Whale watching and sightseeing tour

Arrive Deer Lake, Newfoundland (YDF). We meet you at the airport and we provide an overview of the adventure while you travel the dramatic route to Gros Morne for the evening.

Overnight Location: Gros Morne

Journey to L’Anse au Clair, Labrador with a stop at Port aux Choix, Newfoundland to look at ancient orca carvings. The ferry to Labrador is famous for pelagic seabird watching. Whales and seals are also frequent highlights on this 90-minute crossing.

Meals Breakfast, lunch, Welcoming dinner

Overnight Location: L’Anse au Clair

If time allows, we visit the 1540s World Whaling Capital, Red Bay, where we learn the story of the bowhead and right whales who once called these productive waters home. The region’s dramatic salmon rivers provide beautiful photographic opportunities and may serve to make this coast especially attractive to orcas.  We travel through old growth Labrador forest along the new Labrador Highway to Mary’s Harbour where we meet the Battle Harbour ferry. Watch for the black bears and other wildlife along the route and around Mary’s Harbour. Overnight in the beautifully restored, historic premises of Battle Harbour. From here Peary declared, “The Pole is ours.” Today the area has been restored to the glory it enjoyed when it was the Capital of Labrador. We use generators for electricity and enjoy comfortable rooms and local food.

Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Overnight Location: Battle Harbour

Coastal boat trips searching for humpbacks, orcas, and other whales. Explore Battle Harbour and the abandoned communities of the Labrador coast. We will also attempt to gather some of the region’s first humpback tail photographs. Our hope is that we can continue our orca dorsal fin photography and perhaps use hydrophones to listen in on the underwater vocalizations of orcas and dolphins. We have a small catalog of orcas we recognize and we will be attempting to broaden our knowledge of these individuals and their biology. The region’s dramatic coast and recently abandoned fishing communities contribute a poignant and unforgettable human adventure to the expedition experience. We enjoy the coast’s whales, abundant seabirds, and seals by day while soaking up the historic atmosphere of Battle Harbour by night. We review the story of Peary and Bartlett and their trip to the Pole. We also revisit the time the world came to Battle Harbour to hear the stories of the first successful journey to the Pole. Our time here is always an expedition highlight.

Meals Breakfasts, lunches, dinners

Overnight Location: Battle Harbour

The south coast of Labrador is rich with seabirds, seals, and whales.  Today one of our stops will likely be Cape Charles - truly the most easterly point in North America.  While Cape Spear near St. John’s, Newfoundland promotes itself as the continent’s most easterly point, Newfoundland is an island.  One cannot walk from Cape Spear to British Columbia but one can make the journey starting at Cape Charles, the true eastern edge of North America.  We explore other coastal communities during our expedition boat trips searching for humpbacks, orcas, and other whales. We also take the time to explore Battle Harbour’s trails and history. Few people can truly claim to have stood on the absolute eastern edge of North America; however, all of the participants in our Southern Labrador Adventures (formerly called the Northern Whale Study Expedition) share this special privilege and distinction.

Overnight Location: Battle Harbour

We call this vacation program an expedition because the restored historic premises at Battle Harbour boast one modern washroom per restored building rather than one washroom per bedroom.  The exotic and remote destination of Battle Harbour means that many modern conveniences like television and WiFi connections are absent.  The rich coast and landscape make this our most talked about vacation program but we do feel it more appropriate to call this a comfortable and “gentle expedition” rather than a traditional group tour.  This is our third day of coastal boat trips searching for humpbacks, orcas, and other whales. We also further explore Battle Harbour and the abandoned communities of the Labrador coast. The region’s dramatic coast and recently abandoned fishing communities contribute a poignant and unforgettable human adventure to the expedition experience. We enjoy the coast’s whales, abundant seabirds, and seals by day while soaking up the historic atmosphere of Battle Harbour by night. Guests always remember their time at Battle Harbour as one of their life’s highlights.  The atmosphere and setting are magical.

Overnight Location: Battle Harbour

Our gentle adventure departs Labrador for the St. Anthony, Newfoundland area and our local hotel. The ferry trip between mainland Labrador and the Island of Newfoundland provides prime whale and seabird watching opportunities for us again. This is the land of the Vikings and we ponder the region’s rich human history while looking for shorebirds, seabirds, and whales. 

Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Overnight Location: St. Anthony

Depending on the sea conditions and local reports, we will explore the dolphin and humpback-rich areas around St. Anthony and the Grey Islands on a local tour boat. Every season several recognizable orcas show up, including individuals we know from the Battle Harbour region. Our study colleagues in the area also have resident humpbacks that they recognize and can tell us about. This is our last day for photographing humpback tails and orca dorsal fins. We also explore the ancient Norse history of this scenic region and visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site at L’Anse aux Meadows… and learn about the relationships the Norse and the first peoples had with the region’s whales.

Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

The last day of our expedition will likely see more moose and caribou than whales as we leave northern Newfoundland for the charming Glynmill Inn in Corner Brook. Here we enjoy a sumptuous farewell supper.

Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Overnight Location: Corner Brook

Depart from Deer Lake airport.

Meals Breakfast