When we decided to head off to Prince Rupert we realized that we would be too close to the Queen Charlotte Islands (a place we've both really wanted to visit) to not head over and make the most of our weekend!
We caught a float plane over on Friday afternoon and were able to spend all day Saturday exploring Queen Charlotte City and Gwaii Hanas (the southern section of the Queen Charlotte Islands that have been turned into a Federally protected area due to their cultural significance to the Haida). It was an amazing experience topped off by the fact that the sunshine was out the whole weekend!
We spent time Saturday morning at the new Haida heritage centre in Skidegate - a facility that the community has been working on for years, and it was one of the most impressive cultural facilities that we have seen in a while due to the training and engagement that they have from the Haida community that are staffing the centre.
Saturday afternoon we headed off on the float plane to see 2 sites in Gwaii Hanas - they are old Haida communities that were wiped out due to smallpox that came with European visitation, however there are old totem poles and remnants of the communities that are still there to be viewed.
Having had this quick peek at the islands it is definitely a place that we want to come back to for a few weeks of sea kayaking - most likely as a get away for Mom and Dad or once Hunter is much older!
