Exploring the Heart of Central Newfoundland - Part 1
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Episode Title: Central Newfoundland: Exploits Island, Fogo Island & the Heart of Newfoundland Travel
Hosts: Tim Johnson and David
Series: Travel in 10
Destination: Central Newfoundland, Canada
Episode Overview
Central Newfoundland sits between the better-known draws of St. John’s and the Avalon Peninsula in the east and Gros Morne National Park in the west. For travellers willing to explore beyond those established routes, the region offers a closer look at the fishing communities, landscapes and traditions that have shaped the island.
In this episode, Tim draws on months spent travelling throughout Newfoundland, including time as a travel writer in residence, to explore some of his favourite experiences in the central part of the island. The conversation ranges from boat-access communities and encounters with humpback whales to fresh seafood, distinctive places to stay and Newfoundland’s long history of resettlement.
The episode also looks at the character that makes Newfoundland distinct within Canada, from Newfoundland Time and Irish and English influences to the warmth Tim and David have experienced while travelling across the island.
Topics Covered
- Central Newfoundland – Why the region between Newfoundland’s better-known east and west coasts deserves more attention from travellers.
- Newfoundland Culture – The island’s distinctive dialects, music, history and strong Irish and English influences.
- Newfoundland Time – The unusual half-hour time difference that sets Newfoundland apart from the rest of Atlantic Canada.
- Resettled Communities – How changing transportation and access to services reshaped isolated fishing settlements across Newfoundland.
- Exploits Island – Exploring a former year-round community that remains accessible only by water.
- Local Food – Homemade meals, locally caught fish and the tradition of buying lobster directly from Newfoundland fish plants.
- Fogo Island – A look at one of Central Newfoundland’s best-known island destinations.
- Where to Stay – From a design-focused luxury inn to B&B accommodations and a remote geodesic dome.
Top Things to See & Do
Exploits Island
Reachable by boat, Exploits Island offers a window into Newfoundland’s history of isolated fishing settlements and community resettlement. Tim explores the island on foot, learns about the people who once lived and worked there and visits the local cemetery while hearing stories from the community’s past.
Explore the Coast by Boat
The journey to Exploits Island is part of the experience. During Tim’s visit, a humpback whale surfaced roughly 10 metres from the boat, underscoring how closely everyday life in this part of Newfoundland remains connected to the sea.
Fogo Island
Fogo Island combines Newfoundland’s coastal landscapes and cultural traditions with one of the province’s most distinctive approaches to contemporary tourism. It is also home to a community where fishing, crafts and local traditions remain central to the visitor experience.
Grand Falls-Windsor
One of the main communities in Central Newfoundland, Grand Falls-Windsor makes a useful base for exploring this part of the island and travelling toward smaller coastal communities.
Gambo
Gambo is noted in the episode as the birthplace of Joey Smallwood, an important figure in Newfoundland’s entry into Canadian Confederation.
Where to Eat & Drink
Exploits Island – Tim’s visit included a simple meal of homemade pea soup, fresh bread and fish caught locally. It was an example of how food experiences in Newfoundland can be closely tied to place, season and the people who live there.
Local Fish Plants – During lobster season, Tim recommends checking local fish plants, where freshly landed lobster may be available directly from the source. Rather than a formal restaurant experience, it offers a straightforward way to experience Newfoundland seafood.
Where to Stay
Fogo Island Inn
A design-focused luxury property overlooking the North Atlantic and Iceberg Alley. The inn is notable for integrating the surrounding community into the guest experience, with opportunities connected to local fishing, crafts and traditions.
Carriage House, Grand Falls-Windsor
A small B&B-style stay where the communal atmosphere gives travellers an opportunity to meet and exchange stories about their experiences in the region.
Freshwater Inn, Gambo
A comfortable accommodation option in Gambo and one of Tim’s recommended places to stay while travelling through Central Newfoundland.
Haribay Adventures Dome
A geodesic-dome wilderness stay that combines a comfortable bed and necessary supplies with a more isolated outdoor setting. The emphasis is on experiencing the landscape, quiet and solitude without giving up basic comforts.
Can’t-Miss Experiences
- Take a boat to Exploits Island and explore a resettled Newfoundland community.
