Hebron & Mugford Tickle
Heading south along the Labrador coast, we awoke to a beautiful sunny morning as we approached the landing sight for our activities. An abandoned settlement named Hebron was our destination. Founded in 1831 as a Moravian mission, it was the northernmost settlement in Labrador until the mission disbanded in 1959. A number of different length hikes were offered as we explored the abandoned buildings and surrounding area, including the two grave yards. We marveled at some of the grave markers that dated back to the 1800’s and were remarkably preserved. The photographers had a field day, capturing images of the different structures in various stages of decay, and also the surrounding tundra, which was slowly turning into Fall colors.
There was also a crew of six that were working on restoring the mission building during the summer months. They were very friendly and helpful as we did our exploration around the settlement. Their season would last for two more weeks, and then would start up again next summer. It seemed like there was a lot of work yet to be done!
As we boarded the last of the Zodiacs to head back to the ship, we got a call from our Undersea Specialist that there was a whale right behind the National Geographic Explorer. An announcement was made and we poured out on the stern to see this unexpected visitor, which turned out to be a Minke whale. The last three Zodiacs were still on the water loaded with guests and naturalist, they got a different view from water level.
We were soon underway, and after lunch we arrived at the entrance to Mugford Tickle, a narrow channel surrounded by beautiful scenes of all kinds, from rugged mountains to delicate waterfalls. As we cruised through this waterway, all eyes were scanning the water and surrounding hillsides for wildlife. It took a while, but we were rewarded with a view of another Minke. Soon after that Steve Gould radioed the bow, Black bear at twelve thirty! As we turned to leave, the announcement came on “hot dogs & beer on the fantail”, what a perfect end to a great day. Oh yeah, caribou at seven o’clock!
Heading south along the Labrador coast, we awoke to a beautiful sunny morning as we approached the landing sight for our activities. An abandoned settlement named Hebron was our destination. Founded in 1831 as a Moravian mission, it was the northernmost settlement in Labrador until the mission disbanded in 1959. A number of different length hikes were offered as we explored the abandoned buildings and surrounding area, including the two grave yards. We marveled at some of the grave markers that dated back to the 1800’s and were remarkably preserved. The photographers had a field day, capturing images of the different structures in various stages of decay, and also the surrounding tundra, which was slowly turning into Fall colors.
There was also a crew of six that were working on restoring the mission building during the summer months. They were very friendly and helpful as we did our exploration around the settlement. Their season would last for two more weeks, and then would start up again next summer. It seemed like there was a lot of work yet to be done!
As we boarded the last of the Zodiacs to head back to the ship, we got a call from our Undersea Specialist that there was a whale right behind the National Geographic Explorer. An announcement was made and we poured out on the stern to see this unexpected visitor, which turned out to be a Minke whale. The last three Zodiacs were still on the water loaded with guests and naturalist, they got a different view from water level.
We were soon underway, and after lunch we arrived at the entrance to Mugford Tickle, a narrow channel surrounded by beautiful scenes of all kinds, from rugged mountains to delicate waterfalls. As we cruised through this waterway, all eyes were scanning the water and surrounding hillsides for wildlife. It took a while, but we were rewarded with a view of another Minke. Soon after that Steve Gould radioed the bow, Black bear at twelve thirty! As we turned to leave, the announcement came on “hot dogs & beer on the fantail”, what a perfect end to a great day. Oh yeah, caribou at seven o’clock!
