Change Islands
To reach the Change Islands you will be taking a ferry from the dock in Farewell. From Gander go north on HWY 330. Take a left to follow HWY 331. Finally take HWY 335 to your right. Check the ferry schedules in advance. In the summer months they’ve been running a two ferry schedule. One ferry does the milk run, stopping at Change Islands. The larger ferry does direct runs from Fogo to Farewell.
When you arrive at the ferry ramp in Farewell, there are two lines. One is for Fogo and one is for Change Islands. If the ferry is stopping at both, the Change Islands traffic has to be loaded first. In the summer months, arrive early for the ferry. There are no reservations, it’s first come first serve. We’d recommend arriving at least an hour before departure.
Crossing time to Change Islands from Farewell is 20 minutes.
There is one main road on the Change Islands and it starts at the dock. You will drive north for about 12 km to come to the community, which straddles two islands joined by a causeway. It is a beautiful area, a photographer’s dream. Many of the original homes, stages and stores (fishing sheds) have been preserved and it is like a walk back through time. Our regret is that we did not stay overnight. As it was Mid June nothing was open so we did not have the opportunity to stay over. We stopped over between ferries, about a 4 hour window.
Bob had read about the Seven Oakes Island Inn & Cottages so he wanted to at least check out its location. We parked our car in their lot and went for a walk around the area. When we got back into the car, we took a final look at the inn, to see a lady waving frantically from the porch. We got out and she exclaimed that she had just gotten out of the shower, saw us and wanted to give us a tour. That was our introduction to Beulah Oake, the owner. Although she was still not open for the season, she made us a coffee and provided a tour of the Inn. At lunch, knowing that there were no options open on the island, she offered to make us lunch, which included a homemade soup and fresh warm bread. At the end of a wonderful meal and visit she told us the meal was on her, Happy Fathers Day!
Another neat feature you will see throughout Newfoundland are the old root cellars. Before electricity they were used to store food and such. During the winter they kept the stored root crops from freezing and in the summer they kept the food cool. Constructed different ways they were essential to survival.
Change Islands has a number of attractions, from festivals, to trails, kayaking, old churches, a museum and the Newfoundland Pony Refuge. The website contains a lot of information and ideas. You could very easily spend a relaxing week on these islands.
