We took a Newfoundland trip and returned home via the Trans-Lab and Quebec 389 in 2010. We spent most of our month-long trip in Newfoundland and had to get home so kinda buzzed through Labrador and Quebec but loved the trip.
I don't have any special insights but thought I'd post a few thoughts. I'm sure you've done plenty of research to even be considering the trip so you may have already covered these items. Please forgive me if the items below seem obvious to you....
Lots of good info
here on the Tourism Labrador website. (And, hey, there's news.... route 500 is now paved!)
Confirm that your GPS has maps for Canada. I say this after noticing that Garmins of the same model number may be pre-loaded with North America basemaps or may only have the Continental US basemap.
Figure out what you're going to do about your cell phone in Canada (if anything). Cell phones don't work on much of your route of course but you may want it for places that do. On my last trip to Canada I thought I'd just go to Walmart and buy one of the $10 Tracfone pre-paid phones like we have in the US. But the cheapest was something like $60 plus minutes and it wasn't clear if coverage would be there for my purposes so I just went without. I don't tend to make reservations or call for information so that wasn't an issue for us.
Maps-- I like to have a map-book and think I used the MapArt Road Atlas for Atlantic Canada (
this one, I think). But on my trip to Ontario and Quebec last summer I bought one of the BackRoad MapBooks series and liked it much better. The one for Newfoundland and Labrador is
here .
Sat-phone. We took advantage of the free loaner sat-phone offer you see on the Tourism Labrador website. It was indeed as simple as walking in and asking for one and returning it on the other end. The only thing to think about here is what happens if there's not one available or it turns out to be broken or critical parts missing. I believe they do a reasonable job of checking them but you never know. Also, please note it's only available on a portion of your overall route.
Do you need a satellite messenger (Spot or Inreach devices) ? This one comes down to the comfort level with the prospect of being out of touch for a significant period of time. Some consider the risk of needing it not worth the price or will consider the risk part of the adventure. Some have responsibilites back home (like fragile elders) or may want to send "I'm OK" messages back to friends and family. Ours is the latter case so I had a Spot at the time and now have an Inreach Explorer I'd definitely take on a trip like that.
Power for your devices. This one isn't specific to Canada but you may want to think through all your battery-powered devices and how you'll keep them charged. Think about charging capacities, connectivity (cords and plug types) and when they will be charged for the rechargables and what batteries you'll need for the non-rechargables. If your truck's 12-v receptacles all turn off when you turn off the key, consider whether you need to add a 12v receptacle with clamp-on connectors so you can continue recharging off the truck's battery. Also, consider what devices need powered at once in your truck while driving and whether you need a 12v socket-splitter to keep devices working and/or charging simultaneously. Also, consider how you'll jump-start your truck if you happen to do something stupid and kill its starter battery or come upon someone who did that stupid thing. Jumper cables? Micro-Start?
Oncoming truck traffic. Portions of your route are likely to be under construction. On our trip we hit a section in Quebec with 10-wheeler dump trucks who liked to drive very fast and of course in dusty conditions the dust sometimes would complefely obscure my view. They also threw a lot of gravel at us and we had windshield damage (spawls and cracks, not breakage). About the only thing I could do was look for a place to pull off when I'd see an oncoming truck (and thats not possible very often) or slow way down to minimize the closing speed between us.
Stay out of the marbles at speed. The gravel roads are generally good and it's easy to find yourself driving over the speed limit. But sometimes the road will have loose gravel at the edges that can act like marbles under your tires, i.e.,, put you into a slide if you venture into them. This tends to happen on a curve. Swing a little wide in a curve at speed and you can find yourself passing your own tail-lights. We saw the aftermath of a horrible two-vehicle accident miles from nowhere which I suspect had something to do with loss of control in the marbles.
Low and/or soft road shoulders. In some places the road surface is significantly higher than the shoulder so you can't pull off. An oncoming truck can seem awfully big and has right of way but you definitely don't want a wheel to go off that edge. The tourism site also warns of soft shoulders.
Bugs-- We had no issues in Newfoundland but did in Labrador. And that was in September. I remember talking to a guy in a coffee shop in Goose Bay who told me the bugs sometimes get so thick he can't see the other side of the street out the shop's window. I'd say our problems were just a minor annoyance but you may want to consider some type of screen-tent to avoid spending most of your camping time in your camper or truck (depending on when you go). The other thought is to get on the water in buggy areas.... perhaps take a coastal tour at the Mealy Mountains rather than go inland (just a thought-- you'll probably want to inquire locally).
Parks Canada Annual Pass- We bought an annual pass that year and my memory of it was it wasn't worth the cost unless you like to visit both parks and historic sites for the Newfoundland and Labrador trip. I was surprised to see it's a two-year pass (ours wasn't) but on further research I see that's because Canada plans to offer free admission to its parks in 2017 as part of it's 150th anniversary celebration. We've also bought the pass for our trips in western canada and felt we did get our value there. The big win for us, though, was that at the time they'd give you credit for any receipts you had showing previous admissions payments. I happened to learn that after buying three days worth of admissions and I still had the receipts and a case of the regrets for not buying the annual pass. I took those receipts to the park office and they treated them just like cash... I just had to pay the difference to get an annual pass.
Road signs- in Quebec, words on road signs are in French. They are typically accompanied by international symbols but you may not be familiar with those either.
Here's a quick guide to the more common French words on them.
Other suggestions that come to mind:
If possible, take the free hydro-station tour in Churchill Falls. I see it's currently shown as not available but it's not clear why or whether it may be available by the time you go.
Try the Screech in Newfoundland.
Have a Jigg's Dinner in Newfoundland. Typically Sundays.
Consider a side-trip to
Saint Pierre island, a French territory off the coast of Newfoundland.... just a ferry ride away to France.
And
here's how to pronounce "Newfoundland" like the locals.
-OC
