Ferry to Haida Gwaii and Glamping

 Written on July 18 – but posted a day later!   We are now very remote!

Today we left Prince Rupert and rode a ferry for 7 hours to get to Skidegate, Haida Gwaii.  This ferry crossing was nice and calm (and very much appreciated by me!)  They certainly have capacity to make many ferry passengers.  Likely what limits the utilization of the ferry is the number of vehicles that can be parked down below.  We were considered a small vehicle and so got tucked away around a corner where I had to crawl out the driver’s side door to exit the vehicle.

 

We had made a sandwich at the hotel and packed a few vegetables and pieces of fruit and called it lunch.  The passenger seating areas were so cold that we bought tea and hot chocolate to warm up (in addition to each wearing two coats).  Hot drinks were sensibly priced at $2.80.

 Note the double layer of coats inside!!  And the absence of passengers!

 

Once we arrived at Haida Gwaii (formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands), we drove north on the Yellowhead Highway 16 to the town of Tlell.  Here we checked into our accommodations and I have been really looking forward to them.  

 

We are glamping tonight!  This means we have a safari tent with all the comforts of beds, electricity and a bathroom!  But we are situated in nature with access to the ocean (and kayaks to use).

 

There is a communal geodesic dome tent that houses a full kitchen. Outside there are also outdoor BBQ grills and a pizza oven.  We bought a pizza crust and came prepared with sauce, ham, pepper and cheese to have pizza tonight.  There is a communal atmosphere about the place where people shared advice in how to get the best result in the pizza oven!!!  (Turn it every 20 seconds or so and cook it no more than 3 or 4 minutes total!)  We met some really friendly people in the communal tent and then later a family in the tiny outdoor wooden hot tub.  Six is the capacity we learned!

We also checked out the barrel sauna with the view of the ocean! Wonderful!

 

Enjoying our first night on Haida Gwaii.  No internet service in our tent so you might get this post in three or four days!