A few days ago, we were contacted by a workaway host in Prince Rupert. It's 4 hours away from Smithers and on the way to Haida Gwaii (An island in the pacific famous for its first nation culture art and it's wilderness). We are just out of the bushy trails from the Babine mountain, haven't had a shower for a few days. No need to say that we are looking forward to it! We are planning to stay for a week before taking the ferry to Haida Gwaii.We advice you to book and plan a ferry to Haida Gwaii at least 3 weeks in advance as it is get very busy during the summer!Our hosts Gerry and Deanna welcome us to their beautiful, almost 100 years old house. We get to know each other over dinner (after a well awaited shower!). They tell us about their family and about the work we will be doing for the next week. It will mostly be gardening as they will be showing it as part of the Garden tour of Prince Rupert and a little of housing renovation. The first job consists of taking care of the compost. They basically have 3 stage. The first stage consist of all the things you would normally compost. Then, they basically move it to the next stage every 4 months. It takes about 1 year for the composted waste to become soil again. The rest of the job for the garden consist of weeding, cleaning up the surrounding area and a little bit of polishing. Petra takes care of the polishing by cutting the edges of the lawn with scissors. Yes, scissors :). Never thought we would do that in our life. It does make the lawn looks better at the cost of some blisters. We also help setting up the scaffolding to remove some of the storm windows (the external windows) so we can sand/paint them. Unfortunately, we don't get to paint them. Petra also learn how to do the amazing naan bread that Deanna was preparing.Apart from helping them, we also find some time to explore downtown and the museum of Northern British Columbia...We didn't have time (or take time) but the North Pacific Cannery is also one of the things you can visit around Prince Rupert. They provide free guided tour at 11am, 1pm and 3pm.On Friday evening, Gerry and Deanna invite us to see and try some local beers at the Wheelhouse Brewery. We meet Veronica, from Prince Rupert and a German couple who are traveling around Canada for 8 weeks. They are going on a hike the next day and they invite us to join them.The same day, after the hike, Gerry and Deanna organize a family dinner similar to a "thanksgiving" one with turkey.. So yummy! At dinner, we get to meet their son Graham and his wife, Gerry's father John and one of their neighbours. Great gathering and a lot of fun.Another evening, they take us to the harbor and we go paddling on a canoe. It's great fun and we get to see numerous bald eagles from quite close.On our day off, we go and hike the tall trees trail, a 4 hours hike with a lot of switchbacks ending with a nice lookout of the bay area.The next day, Graham and his wife are back for dinner and it's raclette time! Another great evening where we also play our new favorite card game, Cambio!And on our last day, Gerry and Deanna invite us for a drink at the Crest Hotel, next to the harbor. A nice place for our last evening together.It is 8 am on Friday the 26th of July and it is time to get on the ferry to Haida Gwaii, also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands. The ferry takes about 7 hours from Prince Rupert. Haida Gwaii is divided in 3 parts, Graham island on the North, Moresby Island in the middle and Gwaii Haanas reserve on the South.We settle in a free campsite not far from queen Charlotte for 2 nights. We spend a few hours exploring the Haida heritage center where are exposed a lot of artifacts, totem poles and painted canoe.Balance RockWe then head north to Pesuta Shipwreck, stopping on the way to Balance Rock beach. We miss the trailhead and walk on the beach instead. It takes us about 45min to get within 500m of the shipwreck. That's where we realize there is a creek in between.. A little bit disappointing by this, we head back to the car following the creek. That's were 3 otters decide to show up. There are between 10-20m from us, it's really enjoyable. We get to see them close, eating some fish.Pesuta ShipwreckWe spend 20 min watching them and then, walk back to the car and drive to the campsite for our second night. The next day, we go on a little road trip to the west coast of the island. It's all gravel road with a stop part before reaching the coast on the other side of the mountains. We spot a couple of deers and the butt of a black bear from the car, have a little stop at Yakoon lake (nice spot for a picnic and a little swim if you are up for it!). There are a few spots to camp on the coast. Unfortunately, everything is full so we decide to camp at Bonanza beach. Bonanza beachThere are a few people on the beach when we arrive. A group of painters are sketching the landscape!.. Everyone leave before 7pm and we are all alone on this wonderful place. We gather some wood and start a fire for the evening. We spend the following morning on the beach, enjoying the moment and collecting souvenirs.There are several spots on the route worth exploring and its easily a day trip just to get to the west coast. Ensure that you have a 4WD and of course enough gas to make it back.Our next destination is Port Clements, a little village next to the Masset inlet. There is not much to do around except bird watching and a couple of short trails. But the campsite is nice, not busy at all and there is a water pump! Perfect for our first "shower"...The next day we drive all the way up to Masset and Old Masset where we visit a few galleries. The art is quite beautiful but also expensive specially in Haida Gwaii.At the end of the day, we get to Agate beach campground where we decided to stay for the next 2 nights.Agate beachThere are a few short trails around with nice lookouts and a 20km return one to a cabin beside east beach. We do the cabin one the first day. It's a nice one through the rainforest and a few boggy areas. But the finish is beautiful. The cabin is in a great spot, the beach is so beautiful and there is no-one around. It's also free to sleep in. We quickly regret not bringing all the gear to spend one night there. We spend a couple of hours on the beach and head back to the Campground.The next morning, we clean and pack our camping gear. We have to be in Queen Charlotte to take the ferry to Moresby Island at 4pm. We have enough time to do the short hikes nearby the campsite before driving south.Only 20 minutes ferry ride and South Island, here we are!We only have two days left and it's finally sunny. There is a free Campground near Grey Bay and we are hoping to find a spot there. That's a gravel road again obviously!.. We get to spot another bear butt on the way! There is a nice cove about 30min from the campsite. Petra is looking for nice rocks and shells for her collection (and maybe some home made earrings once we are settled!) while I'm looking to take a quick bath to get rid of the smell... It's not as cold as expected. Definitely warmer than in the north of the island.We then walk along the campsite and the beach. We stop for a quick game of Cambio, spot a seal and a big dead jelly fish. On our way back, we get close to some other campers. One of their dog, really friendly, jump a little on Petra. That's an easy way to start the conversation! There are 3 locals from Haida Gwaii enjoying the sun. They also have a quad and one of them offers us a little ride to a creek further south. I kinda jump on the occasion as I have never been on one. The guy is a little bit drunk but as he says, "there is no cops on Moresby Island so that's all good". A good encounter and a nice memory to end our trip to Haida Gwaii.
