July 15, 2012 | Tips from Us >
Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands, Beaches & Swimming
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If you're not local, Tlell is a difficult name to roll off the tongue! It's pronounced "Tull-ell" and is a small community on Haida Gwaii. When I say small...I mean no hospital or bank, a couple of restaurants, and houses spread here and there. If you're looking for a peaceful place to stay or to hangout, it's perfect!
Environment Canada has kept true to its promising forecast, and Haida Gwaii has just been blessed with copious amounts of sunshine, with more on it's way! Last week my friends and I ventured up north to Tlell for the day...the coastline presents many beach options, the perfect choices for suntanning and swimming!
To drive there it takes about an hour. We had the windows down, the music cranked up and we drove the highway along the coastline - it really is a beautiful drive! You can see eagles and deers commonly, but sometimes will you see a black bear! We drove past Balance Rock, St. Mary's Spring, and continued until we came to the Crow's Nest. It's a small grocery store and restaurant. We stopped for lunch, and I had the beef samosa with a garden salad - it was very tasty! We grabbed a few drinks and snacks when we finished, and drove a bit further to the beach.
Most of the beaches on Haida Gwaii are covered in rocks and pebbles. However, in Tlell you can find a few with sand or sandy areas. We laid out our towels and soaked up the rays for a few hours. The ocean waters are quite cold, and my friends decided to swim...I decided not to, but that didn't matter to them. I ended up in the water and swam around for a little while. Nothing perks you up better than a dunk in freezing, salty water!
On the beach we found some really neat agates and shells. At the Visitor Centre we sell small books about how to identify pebbles and shells - I thought they would have been quite useful for our beachcombing!
With the car filled with tanned and wet bodies, as well as the unavoidable amounts of sand on the carpeted flooring, we called the day a success and headed back home to Queen Charlotte City. So if you're thinking of visiting the islands one day, don't forget about Tlell's beaches!
June 28, 2012 | Tips from Us >
Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands, Beaches & Swimming
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We have many beaches on Haida Gwaii...many rocky ones, and a few sandy ones. If you're looking to go swimming or beachcombing this summer, but you don't want to venture too far from Queen Charlotte City, then Miller Creek might be a great option for you!
I went there recently with my family. I didn't get any photos this last time, but I did find one from last year! The photo shows a little girl heading into the water with her giant turtle floatie...fun for the whole family!
Miller Creek beach does not have signage, so you must look for the Miller Creek sign when you cross a small bridge on the highway. On the right side of the highway, you will see insets into the forest where you can park and go on the beach. When you see one after the bridge, stop there and head out onto the beach! It's a great place to check out intertidal life at low tide. We go there often to get starfish and nudibranchs for our salt water fish tank in the Visitor Centre!
But this beach offers even more! You can fish, hunt octopus, explore the tide pools, go swimming, and even crab fishing! At low tide, check out the sand strip for the sand dollars; everyone loves those! It's not as well known for its crab fishing as North Beach is in Masset, but locals have been seen out there! So if you're in the area, bring your swimsuits and your dip nets! Make a small contained fire on the beach too and have a hot dog roast!
This beach is nothing short of entertaining!
June 12, 2012 | Tips from Us >
Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands, Beaches & Swimming
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We waited for low tide, when we knew the River was at its lowest. There was a storm on the way but we really didn't want to have to cancel our trip!
My friends and I got together a few weekends ago. We were the same crew, plus one, who hiked East Beach to the Pesuta shipwreck the week before. This time we weren't going by foot, but instead we were driving through the Tlell River. There are restrictions for driving on this beach. It's always best to talk to the Naikoon Provincial Park Office about doing this prior, or to acknowledge the signage posted. Having knowledge about the area is key and the four of us have been locals since we were babies.
We took two trucks and a dirtbike, and we set off for Cape Ball, a few kilometers past the Pesuta and Gold Creek. One of my friends had a key to his uncle's cabin up there, hidden away in the dunes, and we planned to stay there for a night. As we drove along side the river, and then along side the ocean, we saw lots of debris washed up from the Japanese tsunami. We stopped to take a peek and saw some really interesting things! We drove past the pesuta until my friend saw the entrance to his uncle's cabin. If I had been walking along the beach I would have never even noticed! We drove through the dunes and the forest, which was an incredible experience. When we arrived, we dropped off our stuff and went back out to the beach for some dirt biking and beachcombing.
As the tide came in, we were forced back into the cabin in the dunes. The ocean comes right up to the edge, and as the weather became stormy, the waves were huge. Two of my friends had GoPro cameras, and one was daring enough to stand in the water and film as the waves crashed over the camera. He had to be very careful he didn't get pulled in by the strength of the water though! It was rainy and windy, so we spent the evening in the cabin playing cards and eating homemade deer sausage. The Sitka blacktailed deer here sure look cute, but they're tasty too! The next day we couldn't leave until 8pm, when the tide was low again, so we could cross the river. We embraced the stormy weather and went wandering on the beach and around the dunes in our rain gear and rubber boots. Oh the island life, it's so much fun!
Camping is permitted throughout the Naikoon Provincial Park. If you're looking to hike to the Pesuta, or further, talk to the Park office in Tlell to become more familiar with the area. Bring a small tent, camp in the dunes, and have as much fun as we had!
June 06, 2012 | Tips from Us >
Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands, Beaches & Swimming
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As the 2012 summer season begins, we thought we should spruce up the salt water aquarium at the Queen Charlotte Visitor Centre with some new critters from the ocean!
Some staff went on a hunting and gathering expedition for different intertidal sea life at Miller Creek beach, about 20 minutes away from the village of Skidegate. When the tide was low they found tonnes of different coloured bat stars, a small sea cucumber, and a massive variation of species of nudibranchs (or sea slugs)! They brought a few of each back to the Visitor Centre in a bucket filled with salt water and now they make home in the tank! We've got clown nudibranchs, which are my absolute favourite, as seen in the picture!
You can see lots of this sea life in Burnaby Narrows down in the Gwaii Haanas National Park, but if you can't make it there, you can always check out Miller Creek or our tank! Maybe we'll be feeding the critters when you arrive at the centre! It's always neat to watch the decorator crabs and the sculpin snatch up the clam meat we feed them!
May 29, 2012 | Tips from Us >
Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands, Beaches & Swimming
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We may be known for our wet climate, but we do still have beautiful sunny days! A few of us recently went out to jungle beach for a hotdog roast. It isn't quite warm enough yet for swimming, especially with the wind. However, in mid-July and August, more local families will be headed there for beach days! We spent the afternoon walking along the beach, wandering amongst the driftwood logs, and enjoying our hotdogs near the shelter and outhouses provided. Quite recently someone built a small lookout post at the entrance to the beach, as you can see in the picture!
According to the Katherine Dalzell book "The Queen Charlotte Islands of Places and Names: Book 2", Jungle Beach is the local name for the picnic site located at Halibut Bight. It is noted that Mr. Mackenzie, a taxi driver in 1930, promoted the area for picnics in order to promote trips there and help his business. During the stormy winter months, driftwood logs are deposited near the entrace of the beach, in a "jungle-like" fashion.
From swimming to beachcombing, or just looking for a place to have a picnic with the family, Jungle Beach is a favourite spot for locals and tourists to hangout in the summer sun!