Twillingate

is a beautiful harbour village on Newfoundland’s northern coast. It’s claim to fame is its proximity to the flow of some of the most spectacular icebergs flowing past Newfoundland. There are several adventure companies that offer tourists an opportunity to get you close to these magnificent icebergs. Roughly 90% of icebergs seen off Newfoundland and Labrador come from the glaciers of western Greenland, while the rest come from glaciers in Canada's Arctic.

The length of the trip to the icebergs is dependent on where they are. Some are drifting slowly south and some have kind of run aground. The one we viewed was about six miles out from the harbour. As we got closer, it looked spectacular in the distance. How massive and beautiful - totally amazing.

Icebergs are edges of glaciers that have broken off and slipped into the ocean. Their sheer size will amaze you, and that's without seeing the ninety-percent still below the surface of the ocean.

Our guide said this iceberg was probably from a glacier that formed 10,000 years ago. An interesting feature was the black lines prominent near the top of the iceberg. This is ash from volcanic eruptions that probably took place in Iceland thousands of years ago.

There are more than just icebergs to see and experience in Twillingate. Beautiful scenery and coastal hiking make this a worthy stop for a Newfoundland itinerary.