last report - NF

Well 3 days turned into almost a week because we figured we had the time to spend until our flight, so we split the days in 2 and took it real easy. Anyway, to sum it up, the trip was fantastic!!!! We have seen some special places and met many new friends along the way. Sixty six days with only 10 real showers...and 6 times of doing laundry. We definitely stank and so does all our stuff by now. Lots of stories still to tell but that will be at home. We take this chance to say big thanks to all our sponsors: NDK kayaks that did the job staying bone dry the whole way around. www.seakayakinguk.com LENDAL paddles that always fit our hands perfectly. www.lendal.com EXTRASPORT paddling clothes, PFD's and spray decks that kept us dry and aflote. www.extrasport.com RUTABAGA that helped keep us warm with the under layers of merino wool and dry bags. www.rutabaga.com EUREKA for the big yellow dry tent, sleeping bags and mats. www.eurekatent.com Jeff Allen for the poggies and all the moral support. www.seakayakingcornwall.com Karel Vissel our forever friend and weather man. www.kayakweather.blogspot.com Avner Moncaz for the GPS www.moncaz.com Simon Jansen and Susan Pottle in Corner Brook, NFLD, for all the logistics. www.pureadventures.ca also a big thanks to Effi Neumann for running the blog for us. and last of course to Terra Santa for hosting our trip on their blog.

3 paddling days away from the finish

So we are now only 3 paddling days away from the finish. After finally leaving the south cost and a very long time of paddling in the fog with head winds lots of the way, we found the sun again. Yohooo!!!!! It was getting so depressing waking up every day in the fog, we wouldn't recommend it for paddling conditions. On one of those foggy days while we were rafted up for a pee, Tomer was just getting back into his cockpit and i was getting out, a very gray calm Mako SHARK apeard right by the side of my kayak. While I was almost having a heart attack and Tomer too, it swam around to his side as I was quickly closing my spray dack and both of us paddling away. After a few minutes that shark, or maybe another one was jumping high up out of the water, and again, and again... We got so scared, didn't stop anymore for peeing until the end of that day. On the south cost there are very few small communities that are trying hard to promote their selves for tourism so that they don't just disapear for ever. In one of them the school just closed this year after only having 2 kids left in it. You can only reach these places by boat or kayak. Now we are left with 3 days, hopefully with following seas. (finally thanks to the SW prevaling winds of the season). Anyway, we are tierd and ready to go home. We will write one last update when we get back, so ciao for now TS & HF

UPDATE NF

It's a jungle out there!

For weeks now people have been asking if we saw any whales and we said, not yet. Well, it turns out that when these small fish called caplan, come close to shore, so do the whales to eat them, and many other swimming creatures as well. One of our days out there on a big sea rounding Cape Race, we saw from far a humpback whale lifting his big long white side wing, and diving down, maybe 20 seconds later we noticed 2 big white spots moving under our kayaks making terbulence on the surface, giving us nearly a heart attack!!!! We felt this was our scariest encounter with the wild life. But then the next day we had a whale come out of the water only 50cm infrond of my kayak, diving right under Tomer's just inches away while both of us were racing away from it in opposite directions.At the end of that day we had more than 10 humpbacks around us feeding peacefully. Both our mom's on the phone asked if we got any pictures and both of us seperatly answered that we get so scared it paralizes us so neather goes for the camera.... tooo bad we can't share these experiences. We haven't seen the sun for 2 weeks now because this area has the labrador current meeting the golf stream bringing thick for, so again we crosses in dark fog another bay with dolphins, seals and whales popping up everywhere. Again, hopping to hear the lighthouse horn, we finaly heard it from far. After another hour we saw braking waves and only when we were right under them, we saw these high high cliffs. yey.... we made it. Kept paddling rounding the spectacular Cape St.Mary's with its bird sancuary, which ment for us thousands and thousands of birds all over, under and around. What a sight!!! Finaly had a shower and laundry after 2 weeks and are ready now for moving forward. Ciao ts & hf

Update from telephone call,bye karel

NEW PICTURES

Update: Fog fog wind wind and some more...

