If our tours are not what you're looking for, but you still want to enjoy a guided kayak tour or mothership cruise on the Queen Charlotte Islands, we would be happy to recommend another reputable outfitter.  Please contact us.

• Single Kayaks

Butterfly Tours is the only outfitter in Gwaii Haanas specializing in single kayaks; each of our guests is provided with a single for the entire trip.

(Other outfitters provide either a fleet of double kayaks, or a mixed fleet of double and single kayaks.  With mixed fleets, the limited number of single kayaks often become very popular, requiring each guest to wait their turn before enjoying the independence and rewards of paddling a single.  In mixed fleets, stronger and weaker paddlers are commonly paired and encouraged to spend much of the trip together in a double kayak, to help keep the fleet moving.)

Please see our detailed information on the equipment provided.

• Small Group Size

Ours are the smallest kayak tour groups in Gwaii Haanas.  The maximum group size is six guests on our Waters of SGang Gwaay, Cape Freeman Expedition and Kayak Guesthouse Vacation.

We offer quality-oriented kayak tours to small groups of people.  Our smaller groups are significantly quieter and more flexible than larger tour groups.  With fewer people on each tour, our guests spend less time waiting for others and more time exploring.  With fewer tents, we are able to camp on many beaches that larger groups must pass by.

Small groups tread softer upon the Earth.  Our guides will demonstrate and teach minimal-impact camping techniques.  We encourage our guests to help preserve the ecological integrity of this wilderness area.  Minimal-impact camping is accomplished far more successfully by small groups of people.

The guide to guest ratio on our wilderness kayak tours is 2:6.  This is the smallest ratio in Gwaii Haanas.

(Other outfitters will offer tours with up to 10 guests plus 2 guides, making 12 people in the group.  This creates a guide to guest ratio of 2:10.   Larger groups dilute the talents and abilities of the guides.)

Our smaller groups enjoy quieter surroundings, enhanced flexibility, increased safety and more opportunities for interactions with the guides.

• Our Guide

Butterfly Tours owner & guide, Gord Pincock, has enjoyed well over a quarter century of sea kayak touring in Gwaii Haanas.  His guiding experience and safety record are unsurpassed.

Guests of Butterfly Tours can be certain of who their guide will be; Gord is scheduled to lead each tour that we offer.  Our guests enjoy the significant advantages of traveling with the most experienced guide in Gwaii Haanas.

For background information on our guide, please see the Journal page.  (Gord has guided every kayak trip that Butterfly Tours has ever offered, however; the guide schedule may be changed due to circumstances beyond our control.)

• Specializing in Gwaii Haanas

Gwaii Haanas is a destination where the accumulated experiences of the guide will make a significant difference to the quality and safety of your trip.  Our guide has an extensive history of kayak touring throughout the Queen Charlotte Islands; he is intimately familiar with this vibrant territory, it's waterways, tidal currents and weather patterns.  Each Butterfly Tours guest will gain the benefits of traveling with a guide who is fully experienced in this region.

• Campfires and Meals

Our healthy, tasty meals are prepared over driftwood beach-fires, lending a "tribal sense" to our daily feasts.  For most guests, the campfire becomes one of the focal points of each day.  Cooking our meals over a fire brings us all closer to the ancient ways of the Haida Indians, who once paddled their dugout canoes through this region.

Driftwood is plentiful in Gwaii Haanas.  Our guides practice minimal-impact camping techniques to ensure that campfire scars do not remain on the beaches when we depart.  Meals prepared over a fire create much more wholesome experiences, when compared to the alternative of heating food over propane camp-stoves.  (We do carry a small stove which we rarely use.)

We use several certified organic ingredients in our meals.  View detailed information on our menu.

• Rose Harbour

After enjoying several nights of camping during our wilderness kayak tours, we return to Rose Harbour on the second-to-last day.  Here, we indulge in wood-fired hot showers and a marvellous organic dinner hosted by the local residents.  These fascinating homesteaders are happy to provide a glimpse into their exceptional self-sufficient lifestyles.

Our last night is spent in the fabulous Rose Harbour Guesthouse; a lovely accommodation which was carefully hand-built by resident musician - Goetz Tassilo Hanisch.  (For photos and more information on Rose Harbour, please see the guesthouse vacation itinerary.)

• Direct contact with the guide

We offer you a direct connection to the guide before your tour.  Butterfly Tours owner and guide, Gord Pincock, will be pleased to personally respond to your inquiries.  If you have questions about our programs on the Queen Charlotte Islands, you are welcome to contact Gord.

Travel agents and tour representatives may find it difficult to provide accurate information about itineraries, equipment and other important details.  With Butterfly Tours, you may contact Gord any time before the kayaking season begins and receive detailed answers to your questions.  Directly from the guide.