Ninstints 4 Day Tour

Take a virtual 4-day tour! (1.8MB PDF) Just remember that this will not be your tour, this is just 'a' tour. Because of weather, tides, and unscheduled wildlife, all our tours are different.

This tour visits all the main sites and still has time to explore. You will learn the history of the islands starting with how and where they formed and the impacts of the last ice age, to the human history both Haida and European. We will visit little bays and estuaries very few people see, and we will still have time to find and view the wildlife.

Our home for two of the nights is a small floating cabin with bunk style beds in double occupancy rooms, a sitting and dining area, and a large covered deck. There is a flush toilet, hot and cold running water - everything except a shower.

This tour also spends one night at the Rose Harbour Guesthouse (space availability and weather permitting). This very basic accommodation is situated on the abandoned Rose Harbour Whaling Station property where a few families make their homes pioneer style, with outhouse to match. The food is excellent and there is a wood fired shower here for you to use in the evening.

Our main stops are:

Skedans, one of the larger villages in the southern portion of the islands. The village was abandoned in the 1880s near the end of the smallpox epidemic which killed off about 90% of the population of the islands. What is left now are a few old totem poles and some house remains. We will walk you through the site explaining, with the help of old photos, what the village once looked like, what the figures on the poles are, and how the people lived.

Burnaby Narrows is a shallow channel with a diverse and abundant array of intertidal life. As you float through in the boat you may see shellfish, sea stars, urchins, anemones, crabs and more.

Ninstints. On a small island just off the south western tip of Moresby Island is the largest stand of original totem poles in the world. There are about 13 standing poles lined up in a beautiful protected cove. For many people, this is the highlight of the tour.

Hotspring Island is a very small island about half way down the east side of Moresby Island. There are three pools, made by blocking the ends of natural crevices in the rock and adding gravel to make a nice floor. As you soak you can look for marine wildlife in Juan Perez Sound and view the San Cristoval Mountain Range.

Tanu village has no standing poles but the layout is easy to visualize while following the path amongst the collapsed and overgrown long houses. The tall spruce and hemlock trees that have grown up over the past century give the village a quiet, park-like feel.

We provide all meals from lunch day one to lunch day four so if you have any dietary concerns, for example: food allergies, food preferences, or if you are a vegetarian, please let us know ahead of time.

This tour requires a reasonable level of health and fitness. You must be able to walk on an uneven beach and get in and out of the boat (the guide will show you how). We try to keep the ride as smooth as possible, but it can be bouncy, so please let us know if you have any back or neck trouble, if you are pregnant, or for any other reason, shouldn't be bounced around.

How you should dress:
Because we use open boats it can be very cold and sometimes wet. You should wear warm, layered clothing, preferably synthetic (like fleece) or wool, and if possible avoid cotton as it is very cold when wet. We suggest you bring all the warm clothing you have as you can always leave some in the van if your guide thinks you have to much. You should also bring a warm hat, sunglasses and gloves.

You may bring your own raingear, but we also provide heavy raingear and gumboots for everyone.

Gear List:
We have very limited space on the boat, so all your gear should fit in a daypack.
-Warm clothing
-Warm hat
-Sunglasses
-Gloves
-Bathing suit
-Towel
-Sandals (to walk between the pools)
-Water bottle
-Change of clothes
-Personal effects for three nights
-Camera (optional)
-Binoculars (optional)
-Snacks (optional)
-Alcoholic beverage (to have with dinner, optional)
-Gratuities (If our staff exceeds your expectations, optional)

Schedule