I wasn’t expecting there to be any fog, truly. It was a beautiful drive through Ferryland and Renews with clear skies and then suddenly, when I made the turn for the Cape Race lighthouse, everything became shrouded in the thickest fog I’ve seen in a long time. Maybe this sort of fog is normal here on the Southern shore, but gosh it blew my mind. I didn’t even notice the MASSIVE lighthouse until I was driving right below it.
I tried my best to capture some photos of this lighthouse despite the thick fog. I had to mess around with my camera for a hot minute, but I think I got a few shots that are clear enough to see. I’m definitely revisiting this site someday to take some better quality photos when the sun is shining.
This tower is massive and the largest I’ve seen thus far on my journey to visit them all here in Newfoundland. It’s approximately 30 metres high and I felt like a wee ant when standing near it. The Cape Race Lighthouse, as well as the Cape Pine Lighthouse, both played a major role in aiding traffic to the eastern shores of Canada, so of course these towers needed to be huge.
The original lighthouse at Cape Race was established in 1855 and the first lightkeeper is listed as William Hally. It was painted with vertical red and white stripes and was shaped entirely differently than what stands today. However, both versions of this lighthouse were beautifully built.
The current Cape Race Lighthouse was constructed in 1907 and has been painted white. I’m a little confused by this because the white tower is hard to see through the fog, but, I suppose the mariners truly only need to see the light rather than the tower itself. It features a weathervane, a lantern room that’s painted red and houses a special hyper-radial Fresnel lens, a crow’s nest with metal railing, a handful of small square windows, and a door along it’s concrete base.
Being built with concrete means this tower is super durable and can handle Newfoundland’s harsh climate. It also means this tower is fireproof and will hopefully stay standing for quite some time. Wooden lighthouses tend to need repairs or reconstruction overtime, so the creators of this tower made a good call by working with concrete instead.
Normally, I’d take some photos of the surrounding landscape around the lighthouse, but the fog was truly too thick to see anything during this visit. I did notice some adorable mini boats during the drive back to the main road that made me nearly squeal with glee. Who made these?! I love this island and our culture so much. We have an incredible and creative community and hold so much potential. Seeing these mini boats in a pond was the cherry on top for visiting the lighthouse at Cape Race.
Until next time…
Whoa Dana 