Prince Rupert Attractions and Ferry to Haida Gwaii

Approaching Prince Rupert you think you can see the lights of the city, but is not. What you are looking at is a grain elevator, a coal port, and a brand new deep sea container port. The lights on these structures are really elaborate and colourful, you might be tempted to believe you are looking at some bizarre space ship. But just around the corner from these dinezines is the Prince Rupert ferry terminal. Because it is about 10:00pm or so in the evening, it is assumed you have made arrangements for a hotel room or some other accommodation. However, if you are camping or in an RV it is strongly recommended that you use the first campground on the left hand side about a kilometre or so from the ferry terminal. The only reason being is that it is easy to find, trying to find other campgrounds that late at night is near impossible to find in the dark, no one needs that kind of frustration in the dead of night. The campground is very large and you are pretty much always be able to get a spot, but a reservation goes a long way especially in peak summer months.

Prince Rupert is pretty easy to get around in, the city streets are set up in a grid pattern, just be mindful of your 6th St. and 6th Ave. or it could get confusing.

It was raining when I got off the ferry and eventually I found my way to the hostel, Black Rooster Roadhouse, where I promptly checked in. But not until after I just about hit two people crossing the street in front of me wearing dark clothes while it being night time and also raining. I would like to take a moment to mention this for this was not the first time I came across this cavalier pedestrian phenomena. This has happened in excess of a half dozen times during my trip, and only in smaller towns. Me being from the city I was always taught to look both ways before you cross the street to make sure it was all clear and safe to cross. If we dared to step out into the street without looking I risked death or at very least the focus of some colourful road rage. But, I had several instances of people walking and even running out in front of my car while I was driving down the main street. Once while waiting at one GREEN light in particular I had to wait for a group of people to cross the street against the light and they crossed at a very leisurely pace too I must admit. So what am I trying to say here, well I could reveal some colourful road rage at this point, but that would be unbecoming of me. The truth is that this is a different part of the world and there are different customs and practises compared to the larger communities, my best advice is to drive slowly and never aggressively. Nothing would ruin your vacation more than putting some kid in the hospital even if technically it was their own fault.

Prince Rupert is an interesting little town, it is the culmination of several transportation links in one area. There is the ferry from Port Hardy (which is the one yours truly came over on), there is the ferry from Prince Rupert to Skidegate on Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands, where yours truly will be going to as well), the Yellow Head highway continues from here and CN/VIA Rail also stops in Prince Rupert. This makes Prince Rupert a hub for many travellers and cargo alike so there are more amenities and shopping variety you will find here than in a similar town this size that was in a different location.

Museum of Northern BC

Prince Rupert also has a bit of a tourist area down on Cow Bay Rd. At the top of the hill you will find the Museum of Northern BC (British Columbia), this is a great museum full of lots of information on the the pioneers of Prince Rupert and how it became the town it is today and also first nations history and culture the depth of knowledge is really eye opening. Even the building itself is an architectural masterpiece made in the design of a long house. The museum also has an extensive gift shop featuring many first nation focused souvenirs and gifts.

Just down the hill from the museum is a little marketplace that houses gift shops, artists co-op and the visitor information centre for Prince Rupert. There is also a couple of restaurants near by and this area is also a launching point whale watching tours and safaris. The visitor information centre is a great resource for getting information about Prince Rupert attractions and points of interest, their friendly staff are more than happy to answer all of your questions about Prince Rupert.

There are really only a few good attractions worth seeing in Prince Rupert. I already told you about the Museum of Northern BC, definitely give that a look see. Just on the outskirts of town is a nature trail called Butze Rapids, its about a 5 kilometre loop that takes you to a lookout where you can see a natural phenomenon of a tidal area that ebbs and flows with the changing of the tides. Since this area is reasonably shallow and rocky it creates a kind of reversing rapid effect. There is also a few picnic tables and the hike is very beautiful through the forest.

The North Pacific Cannery Museum is a one of a kind open air, immersive experience that is well worth visiting. The Cannery Museum is just out side of Prince Rupert in a town called Port Edward they also have food facilities and you can sleep over night in their bunkhouse for a reasonable price. If you are not driving there is a shuttle bus that will pick you up in front of the Museum of northern BC. Check out their web site for more details.

Another great attraction is a bear watching tour to the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary. If you ever wanted to get close up and personal with a bear from the safety of the boat than this is the place for you. You would be very unlikely to experience Grizzly Bears in their own habitat and in such abundance anywhere else, save for a few other sanctuaries here and there. This is a world renowned Prince Rupert attraction that is guaranteed to be an interesting and thrilling experience. The cost can start as little as $425.00 per person for an afternoon to thousands for multi day expeditions.