Ok, so we have been paddling along the eastern cost of Newfoundland for the last couple of weeks, and it has been a very demanding paddle. Most of the way is big open crossings in wind, rain , fog and some more fog, but this is what it's like on this cost. Some of the days we think...why are we here at all??? Yesterday was maybe our scariest crossing, not the longest but thick fog the whole way paddling only on a compass barring, our eyes not moving of the compass, and only after 6 hours we actualy started hearing in the far distance the fog horn from the headland lighthouse. So, now we are stopping every few minutes listen exactly where it's coming from but still just ahead of us, we were so exhausted and by the time we finaly saw a small view of the headland we were so happy, we could relax and take some pictures, go for a pee and continue thru the big seas exploding onto cape St.Francis headland. Wow, what a day. Then heading to the nearest town in he fog, expecting as usual to get into the safe harbour, but getting disapointed again cause this was the first place there was NO harbour and all we saw were exploding seas against the rocks. Wow... how depressing... finaly we saw a very steep slipway between the waves and after a small pray to god, we managed to get ourselves off the water on to safe dry land. Oooo man!!! The only highlight of that miserable day were a pack of mink whales that passed right under us, we almost fliped from shock of cource but, wow!!! Today we just paddled 25 km into the capital and now are strolling the streets and getting a rest on dry land. It looks like there are some good restaurants around so we are going to check at least one of them out. Ciao for now TS and HF

Crossing the bay of Notre Dame

Hi all. Well for the good news.... 3 days ago we crossed the bay of Notre dame, probably our longest crossing of 85 km, in perfect weather. It was from Shoe cove to Bacalho island. Only after 10 hours we started seeing any land, and after a full day of 13 hours, ended up 20 km beyond the point we planned to get to. So.... yohoooo!!!! yes, we were dead exhausted but very satisfied. it was a small lighthouse island with an abandoned house at the top, where we spent the night on real matresses.mmmmm??? also the whole entrance to this small bay was almost totaly blocked with a huge iceberg as high as the island itself, so what a finish of a long long day. We will send a picture of it in one of the next updates. The next day we ofcourse had no energy, and ran out of food and water, so only went 9 km to the next community, Cobbs arm, which isn't the greatest location for us now that we are stuck there for 2 days with no good tent location, no drinking water to find around, and not too much to buy at the local convinience store. So, after staring at the tent walls for more then 30 hours straight, we decided to hitch a lift into the nearest town 20 minutes away, and are happy to just be standing and walking in the rain and in the freezing wind, instead of in the tent. Who knows how many more days we will be stuck there, all we have is thich fog. It's not realy clearing up in the near future. We don't even have a good hidding place for toilet on the beach so our tent porch became a bit of our bathroom....mmmmm??? and/or the beach in the center of town. hhhhh... what a sight...??? Our fingers are sore, our heels hurt and so do our backs. However, saying all that, our spirits are high and we are going to find something for lunch now...yum yum. ciao for now ts and hf

Newfoundland pictures

St. Anthony town

We got complaints that we are not updating enough and just by chance we found Internet again. so..... we got back from town yesterday to our tent and found a small hizdamnut holl in the ice, it pushed a bit off shore so we quickly packed our kayaks and set off at around 17:00, landed at L'anse Aux Meadows, and today strougled with a strong head wind to get to St. Anthony town, the last for the next few days. Unfortunetly Tomer was feeling porely this afternoon in the wind and i missed the entrance to the small bay so we paddled up another hour into the wind untill we finaly realized our mistake and turned back 4 km. upssss.... What we need now is to get enough food for at least a week of wilderness. Will write again on the other side. ts and hf

We finaly found a place with Internet...

So much has happend in these 2 weeks, can't remember it all but i'll write about some of it. Anyway, every little place we arive at, people are telling us we will soon see lots of ice and finaly after a week and a half we saw our first small iceberg. We got sooo exited we took lots of pictures. By the next day we had hundreds of icebergs floating beside us as we paddled along, and day before yesterday it finaly happend, we actualy got stuck in the ice surounded by heavy fog as well. How scarrrryyy!!!! All i wanted was to find the way out and get on to dry land. Yesterday, after spending most of the day in the tent on some rocky shore line it cleared a bit and we got so optimistic, we imagined our selves crossing this 18 km bay that's right infront of us. So we packed quickly, hopped into the boats and set off, just to find after 5 km that the way is totaly blocked with thick ice on the water. What a sight!!!!! We pulled our kayaks on to the cliffs under the lighthouse on Cape Norman, put up the tent and tied it to the kayaks and walked to the near by town, 5 km away, Cook's harbour. This is where we are spending today as well, recharging batteries and bodies. Unfortunetly i forgot the camera lead so can't send any pictures yet. We are hoping that today's wind will blow some ice off shore and let us cross tomorrow. So far we just had one shower in these 2 weeks. Holly crap!!!! but we do bath in the 0 degrees sea water every other day. My head is itching..... Ok, to cut it short fot now, we miss our friends but are having a fantastic time in the ice. Will write next time we find Internet. Again sorry for no pictures ts & hf

