This is the index to a series of pages relating to a journey around the Trans-Labrador Highway in October 2010.

It has always been my ambition to go to Labrador, ever since the late 1960s when I was a child reading books like The Land God Gave to Cain. That kind of book fired my imagination and as a result, Labrador went quite high on the list of places to visit.

A second motivation was to do with a dispute I was having over an article I had written in 2005 about the Roanoke Island colony in Virginia . which led to a bold assertion from a bystander that implied that the coast of Labrador could not be seen from Newfoundland. And with a challenge like that, well, one just has to, doesn't one?

The third motivation was that up until December 2009, if you had travelled the Trans-Labrador Highway from Baie Comeau to Goose Bay, you were stuck there and needed to negotiate your way out on one of the freighters that plied the coastal settlements - either the Sir Robert Bond or the other ship, both of which connected with the Labrador Coastal Drive from Blanc Sablon (and the ferry over to St Barbe in Newfoundland) to Cartwright, at a price that bore no relation to any kind of reality and with your car in a shipping container, so I was informed . But all that changed when the Labrador Coastal Drive was built right over the mountains and the Eagle Plateau from Paradise River to the Trans-Labrador Highway about 10 kilometres from Goose Bay. Now you can drive all the way to Blanc Sablon and the proper car ferry, so now is the time!

Finally, an almost-last-request from a dear departed friend was to "keep an eye on my daughter and make sure that she's okay". And when aforementioned daughter went off to study for a year in Canada at exactly the same moment that I sold an apartment in Brussels and thus for once in my life I actually had an ample amount of spare cash, then a possibility became an absolute certainty.

So what will you need then in order to circumnavigate the Highway?

• A decent and solid petrol-engined vehicle with high ground clearance. Diesel fuel might be hard to find up there. 4-wheel drive might be useful too although not essential if you are a competent and patient driver and there isn't any snow. Chrysler PT Cruisers are only for fools. By the way, by the time you are well on your way to finish the route your vehicle may well end up looking like this.
   
  JUST BE AWARE that hire cars these days have GPS trackers in them. You'll need to check with the hire company that they will let you travel the road. Not every company does, and not every motorist knows where the plug is or goes around with a sheet of lead foil handy.
• A range of AT LEAST 500 kilometres. There is one stretch where the fuel stations are over 400 kilometres apart, and that is over some rough roads where your fuel comsumption will be depressing. A couple of 10-litre cans is always a good idea too, as long as they are filled.
• I had two punctures. You might have none. You might have more. As well as a couple of spare wheels, some of those cans of tyre inflator will not be misplaced, and a portable air compressor is a good idea.
• A large supply of money. Everything is expensive out there in Labrador. I blame the transportation costs myself.
• A warm blanket, shovel, torch and spare clothes. A flourescent balloon with a long piece of string attached is a good idea too. If your car is buried in a snowdrift, tie the balloon to the radio aerial. A snowplough driver might notice it. In case you are wondering, July and August are the only two months in the year up in Labrador where a fall of snow would be "unexpected". And note the "unexpected" - I did not say "unknown"
• Hot coffee and plenty of food to nibble on as you travel around. Over 400 kilometres between coffee stops is a long way for someone like me and an insulated coffee mug will only stay warm for so long. Not only that, food supplies in the shops that you will encounter are strictly limited in both quantity and choice.

A final word or two of warning. DON'T WANDER AWAY FROM YOUR CAR. And for at least four good reasons -

1. Everywhere looks like everywhere else up there. You can quite easily become confused and disorientated.
2. The ground is marshy and boggy up there. You might fall in or become stuck. And then, wandering around trying to pick your way between the bogs and marshes you might become confused and disorientated.
3. There are animals out there. Bears, for instance. And City-dwellers may not have the natural instinct to be very wary, and thus might treat a bear or other animal with maybe less respect than it deserves. This often has fatal results, and not for the animal either.
4. You will be a long way from assistance up there. If you are in difficulties and need assistance, someone will sooner or later come driving along the road and see your car. If they stop and you aren't in it, they can't offer you any help. You are unlikely to find help any other way.

I'm sure that you can think of others.

On the subject of bears, bears can smell food for miles. If you are not sleeping in a hotel but in your car, camper, tent etc, then when you have cooked and eaten your evening meal, wash up and clean everything thoroughly, and then move on another 20 miles before bedding down.

That way, you will avoid the arrival of unwelcome visitors during the night.

And so, dear reader, now that I have scared you to death, let battle commence.

1. Baie Comeau to Manic 2
2. Manic 2 to Manic 5
3. Manic 5 to Gagnon
4. Gagnon to Mont Wright
5. Fermont and Labrador City
6. Climbing up onto the Labrador Plateau
7. To Churchill Falls
8. Churchill Falls
9. The Wilderness Part I
10. The Wilderness Part II
11. Off the Plateau and down to Goose Bay
12. Happy Valley - Goose Bay
13. Labrador Coastal Drive Part I
14. Labrador Coastal Drive Part II
15. Labrador Coastal Drive Part III
16. The Metis Trail
17. Cartwright
18. Labrador Coastal Drive Part IV
19. Charlottetown and Pinsent's Arm
20. Labrador Coastal Drive Part V
21. Iceberg Alley and St Lewis
22. Labrador Coastal Drive Part VI - to Mary's Harbour
23. Labrador Coastal Drive Part VII - Mary's Harbour to Red Bay
24. Red Bay and Everything That You Always Wanted to Know About Mid 16th Century Whaling But Couldn't Be Bothered To Ask
25. Labrador Coastal Drive Part VIII Red Bay to L'Anse Au Loup
26. Point Amour
27. Labrador Coastal Drive Part IX - The End

GK Chesterton once famously said that
"the traveller sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see"
I worked in the tourist industry long enough to know that most tourists see what they are told to see.

But that is by the way. I went as a traveller with no Guide Book, no tourist leaflet and no internet printouts. I just went, and found things to see as I drove around. I probably missed dozens of thing of interest.

You have the benefit of having read my notes and so you might be tempted to go as a tourist. But don't. Go as a traveller and find things for yourself.

I ought to mention by the way that what I recorded on my travels is what I did and not what I am recommending that others do. My notes are simply for interest and the purposes of sightseeing. You travel this road at your own risks and perils according to your own ability and that of the vehicle that you have chosen for the route, keeping well within your own limitations.

Talking of my notes, I have very strong views about many things, and my opinions do occasionally come through in my writings, as you will notice. Much of what I have written is based on my observations and there is always the possibility that I have overlooked or am unaware of something important. If I'm totally wrong about something, about it.

If you disagree and can be pleasant about it, then and we can chat about it. If you disagree with me but just want to have a rant, then get your own website and rant on there, like I have done on mine.

The internet is a wonderful platform for free speech and we should fight to preserve it - free speech, I mean - at all costs. Censorship is the tool of petty tyrants and bullies, because they don't have the intellectual capacity to engage in coherent debate.

One final point.

If you have found my web pages to be of value and interest to you, please consider using the links to "Amazon" in the left-hand column of each of my pages when you place your next order. Your goods remain at the same price but I receive 4% commission on the sale. It would help my financial situation greatly.

Not to mention the fact that all labour deserves its rewards of course.

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