Prince Rupert is also a good place to a bit of shopping for all consumables, especially if you are heading to remote areas. The Rupert Mall has a Zellers, a Mark's Work Warehouse and an Overwaitea Foods.

Ferry to Haida Gwaii

The day of my ferry trip to Haida Gwaii was a nice day, it was only a 10 minute drive from Prince Rupert. There was a toll both at the entrance to the ferry terminal that had a red light flashing above it, so I stopped, and no one was in the booth. I was a little early so I turned my car off and decided to wait till some one showed up. Well no one showed up except for the maintenance man that told me to go into lane 2 and go see the cashier in the main building, well I would never have guessed, so off I went and got myself checked in for the voyage. I guess BC Ferries was doing a lot of improvements to the ferry terminal at the time and thus my confusion, but at all the other ferry terminals it has been a smooth operation.

The ferry's name was the Northern Adventure and it was a little older ship, (I was spoiled on the Port Hardy to Prince Rupert ferry because it was brand new) but it was well laid out with plenty of viewing and seating areas at the stern. There was no formal dinning lounge or bourgeois seating available, it was comfortable and homey. Cabins are available on this ship, there is also a cafeteria that serves hot meals and salads.

While up on deck watching the vehicles load, some of them had to drive on backwards, I struck up a few conversations with some of the Queen Charlotte locals. They were more than forthcoming about information about the islands not so best kept secrets, good accommodation, places I should not go without a 4x4 vehicle and some great places to eat. Me being from the city am not used to this gracious and strait forward conversations, usually city folk do not strike up a conversation, if they do it is usually strait to the point and brief. I've noticed this before with people from smaller communities, and is very much true on this trip, that strangers will look you in the eye as they walk by, smile and even say hello. You are a friend first unless proved otherwise. Social interactions in the city requires a more cautious and subtle touch, especially with neighbours and strangers.

I was told the ferry ride to Skidegate should take about 6 hours, rumour had it that the ferry is so overpowered that it can actually do it in just over 3 hours if need be. The ferry has been known to even stop for a while in the middle of Queen Charlotte Sound because it is ahead of schedule. My thinking was that why don't they just keep going and get into port early? Apparently if they did get into Skidegate early there would be no one at the terminal to receive them.

We left the ferry terminal at Prince Rupert under sunny skies and a light breeze. A lot of people were outside near the stern looking out for whales (which we did see) and enjoying scenery as well. It was not until we got out into Queen Charlotte Sound when the weather started to turn, the wind and rain started to come and the waves were getting higher. I thought this would be a good time to go inside, grab a bite to eat and turn on my laptop. There are not that many plugs where you can plug in your laptop on this ferry, and according to the cashier at the cafe, if you see the European outlet on the wall check behind the curtains behind it and there should be a 120 volt plug hiding.

Ah, timing seems to be everything. It was only a few minutes after I took the last bite of my tarter sauce smothered fish and chips that things started to get rocky. Apparently those winds that started up had turned into gales. Oh, and those waves, were now ten feet or higher swells, this journey had suddenly just became harrowing. My screw top juice bottle was now my bell weather for the storms severity, I only started to worry when the bottle started to slide suddenly on my table due to a more severe list. I was soon finding my self holding my bottle constantly because it just didn't want to stay on the table.

People were starting to get sick, you could see them huddled in a corner, resting their heads on a table tops and others trying to rush to the washroom. Trying to walk around was an event in itself, we were told to remain seated, but the people trying to get to the washroom had to get their sea legs in a hurry. At the heart of the storm the ship would list, and due to the gale force winds the ship would stay list for a lot longer than it probably should have. It was at this point when you would hear all the pans in the kitchen come crashing down and this dishes in the bus bins shatter on the floor. I was in a good spot right in the middle of the ship by the galley, the extreme rocking was far less than those poor souls seated near the bow had to endure.

It wasn't till we caught the first glimpse of the Haida Gwaii islands that the sea started to calm down and we were free to roam about the ship again. The captain came onto the PA system and announced that we would be soon docking in Skidegate, I could hear in the background of his announcement the ejaculations of the bridge crew remarking on the severity of the weather conditions and how pleased they are that it was over. I bet they worked hard that day, and I'm here to tell the tale so I'm sure they out did themselves.

Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, Next Page>>

---

Are you looking for something specific about Port Hardy, Prince Rupert or Haida Gwaii? This Google powered search box is designed to search Port Hardy, Prince Rupert and Haida Gwaii sites exclusively. Give it a try! Custom Search

Share

Home | Partners | About Us

All Content ©2012 Copyright www.prince-rupert-tourism.com, All Rights Reserved