Hi from the chilly island of Newfoundland....

Hi from the chilly island of Newfoundland.... we are staying with a lovely couple, Simon and Susan, who are driving us all over Corner Brook town for last minute shopping, we got flairs, feul, food, local rum to give as gifts on the way. So we were debating if to go north or south to avoid getting ice bound, but for different reasons we decided to go north. First of all to hopefully and definetly check out those unbeleavable ice sheets we saw from the airplane. And secondly because there is a road going along the cost north and none on the exposed and remore south cost. So for a beginning of a trip we prefer to have the convinience of human life near by, incase we need anything and by the time we get around to the south cost we will be more experienced and stronger too. So clockwise it is!!!!!! No pictures yet, too lazzy at the moment. But just around the corner from here starts one of the most beautifull national parks of NFLD. We just got an update from the cross-tichon gang. Great to hear from you guys. We are all very lucky people. Until the next time we run into Internet we will say ciao for now. Oh, Tomer got a blue over green kayak and Hadas got black. Very nice ones. Adios, TS and HF

Circumnavigation of Newfoundland

Ok, we are off to the airport, flying to Toronto and then to deer lake in NFLD. Just wanted to let you know about the last email we got from a guy we are intuch with in NFLD saying that there are still lots of ice sheets around the northern part of the island and that if we paddle clock wise we'll probably get stuck at some point, we are now debating about the route, but in the back of our head thinking it can be so fantastic to see those ice sheets and wait until they brake and melt. So..... we don't have a decision yet but will look into it all in more detail when we arive on the island. So untill the next time then we will say ciao to all our friends, the ones we got to see and those we didn't before we left. ts and hf

“The luckiest people in the world”

So, we were debating where to go paddling next. A place with spectacular scenery, nature, and wild life. A place different to what we see every day. We were looking closely at parts of Alaska and then suddenly our eyes went east, after listening in to someone’s conversation about Newfoundland and its friendly people. And because we are” people who need people” we, spontaneously decided: NEWFOUNDLAND IT IS!!! And that’s that. So we would be “the luckiest people in the world” (as Barbara S. put it) On one of our daily paddles here in Terra Santa a friend (Dror. R) heard about our plan and said: o, I would love to go too…. Unless…(He said) you are going to work on your romantic relationship… Hhh,,, (We said)….mmmm????? Good idea…. (We thought)…. Truth is we would love if many of our paddling friends would come along but for logistic reasons and space in the tent??????mmmm It’ll only be Tomer and me. Tomer is in charge of all the researching of weather, rout, maps, getting there, contacts, etc,,,, And I’m just happy to be going… Waiting to greet us there are: Massive Icebergs, from half a million to ten million tons, drifting from Greenland , gigantic whales, thousands of salmon navigating the rushing streams , enormous Bull Moose, Polar bears and caribou roaming the fields. We still don’t have any pictures from NEWFOUNDLAND but here’s one of us:

Anyway, some of our sponsors at the moment are:

TERRA SANTA EXPEDITION CENTER- www.seakayak.co.il

NDK- for kayaks of course-- http://www.seakayakinguk.com/

LENDAL-for paddles of course-- http://www.lendal.com

EUREKA-for tent, sleeping bag, mat -- http://www.eurekatent.com

EXTRA SPORT- paddling gear- http://www.extrasport.com/

RUTABAGA- http://www.rutabaga.com/

A big thanks goes to:

Yaniv Sabag and Rozi Feldman for the beautiful logo

(check our web pagehttp://login.seakayak.co.il/newfoundland.htm)