Entering “Never, Never Country”

Day 3 June 3rd, Natashquan, Kegaska, La Romaine/Unamen Shipu


I woke up in Natashquan and the boat was filling up, a lot of people drive straight through to Natashquan to avoid a day on the boat. This is the end of route 138; the end of the road. I almost missed the stop so I wasn’t able to spend much time there but here are some photo’s I took from the wharf and the boat.







Route 138 was extended to this village in 1996 so it is an easy destination to visit. Natashquan has a rich history of poetry and music and is bordered by sandy beaches and amazing natural beauty. You can visit the Centre d’interpretation Le Bord du Cap which is in a replica of an old general store, you can also see the old school house and walk through the boreal forest.

The first day on the Nordik was a blur and wasn’t all that nice because of the rough conditions. Day 2 was entirely different. I sat starboard on the top deck in a t- shirt enjoying the sun and the endless stretch of ocean. Walking around the boat I had to keep one hand on the wall or railing so I wouldn’t fall over or stumble around like a drunkard, I definitely didn’t have my sea legs back yet.



We only had an hour in Kegaska because the boat was behind schedule. I went to the Le Brion shipwreck site. Le Brion was a cargo ship from Iles-de-la-Madeleine which crashed into the rocks off the coast in 1976. My Grandfather was still alive when the ship crashed; he had gone to salvage stuff from the boat when it was still out in the water. Here's an interesting tidbit; Brion Island in the Magdalen's is notorious for wrecking ships.





It was amazing to be out on the rocks listening to the surf. I wish I could transmit the aromas to you; they are smells I’ve known my entire life but can’t get anywhere else. If you could bottle the air quality I think you could cure asthma.



Kegaska has a population of 130 and is the southern most village of the Lower North Shore. It is a small community 60 kilometers past the end of the road in Natashquan and was settled in 1855 by Samuel Foreman from Nova Scotia. Today many of the descendents still living in this village are English speaking and came from Anticosti Island. Kegaska comes from the Innu word quegasca meaning "the shortcut and easy passage at high tide between the mainland and the islands"(www.tourismlowernorthshore.com). At this point it was time for another grill cheese.







Oh Seasick! I lost my lunch that afternoon, and spent most of it in my bunk watching movies. I woke up in La Romaine/Unamen Shipu. Since the boat was off schedule I didn’t have enough time to walk into town. There are a few ports where the wharf is far from town like La Romaine, Anticosti, and Tete a la Baleine. In Anticosti they have a little school bus that takes you on a tour around the island. They should have something like that in La Romaine. This community is actually comprised of two villages, La Romaine which is made up of mostly Francophones and Unamen Shipu which is an Innu Reserve. These communities live harmoniously and are the next stop up the coast. Collectively it is the largest village on the coast with a population of 1,050. Although that number may have grown recently as they government has been moving people from the reserve in Goose Bay, Labrador to Unamen Shipu. This relocating of people has been causing some problems with fishing boundaries along the coast; in the past there was a sort of agreement between villages that you didn’t fish too close to other villages but the new arrivals have not been respecting this unspoken rule.






The name La Romaine comes from “olomane” which means red ochre because in the spring the river runs red. The French had a trading and fishing post on the Olomane River during the 18th C. The main industry is lobster and sport fishing. Unamen Shipu was settled in the 1950’s and they were one of the last North American nomadic tribes.

The Nordik at this point was 2 ½ hours behind, apparently they were training a new crane operator so it was taking longer then usual to unload and load the containers. Consequently, we would not reach Harrington in time to do the usual walk about.