(click here to find Wreckhouse on the map)
Just head north on the Trans Canada(TCH) from Port aux Basques. The first thing you will notice are the Twin Hills aka Mae West by the locals. The symmetry is amazing. Oddly enough if you are coming from the other direction you do not see them. Just 8.3 km (5 min) up the highway you will enter the area of Wreckhouse.
On your right, the east side of the highway, there is a large paved parking lot. This marks the homestead site of Lochie MacDougal referred to as the Human Wind Gauge.
For 30 years he would notify the railway in this area of dangerous high winds. His advice, being ignored one time, led to 22 rail cars being completely blown off the rails.
Winds as high as 200 kmh have been recorded here. Today transport trucks put themselves at great risk if they ignore high wind warnings in this area. Across the highway from the parking lot, you will see the old trackbed. It is part of a massive walking trail, the T"Railway Provincial Park, that stretches almost 900 km from Port aux Basques to St John's.
As you look to the east, you can watch how the winds play with the clouds as they meet the mountains.
(click photos to enlarge, click caption for mapped location)
Before you head to Newfoundland, you may want to consider one or more of the great field guides that are available. We have done short reviews of the following:
Newfoundland books available from Amazon.ca (Canada)
Newfoundland books available from Amazon.com (USA)