Burgeo - Newfoundland

Sandbanks Provincial Park
Burgeo Museum
King George IV Ecological Reserve

This small hospitable fishing village located on the scenic south coast of Newfoundland island is home to a fierce bunch of inhabitants who oppose the changes that modern civilization has brought to their way of life. Farley Mowat, a Canadian author who spent six years in the area and elsewhere all over the province, writes about this theme.

Sandbanks Provincial Park has a shoreline of flat white sand beaches, counted among the best on the south part of the island. There are also hiking trails, forest and bog to explore. Look for birds, seals, caribou and shipwrecks. History indicates that the park land used to be settled, probably before the town itself, and that animals grazed there. The indigenous peoples in the area were Beothuck Indians and Dorset Eskimo, followed much later by Anglicans from England who wished to take advantage of the excellent fishing grounds.

Burgeo Museum features exhibits, artefacts and even ships from the fishing industry. The Ecological Reserve is a river delta and a stop for migrating birds.