Haida Gwaii – Part Two: Our Free Day

Our visit to Haida Gwaii coincided with the World Cup soccer tournament, and my husband Cam is a big fan. Our rustic lodging had weak wifi, which is great if you are wanting to go off grid as I did, but it was frustrating if you are trying to follow the games. Jags Beanstalk Café in Skidegate saved the day for us. Jags has both indoor and outdoor seating options and serves tasty, healthy meals, like this day’s special, the chickpea curry. The good food and functional wifi proved useful in keeping Cam happily entertained when I was elsewhere for work and play.

The washroom at Jags had a huge sign with a bunch of inspirational quotes crammed together, and a few of them spoke to me. Its always nice to have something to ponder if needing to spend any length of time in there (if-you-know-what-I-mean).

Saturday – my free day to explore – was an early morning for us, as we had to get Cam situated for optimal sport viewing opportunities. It was a lovely calm and cloudy morning and I was wondering what to do while my husband was glued to World Cup action. I drove through Queen Charlotte and noticed an intriguing sign to my left.

Why not go kayaking?

A great idea! Thankfully, we’d thought to throw our gear in the back of the vehicle, just in case. A curious man from the service station across the street watched me as I packed up my inflatable kayak and associated gear and walked it all the way down over the mud flats to the shore. In 10 minutes or so, I was ready to go and pushed off for a nice clockwise paddle around Robertson Island, the large island facing Queen Charlotte village.

I took it slow, enjoying the sights and sounds. I paused near the shore to take a closer look at the bright and plentiful seaweed and was able to hear the birds cheering up the forest.

I neared the top end of the island and heard a great splash just ahead and to my right from the other side of a rocky outcrop. I stopped paddling and glided, wondering what I had just accidentally surprised. I sat there quietly and tried to be non-threatening. After a minute or two I noticed I was being watched. I’m so thankful I decided to bring my good camera with the zoom lens out on the boat (in a dry bag), as my cell phone would not have captured this little guy.

He was intrigued and maybe a bit worried. We watched each other for a bit in silence. He let out a bark, went over to the seaweed padded rock where his partner was sitting, and they both decided to make themselves scarce for a bit, disappearing beneath the smooth surface. It seemed best to move on from their area and leave them in peace to get on with the business of sea lioning.

Passing by the tip of the island, I pulled into a wee cove and sat quietly, watching a cute deer meander by on a morning stroll.

Again thankful for the zoom, I noticed a pair of beautiful oystercatchers at kayak eye level, with their piercing orange eyeballs watching me warily.

A while later I was able to capture one of them in flight. They are among my favourite birds.

After a wildlife heavy 150 metres, I picked up speed and paddled along the opposite side of the island, past a pier, viewing a few secluded beachfront homes, before completing the circle and coming to shore. The tide had gone out and I went in as far as I could. Resting for a moment, before getting out of the kayak, I was entertained by a few birds digging in the mud flats for their lunch (though this one looks like she is chewing her nails).

What a great paddle!  This was waaay better (others may not agree) than watching a soccer game!

Later in the day, Cam and I walked along the trail at Queen Charlotte’s Haydn Turner campground park and enjoyed the sunshine. On the way back, a splendid view of part of my paddling adventure earlier in the day – the dark green forested area on the far right is the island I circumnavigated, and on the far left are houses from the village of Queen Charlotte.

Soon it was time for the second World Cup game to be on, and I was again alone. I made my way to the Haida Heritage Centre museum. This is a beautiful complex of Haida longhouses facing the sea and an impossibly perfect-shaped beach.

I was excited to see that one of the two young Haida staff at the front desk was using down time between customers to study the local indigenous language using a book recently published that explains vocabulary and usage in both the northern and southern dialects.

I arrived in between the guided tours, and so missed out on interpretation of the centre’s totem poles, and I’m sure much more (I’m indignantly shaking my fist at you, World Cup). The museum houses artworks and cultural artefacts, telling the stories of the ancient and modern Haida peoples. The exhibits highlighted the issue of repatriation to the homeland of the bones of Haida ancestors who have been stored in museums around the world. The exhibit touched on the story of Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site, which covers roughly the lower third of the Haida Gwaii archipelago, and is only accessible by sea or air. Creation of this national gem – now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site – was controversial 25 years ago. Many thanks to the Haida elders and youth who stood in the way of the logging trucks and were arrested trying to protect their land and ocean for future generations.

I was getting hungry so decided to deal with that.  Despite the omission on the main signage, there is food available here.

I left the exhibit area and was walking through the lobby when I saw a bearded man enter, following two grandkids. “Hey, you look like David Suzuki!” I said to him, trying to make conversation. He looked at me blankly as we headed towards the café area and said “Well, have you seen Elizabeth May?” Not sure what to say, I replied, “No. I haven’t been in there yet.” I followed him in the lineup and overheard him order lunch in a voice that sounded familiar. After he sat down with a group at a table behind me, I whispered to the staff person, “Doesn’t he look like David Suzuki?” only to be told that yes, he does because he is, and that he comes here often. Awkward!

I sat down and ate my runny-but-oh-so-fresh-and-tasty fancy tacos. I looked over and yes, there was Elizabeth May – leader of the Federal Green Party. A while later, I was outside admiring a totem pole, and her group approached. I took the opportunity to introduce myself and thank her for what she has done over the years on behalf of the environment. Making conversation, I mentioned that after being in the museum, reading a little about the controversy on Lyell Island – which eventually led to the creation of Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve – and seeing a compelling photo of young Haida men with painted faces and fierce determination blockading the logging road, preparing to be arrested to protect their land and heritage, that I was intrigued to learn more. It all happened when I was a child and I said it was but a vague memory. She totally floored me by saying, “I wrote a book about that!” She went on to explain that the copyright has reverted back to her and she offers it free to the public on her website (see the link below).