- Learn about the history of the fishing settlements that once depended primarily on water transportation.
- Watch for humpback whales while travelling along the coast.
- Eat locally caught fish alongside homemade Newfoundland staples.
- Buy fresh lobster from a local fish plant when in season.
- Spend time on Fogo Island and learn about its fishing and craft traditions.
- Stay overnight in a remote geodesic dome for a quieter experience of the Central Newfoundland landscape.
Gateway to Newfoundland
Central Newfoundland provides a useful link between the island’s better-known eastern and western regions, but it also rewards travellers who treat it as a destination in its own right. Gander provides air access to the region, while road travel opens up communities such as Grand Falls-Windsor, Gambo and Lewisporte, with boats providing access to offshore communities and islands.
For travellers interested in understanding Newfoundland beyond its major tourism centres, Central Newfoundland offers a closer connection to the island’s coastal history, smaller communities and relationship with the North Atlantic.
Final Thoughts
Central Newfoundland is particularly well suited to travellers interested in culture, coastal landscapes, local food and smaller communities. Experiences such as visiting Exploits Island, staying in a remote dome or spending time on Fogo Island reveal a side of Newfoundland shaped by fishing, resettlement, isolation and strong community ties. It is a region that benefits from slower travel and time spent listening to the people who call it home.
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Transcript
When people visit the island of Newfoundland, they generally go to the east coast, which is the capital, St. John's and the Avalon Peninsula, or the west coast and the wonders of Gros Morne National Park.
Speaker A:But fewer make it to the beating heart of this island, which is a region called central Newfoundland.
Speaker A:It is wild, it is wonderful, it is warm, and it is welcoming, and it is everything that you picture when you imagine the island of Newfoundland.
Speaker A:Today, we're going to be talking about central Newfoundland.
Speaker A:David, how are you doing this week?
Speaker B:I'm doing great, too.
Speaker B:And, yeah, Newfoundland is definitely one of my favorite parts of Canada.
Speaker B:It's not one that I have spent nearly as much time as you have in, but I think, you know, for people who haven't been there, it is super, super unique.
Speaker B:It's really, really distinct from the rest of Canada.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:It's its own time zone.
Speaker B:It's got almost its own language, certainly its own very strong dialect, its own music, its own culture.
Speaker B:And just the thing that struck me and the thing that really came back to me every time I've been in Newfoundland is how incredibly warm and welcoming the people are.
Speaker B:So warm and welcoming.
Speaker B: t what happened there back in: Speaker B:I guess it's a remarkable place, and I know one you've spent a ton of time.
Speaker B:So I'm really looking forward to getting into it today and hearing more about your experience there.
Speaker A:Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker A:Come From Away is an absolutely incredible musical, and that happened in central Newfoundland and the part of Newfoundland we're going to be talking about in this podcast and the next one.
Speaker A:And you're absolutely right on everything.
Speaker A:The friendliness and the openness of the people there, especially for people towards people who are visiting, is, like, almost shocking.
Speaker A:The first time you go.
Speaker A:I mean, I remember the very first time I visited, I was walking down the street.
Speaker A:I think for some reason I didn't have a car that day, and a car pulled over and he said, oh, where are you?
Speaker A:Where are you going to?
Speaker A:And I said, I'm going up just to the restaurant on the corner.
Speaker A:Oh, get in.
Speaker A:I'll give you a ride.
Speaker A:You know, And I mean, you know, I've lived in Ontario my whole life.
Speaker A:That's never happened to me once, you know, and so I.
Speaker A: last province to join Canada,: Speaker A:They have.
Speaker A:We have six time zones in Canada.
Speaker A:Their time zone is a half hour ahead of Atlantic time, an hour and a half ahead of Toronto, New York, Miami.
Speaker A:It's called Newfoundland Time.
Speaker A:And just really interesting Irish and English influence dialects and accents all over the province.
Speaker A:And so I have spent, I was trying to count it up about six or seven months of my life in the province of Newfoundland.
Speaker A:I was the writer, travel writer in residence.
Speaker B:Travel writer in residence, weren't you?
Speaker A:Yeah, that's right, yeah.
Speaker A:And spent three and a half months just exploring every nook and cranny and tiny little town and loved every.
