Day 40 Gwaii Haanas Wednesday 27th May 2015
By Mel
Left Rose Harbour through a reasonable swell and quite a bit of rocking and rolling which lulled me to sleep.
Quiet day.
Spent a night with fever and aches so woke up cranky not wanting be sick now. Decided to take a quieter day in the hope I could misappear whatever was happening.
After lunch a hike described as “a lot of bush-wacking” was proposed. Chris decided to stay on the boat with me and not go for hike.
We had a lovely quiet time. Lay in the sun on the top deck and did very little.
In the afternoon kayaking South Burnaby Narrows – the other side of the inlet we had kayaked earlier in the week.
Entering and leaving kayaks from the back of the boat was initially a bit of a challenge and mostly inelegant:
Once in the kayaks – sheer bliss.
Paddling around the coast through clear green water we passed by Haida decorated buildings which we later discovered was the target Swan Bay Rediscovery Centre for young people to reconnect and discover their Haida heritage and culture.
Had dinner on return already prepared by Ryan and after dinner a spot of halibut fishing. Nothing biting so we moved on and dropped prawn traps before heading to our anchorage for the night at Kat Island.
As I had been hoping I found an old copy on board of The Golden Spruce by John Valiantt. I found it a well balanced and well written account of the cutting down of a unique tree which was of spiritual significance to the Haida people and a major attraction for the area. In the telling of this story the history of wood and logging throughout the world, and history of the people before and after contact and colonisation is summarised. An excellent read.
