 "One way" is the way to go!
All trips travel either north to south or south to north through the park. Guests begin their trip by flying from Queen Charlotte City to a destination point in either the northern or southern reaches of the park. We then have the luxury of spending a full six days meandering in one direction only entirely within the confines of the crown jewel of Canada's National Park system. The six day trip will then be capped off by another "flight seeing" trip returning guests directly to Queen Charlotte City. Logistically speaking, it doesn't get any better. Besides giving you an interesting aerial perspective of one of Canada's most spectacular National Parks, it also provides us with the luxury of a relaxed one way only trip through the park.
Advantages of a "one way" fly in / fly out Gwaii Haanas trip:
- The "flight seeing" opportunity of the floatplane trips. You'll begin and end your trip with a flight on South Moresby Air's "Cessna 185" or "Beaver" aircraft. From the air you'll get a stunning birds eye view of this spectacular archipelago. The pilot will be able to describe the physical features of Gwaii Haanas giving you a completely different sense of the landscape than that experienced while traveling by boat.
- An extra day spent seeing and doing what you came to see and do. Not only is it 500 miles north of Vancouver by air, its northern border lies 47 nautical miles by boat from Queen Charlotte City. Most displacement vessels travel at approximately 7.5 nautical miles per hour. Do the math. The better part of a day of your average trip is spent just traveling through miles of logged off landscapes which will just get you to the park's northern border.
- Less actual travel time on the "mothership". Not that travel in the Island Bay is unpleasant - aux contraire, it's a great opportunity to read, relax with friends, enjoy meals, watch birds, sea mammals and the sea and land 'scapes' as we journey along. Six days however, is not a long time and Gwaii Haanas National Park encompasses a huge area. Even traveling just one way from the northern portion of the park to the southern portion of the park involves covering roughly 115 nautical miles. At approximately 7.5 nautical miles per hour this translates to 15 hours spent running in the mothership - about two and a half hours per day on average. This gives us a lot more time for paddling, exploring ashore, hiking or just relaxing.
- A greater comfort and safety margin for transiting the few exposed headlands that we must get by at some point in the trip. Not to mention the reduced stress (at least from my point of view) of not having to face even a 20 knot wind in the long run from Queen Charlotte City toTaanoo.
- More time in the southern portion of Gwaii Haanas. Minimizing the cruising portion of the trip to approximately 15 hours allows significantly more time to be spent in the more remote, rugged and spectacular southern part of the Park.
- Maximizes every other dollar that you've spent pulling this trip together. The average cost of an air ticket Vancouver to Sandspit is approximately $550.00 (CDN). Charter fees, taxes, Parks Canada User Fees are not cheap either. The extra cost of flying both in and out of Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve is approximately $300.00 CDN per person. Flying both in and out adds an additional 15% to the cost of the trip but maximizes the value of all of the other expenditures that you've made. Flying in and out of the park will give you the best possible full six day trip into this spectacular area. Period.
For years now I've been offering what I hope was a great trip into this spectacular area. I’ve come to realize that for a few more dollars I can now offer, logistically speaking, the best trip possible. You'll travel with a very small group of five or six people for a full six days in Gwaii Haanas National Park. Running time in the mothership will be minimal. Time for kayaking, hiking, exploring village sites, etc. will be maximized. Adverse sea conditions become much less of a safety and comfort factor as there are fewer exposed headlands to negotiate during the course of your trip. By reducing the cruising portion of the trip to approximately 15 hours, we are able to spend significantly more time in the more remote, rugged and spectacular southern part of the Park. And to top it off. you begin and end your trip with a spectacular overview of one of Canada's national treasures.
In previous years, I've tried to visit all five of the village sites, which are manned by local Haida Gwaii Watchmen (and women!). Although they’re all spectacular places peopled by friendly, interesting and informative 'Watchmen', I've found that I’ve had to make tough choices in order to allow more time for kayaking and exploring other aspects of Gwaii Haanas. Weather permitting, we'll visit T’aanuu, Hotsprings and Sgaang Gwaii. We may stop at the Windy Bay village site although it is very weather dependent as it's name implies.
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