We took a selfie and a while later David Suzuki came out to the beach, trying to find his grandkids who’d meandered around the corner. I apologized to him, for sounding so foolish with my earlier comment. His delightful reply: “Don’t feel bad, I DO look like David Suzuki!” We laughed and I got a selfie as he and I walked back, photobombed by Elizabeth May. The wind was blowing, and some chins had doubled, and that photo doesn’t do any of us a favour, so I won’t include it here.

Outside, there was a covered area. Housed there were a weathered totem pole, resting on its back, and two wooden canoes. On the way from the main museum to this area, a bird’s eye view model of a traditional Haida Village allows the imagination to draw a picture of what used to be in ancient times.

By now the second and final World Cup match of the day had finished, and it was time to reunite with Cam so we could further explore. The east beaches looked enticing, despite the cloudy weather. Of course, I wanted to swim! First, we tried Jungle Beach, well signed with a small parking area and a teeny changeroom. This beach was recommended by some locals we met for swimming because there are large sandy spots between the rocky areas that are great for wading in.

The day I went, there was no-one there but me and the crabs. Lots of wee little crabs. So many that I had to watch my step to avoid accidentally crushing one. This guy (he’s less than two inches wide) was on offense against my invading sandal and I felt I was stressing out the poor little creatures.

Besides the crab thing, I could see farther down the beach that the sun was peeking through there but not where I was. I headed back to the van, and we drove south again, gambling on a different beach. All along the water side of the highway here are wee gaps in the roadside foliage which are all unmarked trails leading to the expanse of beach, each with space enough for one vehicle to park. It felt like having a private break in the hedge. We chose one at random, and lucked out.

Under the sand there were creatures I’ve always assumed were clams, but after some research, I’ve learned they are lugworms. They sit in their u-shaped burrows, taking in sand at their front end, digesting the microorganisms in it, and sending it out their back end in tube-like blobs, which land and curl all willy-nilly in a way I think is artistic. I dodged my way through those, (although it doesn’t damage the worm if you step on their casting pile) and waded into the north Pacific Ocean. It wasn’t as cold as I expected, and on a Saturday afternoon, I had the place to myself!

Feeling suitably salty, we moved on. Most of my trips involve a visit to at least one Visitor Info Centre, usually for insider information, and/or maps, but sometimes just for a pee. The Queen Charlotte centre is definitely worth a stop. It was decorated in a lively oceanic theme, and had some lovely local artwork on display, including a giant quilted banner along the upper inner walls.

They had some nice gifts for sale, and since I hadn’t had time to shop, I wanted to purchase a little something. I settled on a fabulous t-shirt for me and got a few gifties for mom and Cam for Christmas.

In one corner of the centre, they had a mini aquarium with a few examples of local ocean creatures for the delight of kids young and old. Have you ever seen the south side of a north facing sea star? So many wee little leggy things! Fun fact: sea stars (formerly known as starfish, but they aren’t fish, so we don’t call them that any more) have a small hole on their undersides that is their mouth. To eat prey larger than the hole, a sea star pushes its stomach out through the hole and digests the prey outside its own body. When it is done, it slides its stomach back in through the mouth hole. Nice trick if you can manage it.

Outside, a large sculpture of a humpback whale breaching is the main feature.

One could argue it looks better without me…

They have a small interpretive garden which gives interesting information about a few local plants and their traditional use by the Haida people.

A nice touch is the driftwood signpost, I love these and would like to one day make one if I ever stay put long enough to have a yard to put it in.

After dinner we still had an hour to kill before heading towards the ferry. This time of year, this far north, it is still bright daylight at nine p.m. We felt the need to walk off some of our dinner, so we headed down to the docks for a stroll, and of course, some photos.

There was little wind, which made for some nice reflections. Some boats seemed to be more experienced than others.

At the far end of the dock it was rather noisy. The nearby floating breakwater was alive with rapid, nervous chirping, but the birds weren’t completely visible.

It sounded like an episode of the TV show “The View”, with everyone trying to talk at once. Finally, a few of them showed themselves. Perhaps it was the World Cup they were all chattering excitedly about.

Then we heard a man’s voice in the distance, jubilant, yelling, addressing everyone and no one. It sounded like it came from that sailboat…

I popped on the zoom lens and had a closer look. Yup. A naked guy, just doing his “I’m free as a bird” Titanic thing on the bow of the boat, pants around his ankles, while his bored companions look on. I had to chuckle. Leonardo di Caprio’s got nothing on him. Cute doggie though.

On that note, we decided to clear out and head for home via Skidegate Landing. At the end of a fantastic day, we boarded the 10pm overnight ferry for home. This time our stateroom had a window and, exhausted, it was a welcome respite from the world. Cradled in a cozy bunk, with the gentle movement of the ocean rocking me to sleep, I’m sure I had a smile on my face. Haw’aa (Thank You) Haida Gwaii, you were lovely, but there is so much of you we didn’t get to see. Until next time….

“Opinions provided in this post are entirely my own. I was not paid or compensated by these businesses or organizations to provide a positive review. I only recommend products and services that I have personally tried and loved.”