Hi photographers, globetrotters and road trip fans,
Today, I am presenting you the Gaspesie region in Quebec, that I have explored during one of my road trip in Canada.
I think it was the first long road trip that I did in Quebec, and it was nice to share it with two of my friends, Celia and Sonia.
I say long as it was around 2200 kilometers, but short as we did the trip in less than 4 days.
It was in 2010, during Saint Jean week end, the National Day of Quebec province.
We left Montreal in the evening, to drive near by Quebec City, and reach Riviere du Loup for a night.
Early morning, we leave the hostel and hit the road, passing through Trois Pistoles, Rimouski, Mont Joli, and Matane. The rain doesn’t affect our motivation, and during this second day, we went to explore a little bit of the Gaspesie National Park.
Luxurious vegetation, lakes and rivers are part of the scenery.
Night time coming soon, we drive to Cap Chat, then to Sainte Agathe Des Monts to spend a night at the Sea Shack hostel, a nice and funny place to stay.
F4, 1/320 sec, 18 mm, ISO200, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F8, 1/60 sec, 25 mm, ISO400, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/40 sec, 18 mm, ISO400, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F5.6, 1/320 sec, 24 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/800 sec, 500 mm, ISO400, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/800 sec, 500 mm, ISO400, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/200 sec, 18 mm, ISO200, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/250 sec, 55 mm, ISO200, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
Sun is shining on the Saint Lawrence river this morning. A quick breakfast and few photos of the Gulf of St Lawrence and we get in the car. Destination: the National Park of Forillon, and then Gaspé.
The Forillon Park is located at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula.
On the road, we stop at Mont Louis, where we buy some great and tasty seafood from Atkins company. We will eat it later on the road.
I strongly recommand the smoked trout and shrimp rillettes!
A quick stop at the Cap des Rosiers lighthouse and we reach the Atlantic Ocean shore, at Cap Bon Ami.
A great surprise to me, almost at the entrance of the Forillon Park, a cute little black bear cub! My first bear encounter ever!
F11, 1/200 sec, 18 mm, ISO100, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F6.3, 1/400 sec, 45 mm, ISO400, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F6.3, 1/400 sec, 30 mm, ISO400, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F6.3, 1/130 sec, 203 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F5.6, 1/160 sec, 203 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F5.6, 1/200 sec, 18 mm, ISO200, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F5.6, 1/200 sec, 51 mm, ISO200, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/1600 sec, 75 mm, ISO400, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/1600 sec, 50 mm, ISO400, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/1600 sec, 203 mm, ISO400, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/1000 sec, 287 mm, ISO800, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/1000 sec, 50 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/1000 sec, 500 mm, ISO200, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
On the road again, we drive across the town of Gaspé and hit later on, the town of Percé, where the famous Rocher Percé (Percé Rock / Pierced Rock) stands.
We walk along the shore under a big reddish full moon. The view is incredible.
The day after, we take a boat to see the Perc/ Rock closer and spend few hours on Bonaventure Island and its migratory bird sanctuary.
293 different species of birds have been recorded as visiting, migrating to, or living on Bonaventure island.
The Northern Gannet is the most common bird found on the island. The island is home to one of the largest colonies of gannets in the world, with 47,800 pairs in 2011 (This is down from 2009, when there were over 121,000 birds).
With more than 280,000 birds, the Bonaventure Island and Percé Rock National Park is one of the largest and most accessible bird sanctuaries in the world.
F5.6, 1/200 sec, 18 mm, ISO200, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F7.1, 1/200 sec, 30 mm, ISO200, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F7.1, 1/800 sec, 500 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F6.3, 1/800 sec, 500 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F6.3, 1/800 sec, 50 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/2500 sec, 500 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/1000 sec, 244 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/1000 sec, 167 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F11, 1/1000 sec, 500 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F11, 1/1000 sec, 500 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F14, 1/1000 sec, 413 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F14, 1/1000 sec, 500 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F11, 1/1600 sec, 500 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F6.3, 1/640 sec, 18 mm, ISO400, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/80 sec, 28 mm, ISO200, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F5.6, 1/80 sec, 24 mm, ISO400, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
After our nice cruise, we re-engage our road trip in Canada and continue to explore the Gaspesie, driving slowly down to the Chaleur Bay (We can even see a bit of the New Brunswick province on the other side!).
Chandler, Paspébiac, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Maria and Carleton, are some of the towns we cross to reach the Matapédia Valley, and we drive along the Matapédia river.
We stop in Amqui, in order to find a place to stay and rest for the night.
F5.6, 1/320 sec, 18 mm, ISO800, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F6.3, 1/200 sec, 500 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F9, 1/320 sec, 373 mm, ISO800, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F9, 1/1000 sec, 75 mm, ISO200, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F9, 1/250 sec, 37 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F4, 1/640 sec, 27 mm, ISO400, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F3.5, 1/60 sec, 22 mm, ISO1600, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F7.1, 1/250 sec, 21 mm, ISO100, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F11, 1/400 sec, 18 mm, ISO400, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F9, 1/500 sec, 46 mm, ISO200, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F10, 1/800 sec, 93 mm, ISO800, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F5, 1/200 sec, 18 mm, ISO800, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F6.3, 1/200 sec, 373 mm, ISO800, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F13, 1/200 sec, 46 mm, ISO200, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F13, 1/200 sec, 27 mm, ISO200, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
F13, 1/320 sec, 25 mm, ISO400, Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL
Last day, time to go back slowly to Montreal. We enjoy the view over the Matapédia lake, lighted by the morning sun.
We reach again the Saint Lawrence river, in Sainte Flavie town, where there is the Marcel Gagnon Art Center and its sculptures, that are part of Le Grand Rassemblement.
Few pictures and we hit the road again to reach home in Montreal…
It was a great first road trip in Canada with my friends. We discovered and enjoyed the Gaspesie in Quebec province.
Landscapes, food, wildlife and activities were great and I hope that you like the pictures and maybe they will motivate you to visit Gaspesie!
Take care and take photos!
