Newfoundland on the rocks…

Posted by Greg on March 29, 2008

Greg Stamer and Freya Hoffmeister among Icebergs in Newfoundland, 2007. Photograph by Neil Burgess (click on image to view enlargement)

As a bit of a teaser for my upcoming Newfoundland trip I have created a photo album of my trip around the Avalon peninsula in 2007. This trip was undertaken after teaching Greenland-skills at the Kayak Newfoundland & Labrador (KNL) symposium. The trip served as a dry (wet?) run for Iceland, and to test and hone our gear choices.

Icebergs are a common sight from the east coast of Labrador to Newfoundland’s southern shore — “Iceberg Alley”. These are bergs from Greenland that have been transported south via the Labrador current. I should mention that paddling close to bergs, as in the image above is very risky business. Kayakers have died when the ice rolled suddenly, due to erosion of the immense ice mass underneath the surface. The ice is as beautiful as it is dangerous.

One local custom is to collect small “bergy bits” surrounding the iceberg and to cart it home via kayak. When added to scotch (or the drink of your choice) it fizzes loudly — literally a “Bergie Seltzer”. The effervescence comes from compressed air bubbles — Greenland air from centuries ago — trapped in the iceberg, that sizzle, fizzle and pop when thawed!