North America - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 205

place at the Haida Heritage Centre ( W www.
haidaheritagecentre.com), which also features a
museum of Haida crafts and artefacts.
Once you've arrived on the Queen Charlotte
Islands, the main access to Gwaii Haanas is from
Moresby Camp on Moresby Island, from where
it takes about two days to kayak to the Tangil
Peninsula. A popular (but more expensive)
alternative is to charter one of the licensed
motorboat tour operators, who will drop you
and your kayak anywhere you wish in the park.
There are over 1700km of shoreline to explore,
though most kayakers keep to the east coast,
which has a much gentler landscape than the
rugged, steep west coast exposed to the Pacific.
Within the park you can visit three Haida sites
that are looked after by Haida Gwaii Watchmen
(a traditional role of camp guardian): Hlk'yah
G aaw G a (Windy Bay), G andll K'in Gwaayaay
(Hot Spring Island) and S G ang Gwaay (Anthony
Island). All three sites have the remains of
ancient settlements, including house pits,
longhouse posts and beams, fallen poles and in
some cases, standing poles - intricately carved
from a single red cedar with animal symbols
(such as beaver, dogfish, frog, hummingbird,
shark and killer whale) woven together to
represent the different clans. At G andll K'in
Gwaayaay you can relax in geothermally heated
pools or walk up a trail to a cliff-side pool that
looks out over the Juan Pérez Strait.
The islands of Gwaii Haanas are thought to
have escaped glaciation during the last ice age;
subsequently the flora and fauna have evolved
differently to those on the mainland, which has
led the archipelago to be dubbed the “Canadian
Galápagos”. It is home to at least
seven distinct animals, including the
world's largest black bear. From May
to August, 750,000 seabirds nest along
the shoreline, including rhinoceros
auklets, storm petrels and bald
eagles, and the marine life is just as
impressive: at the southern tip of the
archipelago there's a large colony of
Steller sea lions and twenty species of

274 ViSiT The ToTem poLeS of
gwAii hAAnAS, cAnAdA

Even when you reach the remote port of Prince
Rupert on the west coast of Canada, there is still
another day of travel by ferry and then two days
of kayaking before you arrive at the islands of
Gwaii Haanas, home to the Haida people. It's a
long, slow journey across the treacherous waters
of the Hecate Strait, but the reward for your
perseverance is a true wilderness of rainforest-
covered islands, sheltered coves, sandy beaches,
hot thermal springs, unique wildlife and the
largest collection of still-standing totem poles in
North America.
The 138 islands of Gwaii Haanas are in the
southern part of Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte
Islands), 640km north of Vancouver and 130km
off the British Columbia coast. In 1988 they
were made a national park reserve, which
is co-managed by the Canadian government
and the council of the Haida nation. Before
setting off into the
park, you are required
to attend a 90min
orientation session
on safety issues, the
park's “leave no trace”
camping etiquette,
and the history and
culture of the Haida,
who have lived on the
islands for more than
ten thousand years.
This orientation takes

Poles apart: the totem poles
in Gwaii Haanas National Park
Reserve; Bald Eagle