Speaker A:I didn't have a bad day, three and a half months.
Speaker A:I did not have a single bad day in Newfoundland and just a wonderful, wonderful time.
Speaker A:And now I've been back.
Speaker A:I was back for a month a couple years ago and I was back for a couple weeks just in Central last year and loved, loved, loved my time.
Speaker A:I'd been to Central before, but loved my time exploring that part of the province even more.
Speaker B:Well, I would think as the, as the writer in residence, I mean somebody who the Newfoundland brought out to really spend such an extended period of time doing travel writing there, you probably know this province better than almost anyone.
Speaker B:And this is, as you say, a part of Newfoundland.
Speaker B:Probably not, not a lot of people get to.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean it's, it, it's, it's, you know, a few hours drive.
Speaker A:There's two airports in Newfoundland.
Speaker A:One is in Deer Lake, which is in the western part of the province.
Speaker A:Well, there's one at Gander which is in central Newfoundland.
Speaker A:But it doesn't get a lot of international or, you know, flights, mostly interprovincial.
Speaker A:There are flights from, I believe, from Montreal and Toronto.
Speaker A:But the two major airports are, are in western Newfoundland and eastern Newfoundland.
Speaker A:So people don't get to Central quite as much.
Speaker A:And it's really a shame because there really is so much to see and do here.
Speaker A:In many ways it's like it's.
Speaker A:The people go to St. John's and St. John's is really an absolutely beautiful place and wonderful restaurants.
Speaker A:You know, I won't take any points off St. John's but if you want to go and see the, the Newfoundland portrayed in come from away, you can literally do that in central Newfoundland.
Speaker A:I mean, it is, it is the real deal Newfoundland.
Speaker A:I had so many wonderful experiences there as travel writer and residence.
Speaker A:And then just recently on my last, my last trip to Newf land.
Speaker A:So lots and lots to talk about because it's a part of the province.
Speaker A:I keep saying province.
Speaker A:There is a mainland part, if we want to get technical, of, of the province.
Speaker A:New.
Speaker A:The province is Newfoundland and Labrador.
Speaker A:And the Labrador is the mainland part.
Speaker A:And Labrador is an absolutely wonderful place as well, even more remote than parts of.
Speaker A:Of of Newfoundland.
Speaker A:So I will make the mistake throughout this episode where I refer to Newfoundland as a province, but the whole province is Newfoundland and Labrador, but Newfoundland is the island part of that province.
Speaker A:Anyway, just a footnote, but there's so much to do in Central that we cannot contain it in one episode.
Speaker A:Maybe I'll start with a couple activities and then how they relate to the other two categories that we generally cover on this podcast, which is where to eat and where to stay.
Speaker A:And then maybe part two will.
Speaker A:We'll just continue with the activities.
Speaker A:How does.
Speaker A:How does that sound?
Speaker B:That sounds great.
Speaker B:So let's dive right into it, and let's start off with.
Speaker B:I mean, what.
Speaker B:What's one of your favorites?
Speaker A:I loved.
Speaker A:You know, I had just really a remarkable day just north of one of the main towns in central Newfoundland, which is called Grand Falls Windsor.
Speaker A:You can go up and past Lewis Port, which is another town to the coast, get on a boat and go out to a place called Exploits Island.
Speaker A:And in Newfoundland, the history is long.
Speaker A:I mean, it goes back, I believe, to the 16th century or even earlier.
Speaker A:And so you had a lot of fishing communities that were isolated from the rest of, like, from the main part of the island.
Speaker A:They were off the island on other islands.
Speaker A:And that didn't matter in the past because most of the transportation was by boat.
Speaker A:When the age of the automobile became dominant, when roads were the way that we got to places, these communities became somewhat unsustainable.
Speaker A:So there was a big thing that happened to the province, the island of Newfoundland, the province of Newfoundland, Labrador, where they moved resettled communities.
Speaker A:So they took people and they said, now you live here, closer to where you can get to the school and the hospital and whatever, the grocery store.
Speaker A:And Exploits island is a resettled island.
Speaker A:But what happened was people kept their property there.
Speaker A:The property was not confiscated.
Speaker A:And they use a lot of these resettled communities as summer cottages and cabins and go out there.
