Like their traditional houses, Haida canoes are hewn from red cedar—they are exquisite craft and are widely praised. Like their totems, houses, and tools, these craft are often intricately adorned with crests, symbols, and motifs to identify their owners and their stories.
This plankton forms a rich feeding area for all manner of wildlife—particularly whales.
The Haida Gwaii black bear is the largest in the world.
The Haida name for the southern islands is Gwaii Haanas, which aptly translates to “islands of beauty” or “place of wonder”.
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1: Vancouver
Day 2: Sandspit
Day 3: Moresby Island
Day 4-9: Exploring Haida Gwaii
Day 10: Sandspit
Day 1: Vancouver
We’ll meet our guide in the hotel lobby of our group hotel to begin our day program.
In the evening, we will gather for a welcome dinner.
Day 2: Sandspit
We fly to Sandspit on Moresby Island today. Upon arrival, a shuttle service will be provided from the airport to the Northern Shores Lodge, where we will spend the night. Our guide will point out highlights of the area. You will have the evening to relax with your fellow travellers.
Day 3: Moresby Island
We’ll transfer to Alliford Bay for the ferry to Graham Island. We’ll visit the Haida Heritage Centre for a guided tour followed by a Haida lunch at Keenawaii’s Kitchen. We’ll take a short walk at Spirit Lake and return to Moresby Island.
We board our vessel at Moresby Camp and anchor overnight nearby. We depart early the next morning into the waters of Southern Moresby Island to explore the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve.
Day 4–9: Exploring Haida Gwaii
Daily activities include wildlife watching and shore excursions to explore Haida villages, old growth forests, beautiful creeks, and intertidal zones. We hope to encounter black bears, humpback whales, porpoise, fin whales, sea lions, and orca.
We’ll visit Windy Bay, site of the first totem pole raised in 130 years, and SGang Gwaay Llnagaay (Nan Sdins), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Each evening we will anchor in a different bay, with a chance to explore the shoreline by kayak.
Day 10: Sandspit
We’ll disembark at Moresby Camp. There will be a charter bus waiting to shuttle the group to Sandspit airport. The trip by bus takes about an hour.
Travellers can do any last minute shopping at the souvenir shop located in the Sandspit airport, prior to your afternoon flight to Vancouver.
