Forillon National Park

We have spent the last few days exploring and hiking in Forillon National Park at the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula.

This must be Kris’ park – she loves anything with dragonflies!
Making friends at the Cap des Rosiers Visitor Center
Seals in the marina

Cap des Rosiers was named for the plethora of wild roses growing here.

Cap des Rosiers lighthouse
On the beach at Cap Bon Ami
VERY steep trail up to the Belvedere Mont St Alban
Cap Bon Ami
Cap Bon Ami
The seals look like tiny birds from the viewpoint.
Sharing, not sharing the rocks – seals and cormorants
Cormorants
Le Castor (the Beaver Pond)
Beaver Pond

We hiked the Cap Gaspe Loop at the end of Forillon Park, ending up at Le Bout du Monde (the end of the world).

Cap Gaspe Loop trail
Cap Gaspe lighthouse
Parks Canada Adirondack chair at the Cap Gaspe lighthouse
The start/end of the Appalachian Trail – kilometre 0
The Appalachian Trail running through Quebec (Gaspe Peninsula) and New Brunswick
Bout du Monde viewpoint
Bout du Monde viewpoint

Our last day in Gaspe, we took a day trip south to Perce. Roche Perce, or pierced rock, is said to look like a ship under sail from a distance. The rock is considered a geologically and historically-rich natural icon of Quebec.

The rock contains one of the world’s largest natural arches located in the water. The hole is 15 meters (49 feet across)!

The Ile Bonaventure, just off the coast of Perce, is home to one of the largest colonies of Northern Gannets in the world, an estimated 110,000 birds; maybe twice as many as the Little Skellig in Ireland which we visited earlier this year.

L’Ile Bonaventure

We had a great lunch in Percé.

Perfect day for a patio lunch @ La Maison du Pecheur
We knew lobster got big but…
Fun bathroom signs at the Dive Center, Perce
Fun bathroom signs at the Dive Center in Perce

We stopped by a well known whale watching spot at Pointe-Saint-Pierre. 

@ Pointe Saint Pierre

Several species of whales migrate to the Saint Lawrence estuary to feed in early and late summer: blue, fin, minke, humpback.   While hiking along the coast in Forillon National Park we have been keeping an eye out for telltale blowholes. 

Small Minke whale
‘Totem Poles’ at Pointe Saint Pierre

Tomorrow we head off to northern New Brunswick.

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