Speaker A:And so Exploits is like that, and it is beautiful.
Speaker A:So you still have lovely homes, cottages, cabins, and it is not reachable by road.
Speaker A:And I had a wonderful, wonderful day going out to Exploits island, hanging out with.
Speaker A:With.
Speaker A:With a guy who had been there for decades.
Speaker A:And he took me out in his boat.
Speaker A:We saw a whale, and we had a humpback whale, I don't know, 10 meters from the boat.
Speaker A:And for him, it was no big deal.
Speaker A:It was like, oh, just another day, like Seeing, you know, a squirrel in the backyard, you know, oh, here's a humpback whale, you know, and I just, you know, did little hikes, walked through the community and heard the long history of the community, even went to the cemetery and heard the stories of the people who had lived and worked.
Speaker A:And I mean, if you can picture it, it's just beautiful, green island just surrounded by sea.
Speaker A:I mean, something that you might think of, you know, in Ireland or, or, or a place like that, you know, rough and rugged, but at the same time just graceful and lovely.
Speaker A:So that was the activity and I want to link it to where to eat because if you do a tour with this company, they, they have a tour that you can actually stay overnight.
Speaker A:They have a quite a lovely home, a newer home that they have built there.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:But you can also do it as a detour, which is what I did.
Speaker A:I gotta say.
Speaker A:It was, it was one of the, the greatest meals ever.
Speaker A:I mean, I'm a fan of simple, honest, beautiful, fresh food.
Speaker A:And the lunch was like a pea soup.
Speaker A:Homemade.
Speaker A:Fresh bread.
Speaker A:Homemade.
Speaker A:And then fish that the gentleman had caught.
Speaker A:Just the freshness of the place on a plate, you know, with a beautiful, beautiful view.
Speaker A:So Exploits island was definitely one of my favorite activities and one of my favorite meals.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And can I ask what happens to these places, Tim?
Speaker B:So my understanding was like these were fishing communities that it was just too expensive to have healthcare there, to have schools there and stuff.
Speaker B:So they resettled these communities.
Speaker B:But is there still like year round a presence there or is it really just during the summer, people using these as cottages or what, what does that.
Speaker A:Look like in some cases?
Speaker A:Definitely.
Speaker A:If you have, if people have winterized homes and they have, they can get to town through water that doesn't ice up there.
Speaker A:Are you.
Speaker A:Some people who stay year round, but they, I wouldn't say that they are.
Speaker A:The village is basically gone.
Speaker A:It's more of a vacation getaway.
Speaker A:And there are dozens, if not hundreds of these communities across the island of Newfoundland.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And my understanding is that there's almost a bit of an element to them.
Speaker B:Kind of like the, the towns in Italy that have seen a bunch of out migration that you can go buy a house for a dollar and rebuild it.
Speaker B:That, you know, it's not necessarily a dollar, but they're very, very inexpensive.
Speaker B:That I know a lot of some former colleagues who are Newfoundland expatriates who, you know, would buy a summer cabin in one of those out communities just to have their, their piece of Newfoundland that they can still own and have in their family.
Speaker A:I definitely have at least one friend who, you know, is.
Speaker A:She's from Toronto and went out to Newfoundland.
Speaker A:She's fallen just like me, under the spell of the magic, you know, of this place.
Speaker A:And she, and she bought a place on Fogo Island.
Speaker A:So she didn't, I don't know if she stayed at the inn, the famous, famous inn, which is also in central Newfoundland.
Speaker B:I was going to say, let's maybe stop and talk about that one for just a minute because people may not know about Fogo island and that is really from a luxury, I would say tourism perspective, probably one of the standouts anywhere in Canada, really.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:And that, and that would link back to our, our where to stay category, which this is a true story.
Speaker A:I've never stayed at the Fogo Island Inn, but I know a lot about the Fogo island from being in Newfoundland so much.
Speaker A:And the, the, the backstory is that Zita Cobb, local woman, made a lot of money in tech and did a wonderful thing.
Speaker A:She moved home and she created, built this amazing inn.
Speaker A:And again, I have not been there.
Speaker A:I've only seen photos.
Speaker A:That overlooks Iceberg Alley integrated the local community so people can go out cod fishing when they're allowed to.
