quillwork. There was time for a little exploring in Summerside when we returned to the dock, and a shuttle service that provided transportation to points of interest around town. Leaving Summerside, we were treated to an unusual view of the Confederation Bridge during dinner. 

Headed for the Confederation Bridge

 Adventure Canada's Mighty St. Lawrence cruise has been named by National Geographic as one of its “50 Tours of a Lifetime".

Next: on to Cape Breton Island.