Gwaii Haanas Guest House

Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site

CANADA

Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada

BC

2014 Welcome! Bienvenue! ยินดีต้อนรับ! 2014

Our Guest House and homestead, located deep within Gwaii Haanas, offers ACCOMMODATION, 3 meals a day,
AUTHENTIC THAI COOKING,
GUIDED BOAT TOURS and SEA KAYAK RENTAL.
We speak English, French, Thai, Lao.

OPEN from MAY UNTIL SEPTEMBER

Home Sweet Home

Our guesthouse offers comfortable rooms in a rustic setting surrounded by old growth forest in the backyard and a front yard with the view of the ocean.

The Guesthouse offers a shared Indoor composting toilet and a common room heated with a glassed door wood stove for cozy evenings by the fire. The communal double heads Hot shower is located in our greenhouse amongst bountiful vegetation to give you the garden of Eden feeling...

At our house next door, we provide 3 meals a day served at our family dining table. Sometimes we use the outdoor patio amongst fruit trees and our organic garden. Walladda (Ooy), who is from Thailand, prepares authentic Thai cuisine most of the time using local ingredient from our organic garden in season and sea food from the ocean.

Our guesthouse accommodates up to 8 guests with 2 guests per rooms.
We can accommodate to a larger group if required. You would then need the whole guesthouse to yourself...
We do not cater to other tour groups or travellers while we have guests staying with us. You can be assure of a peaceful and relaxing stay at our facilities at all time. Our groups never exceed 8 people when different parties are staying together at the guesthouse.

Electricity is provided by noiseless solar, wind and hydro system.

Homesteader hospitality:

We understand individuals and groups of people have different requirements, schedule and budget.  This is why we offer all our services as a "tailor-made" package so you can choose what you want to do.  We can arrange all your activities catered to your personal requirements and the wishes of your group.

Our activities are organized with weather and conditions in mind, not some inflexible schedule where you are herd around regardless of weather conditions.  Who wants to be out there when there are very wet, stormy and unsafe weather conditions?  Just kick back and relax at the guesthouse and enjoy peace and quiet by the fire until the weather improves!
With us, you can pick a nice day to explore a particular area!

We gladly combine activities between groups residing at our guesthouse to lower costs of chartered guided boat excursions. A holiday with us offers relaxation, great social meals, friendship, abundant sightseeing and wildlife encounters.

With our extensive knowledge of the area, we always do our best to give you the opportunity to see and hear the life forces at work in our corner of the Earth.  Enjoy these precious moments to connect with nature while relaxing in its surroundings.  Join us and partake in the circle of life revolving around ancient forests, 14,000 years of aboriginal history and a pristine ocean ecosystem.  Gwaii Haanas has changed many visitors' outlook on the importance of preserving our dwindling worldwide ecosystems.  We will do our best so you will be part of it all!  Become one with us and this priceless oasis called Gwaii Haanas.

Why we are not like the other "guided tours"...

Simply because we don't give... "tours".

If you are looking for something better then an inflexible, scheduled, moved around like a herd of sheep; we are definitely the alternative. Our daily activities are decided according to the group's wishes, sea conditions, weather forecast with the advice of your local guide from the comfort of our homestead.
No large groups, employees, tight schedules or pre-planed agenda imposed on you.   We do the activities YOU want to do, when YOU feel like doing so, and most important: Do the activities most suitable according to weather and conditions!

We strive to offer you a unique experience exploring Gwaii Haanas while sharing our unique lifestyle at our homestead.  Unlike other outfitters operating in the area, you will be dealing with the owners from the moment you contact us until you leave our premises. Visiting Gwaii Haanas with us will not only be a trip of a lifetime, but also a cultural experience amongst knowledgeable local resident.

We offer an ecotourism holiday at it's best in Gwaii Haanas!

Patrick and Walladda (Ooy)
Owners/Guides/Thai cook (and a lot of other responsibilities), invite you to share our corner of the world!

Our location is only accessible by boat or floatplane.

We use Beaver floatplane transportation for good reasons:

Only 1 hour flight in a WARM, DRY, scenic ride from/to Queen Charlotte village.
The knowledgeable pilots will show the different areas of Gwaii Haanas during your trip using the intercom system in your earmuffs. There are good chances you will see whales from the air during your trip and get a really good look at them from above!

Why boat transportation does not pan out: Our location is VERY remote from “town”. Boat transportation from/to town is a most of the day ordeal in potentially very wet and cold conditions. It will more then likely involve pounding waves, or worse, having to travel in very rough conditions. And you will be listening to loud outboard engine noise the whole time...
Not an enjoyable or relaxing experience from our point of view!

Where are we exactly?

Hidden in a remote corner of Canada's Pacific West Coast, our location is far away from cities, roads, boat traffic and large crowds of tourists. Our guesthouse and homestead is located on Kunghit island, deep to the south in Gwaii Haanas. Kunghit Island is the largest island further south of Moresby Island. We are in a prime location to access points of interests like Ninstints, UNESCO World Heritage Site, and many other locations like Cape St-James, Woodruff Bay, Rose inlet and many others.

We are surrounded by pristine wilderness as far as you can see!  Explore and discover the region with us and benefit from the knowledge and guidance of local guides and residents.
Look at our maps on this website for more details about our exact location.

Gwaii Haanas, Haida Gwaii

Gwaii Haanas, meaning "Place of wonder" in the Haida language, is an ideal place to visit for sea kayakers, bird watchers, wildlife photographers and nature lovers.

The complex and undisturbed ecosystem supports a large variety of fauna and wildlife.  Without poisonous creatures to give you a bad day,  our temperate rain forest provides a safe and relaxing environment for all, especially children.  Giant trees, mosses of all shades of green and seashores bursting with life await you to discover.  If you are looking for an unparalleled experience in a increasingly rare and pristine wilderness area of our planet,  come and discover with us the front and back yard of Gwaii Haanas Guest House!

As far as you can see, as far as you can paddle: no clear cut areas, no towns, no roads,  just you and unspoiled nature to discover!

Hop on a Rubber Duck!

Using our rigid hull inflatable boat, the MV Rubber Duck.

We offer guided day excursions to remote beaches, ancient Haida village sites like Ninstints, bird colonies, sea lion and Harbour seal rookeries, hot springs and countless scenic areas weather permitting.

We also sometimes have close encounters with whales, dolphins and more unusual creatures like Sun fish or sea otters.

Just let us know where you want to go and what you wish to see!  Explore the area with confidence with over 25 years experience at our homestead and as a tour operator.

The Rubber Duck is powered with twin 70hp, efficient and quiet 4 stroke fuel injection outboard engines. All this for increased safety, minimum pollution, noise and impact on wildlife.

How to get to us:

We are located in Rose Harbour (see map).

Several airlines provide transportation including Air Canada Jazz between Vancouver and Sandspit.  You can also travel from/to Prince Rupert with BC ferries or by floatplane (Inland Air).

We organize floatplane transportation between our guesthouse and Queen Charlotte Village.

If you are short on time, It is also possible to use floatplane transportation directly to/from  Rose Harbour between Prince Rupert (Mainland) or Port Hardy (Vancouver Island) but it is rather expensive. This works best if your group is at least 4 to 6 people so the floatplane is mostly full.

Gwaii Haanas is a powerful place. It is a grounding place.

It is unique, priceless and waiting for you.
Join us for a memorable journey in the land of wonders:  Gwaii Haanas!

Locally Owned and operated!

Patrick and Walladda (Ooy) Lemaire

Gwaii Haanas Guesthouse and kayaks
Haida Gwaii / Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada

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PHOTO ALBUM

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