Speaker A:They can learn how to knit a quilt, they can learn how to do all the local arts and crafts.
Speaker A:So she's engaged.
Speaker A:Rather than, you know, the model where you build a big resort and you shut up the local community out, she's brought the local community in as, as a strength.
Speaker A:And then on top of that, it is like, I'm not a big fan of saying anything's more than five star, but it's definitely more than, you know, people say six star, seven star, where does it end?
Speaker A:But it is definitely five star plus plus gourmet cuisine really like design focused, modern and yeah, I mean, it's almost like something from another world.
Speaker A:It's, it's, it's really an incredible place.
Speaker A:I mean, not just one of the most remarkable inns in the province or even Canada, but one of the most remarkable inns in the, in the world.
Speaker A:One of the most people fly up.
Speaker A:It's, it's.
Speaker A:And it's cheap stay.
Speaker A:I believe that there is a minimum stay, but people fly in and I mean it's the kind of place where people fly in in their private jets to the closest airport and you know, and then maybe helicopter the rest of the way.
Speaker A:It's that kind of place.
Speaker A:So Fogo is definitely, I hope to get there one Day and it is definitely a wonderful, wonderful place.
Speaker A:While we're talking about places to stand, I know we're kind of maybe getting a little bit over 10 minutes here.
Speaker A:I'm just going to wrap it up this episode with two quick additional one more where to eat, which is just the simplest thing.
Speaker A:Newfoundland, when lobsters are in season, a lot of towns have what they call the a fish plant, which is where it's a rough and ready place.
Speaker A:It's where the fishing boats will come in and unload their catch and then they're either sort of packaged and shipped, but some of the lobsters are sold fresh for the where to eat.
Speaker A:I'd say I've done it many times in Newfoundland where I've called up the fish plant.
Speaker A:You say, hey, can you set aside a £1?
Speaker A:And they'll say male or female.
Speaker A:And because whether you want to eat the eggs or not, and they serve it to you, you know, in more times than not a cardboard box, you know, and you take it back to your place, you know, it's like seven or eight bucks or something like that, you know, it's like.
Speaker A:And then, you know, pair it with butter and maybe make up a little bit of a, you know, corn, corn on the cob on the side, whatever.
Speaker A:And you've got a beautiful, beautiful meal.
Speaker A:So again, simple, fresh and beautiful.
Speaker A:And I'm just going to mention a couple other places to stay.
Speaker A:There's a carriage house in Grand Falls, Windsor, wonderful little B and B.
Speaker A:And it's the kind of place where you meet other people, people gather and share their experiences.
Speaker A:Sort of like going on safari where everybody comes together, you know, in the common room and just in chats about what adventures they had.
Speaker A:Had a nice stay in Gambo, birthplace of Joey Smallwood, who was kind of the.
Speaker B:The leading light or bring your leading.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Bringing Newfoundland into the Confederation Canada Freshwater Inn is a very nice place to stay.
Speaker A:And then I just want to mention the dome with Haribay adventures.
Speaker A:So if Fogo is five star plus plus, the dome is sort of like a rugged five star.
Speaker A:It's like a geodesic dome.
Speaker A:They'll take you out with all your supplies and then you get to experience really the elements in a comfortable way, comfortable bed.
Speaker A:You've got everything that you need for your overnight.
Speaker A:But they take you out and about, drop you and say, just enjoy your time.
Speaker A:And I mean, the peace and solitude of staying in a place like that is absolutely incredible.
Speaker A:And I just have.
Speaker A:I have a million more things that I could talk about.
Speaker A:But maybe that carries us through to part two.
Speaker B:Yeah, I know we talked about.
Speaker B:There's so much in central Newfoundland where we're gonna have to spread it out over two episodes.
Speaker B:You'll have to remind me as we get to our next episode to tell you about my favorite food related activity.
Speaker B:It's not quite a food, more of a.
Speaker B:Well, we'll talk about it when we get into the next episode.
Speaker A:We did not talk about this before the episode, so I can't wait.
Speaker A:I can't wait to hear what this is.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:That was great.
Speaker B:Thanks, Tim.
Speaker B:Have a great week.
Speaker A:Have a great week.
Speaker A:Thanks so much, David.
Speaker B:Than.
