Company plans two 2024 Newfoundland sailings

Adventure Canada is inviting birdwatchers and other nature enthusiasts to view some of Newfoundland and Labrador’s many lovestruck feathered friends.

Dennis Minty, who is the host of two June 2024 adventure Canada circumnavigations of Newfoundland, says the sailings will coincide with mating season for some 35 million seabirds, including puffins, always popular because of their unusual appearance.

“Birdwatchers will be in paradise,” Minty said.

But Minty noted those on the cruises can also spot different types of whales, with humpback and minke being the most common, but others — including massive blue whales — inhabiting Newfoundland waters at that time of the year as well.

“These waters are nature’s playground,” said Minty, who praised the “rich biodiversity” of this country’s easternmost province.

Spring and early summer see icebergs that began life in Nunavut or Greenland drift by Labrador and then working their way to Newfoundland’s southeast coast on a route dubbed Iceberg Alley because of the frequency with which icebergs float along.

Adventure Canada has been offering Newfoundland sailings — which begin and end in St. John’s — for some 25 years and its sailings in that part of the country feature three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including L’Anse aux Meadows, the only authenticated location of a Viking settlement in North America.

Another heritage site is Red Bay, Labrador, once a major Basque whaling station, and the third is Gros Morne National Park, which Minty labelled the “Galapagos of geology,” thanks to its intriguing rock formations.

But Minty added that Adventure Canada passengers will also meet plenty of Newfoundlanders on the sailings who are natural entertainers.

“Newfoundlanders are celebrated storytellers and inherently musical,” he said. “Our musicians will get you dancing, whether it’s on the ship, on the land or an infamous community kitchen party… You feel right at home as we sail around this province.”

Among those Adventure Canada has recruited to perform for its passengers is prominent Newfoundland musician Alan Doyle.

The cruises also visit the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, on which French culture is predominant.

Adventure Canada uses the 198-passenger Ocean Endeavour, which Minty noted has stabilizers enabling the ship to remain steady during rough water; a gym; hot tub; pool sauna; lounges and bars; and different types of cabin categories.

Adventure Canada uses Zodiacs to carry passengers to points of interest that border shallow water.

Minty noted that Adventure Canada offers cruises in many other parts of the world, many of them remote, unsurprising given that the company was founded in 1987 with the goal of delivering clients to the “most inaccessible places in Canada.”