Parc National de la Gaspesie

Carly, Steph, Riana and I check out of the hippie hostel at Tadoussac and take the car ferry across the St Lawrence River to the east bank and as we drive north east along the Gaspe peninsula the road follows the coast and passes through flat farm land divided into small strips of fields, some of which are hay meadows filled with wild flowers, others have been cut and contain hay bales and others grow root crops.

Since we left Quebec City and travelled out into the countryside to Tadousac and now on to the Gaspe peninsula, places feel more and more remote and become almost exclusively French-speaking, with signs and information boards now in French only. Tourists and travellers from anywhere other than Quebec or France become a rare breed. Fortunately for me, Riana is a native French-speaker and Carly and Steph are linguists. It is interesting to be in a province that feels so different from the rest of Canada, because of the language. I could almost think I am in Europe. But it seems inconsistent that the rest of Canada has to be bi-lingual (there is even a government department that checks that all signs and packaging are printed in French as well as English. But Quebec is allowed to be mono -lingual.

As it starts to get dark, a turn in the road brings us face-to-face with a beautiful sunset and we park by a beach and stop to admire it as it sinks quickly into the sea. We stay overnight in a nice hostel in an old clapboard building just back from the rocky shore in the small town of Sainte Felicite.

Sunset

Me, Steph and Carly at St Felicite

The following day we continue driving and the landscape starts to become hilly inland. The Appalachian Mountains start here, rising out of the Atlantic at the tip of the Gaspe peninsula then striding across Quebec and into the US. Looking across the St Lawrence River, the opposite shore disappears from view as the river widens out even further. Tonight we are staying in a hostel called the 'Festive Sea Shack' and when we arrive we can see that it lives up to the ‘ sea shack’ part of its name as it is a collection of rustic huts, hammocks, yurts, tipis and camping on the beach. The ‘festive’ part of the deal is an open-air bar, live music until late in the evening and free condoms in a jar on the reception desk.  

Festive Sea Shack

The next day we drive into the Parc National de Gaspesie to stay for 2 nights. There are huts here to stay in – very like the ones in New Zealand, except they are accessible by road, which means that we don’t have to carry provisions, but makes it less of a wilderness experience. We don’t have all the cooking equipment we need, so we spend the previous evening at the hostel smuggling out ‘borrowed’ plates etc and a large cooking pan. We are hoping to be able to use our best Girl Guide skills to produce meals on the hut stove or camp fire. We plan to do some day hikes in the Appalachians and hopefully see some wildlife. Our first day’s hike is to the summit of Mont Albert. The ascent of 870 meters is pretty hard going and I can feel in my legs that it is some considerable while since I hiked like this.

All of us on Mont Albert

From the top of the mountain the path leads across a plateau of heathy moorland and strange bare patches of Mars-like red rocks, before descending into a steep rocky valley passing several waterfalls.

Red Rocks and Valley

Waterfalls

On the descent it starts to rain and by the time we get to our hut we are pretty wet and Carly quickly gets the fire in the stove going and we hang our wet things around to dry and we feel pretty pleased with ourselves when we produce a satisfying meal of potatoes baked in the fire and sausages cooked in the pan on the top of the stove. What a team!

Refuge at Mont Albert

Drying Out and Cooking

Dinner

The next day we take a short walk to an area of the park where there is the possibility of seeing moose. The walk is beautiful; through semi-open birch forest and moorland, with wild flowers and a low-growing plant with a proliferation of red berries. We arrive at a lookout where we take some time to take in the misty clouds rising from the valley and hanging below the mountain tops. But unfortunately although we think we hear a moose moo in the distance, we don’t see any.

Respect the Mooses 

Berries

Misty View from Lookout

After the walk we drive to another area of the park, where we will stay by a lake. Tonight’s meal of fajitas is successfully cooked on the camp fire.  

Lunch at Lake Cascapedia

Lake Cascapedia

Fajitas for Dinner

Camp Fire

The next day we return for a second attempt at moose-spotting, but even though we make an early start, which is recommended, we are still not lucky.

Still Looking for Moose

Then we hike to the top of Mount Olivine. On the way up we spend some time watching a red squirrel who is very cute and keen to share our trail mix. He is tame enough to take a nut from Steph’s hand.

Red Squirrel

The Girls on Mont Olivine

On the way back down we get wet again and spend the rest of the afternoon in the park’s well-equipped visitor centre having showers and doing laundry before returning to the Festive Sea Shack. When we arrive at the hostel a sea mist has settled over the place and dampened the festive spirit slightly. Tonight is the last night of our week together, as tomorrow the girls return to Montreal. Steph and Carly have been very generous and gracious to share so much of their time with me and Riana. I think we have made a good team and for me it has been a real pleasure to share their company and do wilderness activities that I would not have been able to experience on my own. Hopefully we’ll meet up again in the future – maybe in the west country.