Newfoundland author Bernice Morgan released Random Passage in 1992. It was followed by a sequel, Waiting for Time. I read this book a few times and I absolutely loved it, so it was quite the thrill to visit the movie set in New Bonaventure, Trinity Bay.
Random Passage is a historical novel about the inhabitants of Cape Random, a small outport where survival was dependent on catching and selling fish in exchange for supplies. It is set in colonial Newfoundland, over the span of many years.
In 2002 it was turned into a television miniseries and aired in Canada and Ireland. The fictional town was built in New Bonaventure and remains there to this day as a tourist attraction.
It is worth the long drive to see it. Wear comfortable shoes because you are not only going on a beautiful hike, but you are going back in time. There is a ten-minute hike to get to the site, but you will not be disappointed. The views from this little nook are breathtaking.
The site includes houses, church, school, fishing stages and fishing flakes, vegetable garden and sheep grazing. It is a great place to take picture.
After your hike drop into the Tea Room for a mug up, homemade soup and a roll, or fish cakes and Partridge Berry pudding and custard. Everything is made from scratch and in house.
The Tea Room was a one room school that was built in the early 1900's. It served the communities of New Bonaventure, Kerley's Harbour, White Point and George's Cove. The school closed in the mid-sixties due to resettlement. It was purchased and restored in 2005 by the Cape Random Trust.
There is a cost to visit the site: $10.00 Adult - $8.00 Senior - $3.50 six years to 17 years of age and it is free for those five years of age and under.
To get the most out of it, pick up Random Passage by Bernice Morgan and read it or watch the TV miniseries. Then take a drive out to see where the movie was made. It is your chance to go back in time and experience what life might have been like in a fishing outpost in the early 1800's.
For more information go to: http://www.randompassagesite.com/
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