Part 6

Our first stop next morning was at a public roadside park at Longue Rive (Long shore) at the Sault au Mouton (rapids of white caps, or something like that) and there was a small waterfall gushing water over a drop into the St Lawrence River. It would have been a litigation nightmare in Australia with a wooden walkway leading out into the raging waters, with no handrail! There was also an active beaver or two in the river below the falls evident by lots of trees chewed through at the base and the branches missing. These would most likely have been used as food by the beavers. I was not experienced enough to identify the beaver lodge though.

A little further along the road we passed through Les Bergeronnes, a village that is the neatest and cleanest looking town I think I have ever seen. It was also a very pretty setting with a river through the town and a very green, not very wide, valley stretching inland away from the St Lawrence River. As an aside, the St Lawrence River we were following is very wide from Baie-Comeau to Quebec where it narrows right down. This is why Quebec City was such a strategic location on the river. In the days of early settlement it was the first location along the river that could be effectively defended.

Soon we came to the Saguenay River. This river had no bridge so a ferry was in service to transport traffic across the waterway. It had no bridge probably for a few reasons which might include, the width of the river, the volume of water that would at times flow downstream and into the St Lawrence River and the large ships that carry freight to the inland city of Saguenay. In fact as we disembarked from the ferry a large freighter was negotiating the entrance to the Saguenay River.

Very prominent along the St Lawrence River is the old seigneurial system of farming introduced to New France (Quebec) in 1627 by Cardinal Richelieu (the evil tyrant from the Three Musketeers). Under this system, the lands were arranged in long narrow strips, called seigneuries, along the banks of the St Lawrence River. Each piece of land belonged to the King of France and was maintained by the landlord, or seigneur. It was designed so each farmer had access to the river.

At Beaupre, just east of Quebec City, is Canada's most famous Catholic church and place of pilgrimage, The Basilica of St. Anne de Beaupré. This church is huge and well worth the visit and I do not normally get excited over church visits. Inside it is very ornate and under the Basilica is another church or chapel that is equally as huge. For those that know the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Bendigo, I would guess it is at least 5, maybe 6 times or more the size!

Closer to the heart of Quebec is the Montmorency Falls. These falls are the largest in the Quebec Province and at 83m high they are one and one half times higher than Niagara Falls but I would guess that they are no comparison in water volume. Canada is certainly the home of some awe inspiring and spectacular water falls.

From Quebec we headed to Montreal and on to Ottawa. The thing that struck me most was that when we left Ottawa the trees were still in bud. By the time we arrived back two weeks later most of the trees were in full foliage. Amazing how green it looked compared to when we left.

What a fantastic trip I just had. I cannot thank Bill and Jeanette enough for inviting me on this amazing adventure and journey. I would think I have seen many places in Canada that a lot of Canadians have not seen and I have been told as much since my return. I am sure if I talk to Ontarian residents about Sir Wilfred Grenfell that they would never have heard of this amazing man or his incredible achievements. How many have seen caribou running wild or six or seven moose in the one day as well as black bear? What an experience I had and I am sure it will take many weeks for the full impact of the experience to be fully realised.