Gwaii Haanas National Park Mothership Trips
About our Trips | Fly In ~ Fly Out | Itinerary | Meals | What You Need to Bring | Schedule | Info Request Form


Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Marine Conservation Area ~ Haida Heritage Site
Six-Day Wilderness Voyage

Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve is a very large, very remote and very difficult area to access. The itinerary must always be flexible and adapt to weather conditions, logistical challenges and the interests of each group. We always endeavor to provide you with the safest, most interesting and time effective trip possible. Primarily because of the large distances involved, all trips travel either north to south or south to north. In order to accomplish this, guests begin their trip by flying from Queen Charlotte City to a destination point in either the northern or southern reaches of the park. The full six-day trip will then be capped off by another "flight seeing" trip returning guests directly to Queen Charlotte City on the morning of their 7th day.

Besides giving you a spectacular aerial perspective of one of Canada's most spectacular National Parks, it also provides us with 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. Traveling in either a southerly or northerly direction - one way only in other words - translates to even more time paddling, hiking, exploring village sites or just relaxing and a lot less time traveling. One way only travel also provides a greater comfort and safety margin for transiting the few exposed headlands that we must get by at some point in the 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.

For an example of how a trip might go please see "Itinerary" in "Our Trips" page.

Include:

Spectacular "flight seeing" over Gwaii Haanas National Park. Two flights - one to start your trip and the other to end it in the best possible fashion in either a Cessna 185 or a "Beaver" - classic bush planes on floats. Check out South Moresby Air's website: www.smair.com

(Provided South Moresby Air has the planes in 2008. There are issues which may effect availability of the planes. I reserve the right to get you to the boat in the most efficient and logistically feasible way. South Moresby Air service however, is the preferred option.)

A night out at Rose Harbour, ~ Chez Susan's (Provided she's there and she's willing)

$1,950.00 (CDN) per person.
Parks Canada User Fee ($118.85) and Goods & Service Tax ($117.00) are additional costs.

Total Cost: $2,185.85 (CDN$) $2,120 (US$)

Payment

Payment can be made by cheque from a Canadian or an American bank or with an international money order in Canadian funds.

Reservations

A $700.00 (CDN$) or $600.00 (US$) deposit is required to confirm your reservation with balance of payment due 90 days prior to departure date.

Information Package

After your booking is confirmed, you'll receive a package with information pertinent to your trip. This includes a great map of the Charlottes, a guide to the Queen Charlotte Islands, a list of stuff to bring and other trip planning resources. It also includes the ubiquitous 'liability release' which must be read, signed and returned prior to the trip.

Cancellations

Written notice of cancellation must be received. The following charges will regrettably apply:
  • More than 90 days prior to departure date: 100% of deposit
  • 90 - 45 days prior to departure date: 50% of the total amount payable
  • Less than 45 days prior to departure date: 100% of the total amount payable

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.

Travel insurance on the air portion of your trip is recommended. I don't provide cancellation insurance for the tour and I'm not sure where you can go to get it. Insurance companies these days aren't inclined to offer coverage on anything that they are possibly going to have to pay out on.

For any questions about our Gwaii Haanas boat trips, please email us by using our Information Request Form