By
Rebecca Gibson |
The Gwaii Haanas Archipelago Management Board has given permission for Linblad Expeditions-National Geographic to offer itineraries to the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage site.
National Geographic Sea Lion and National Geographic Sea Bird will be the first ships carrying more than 22 passengers to visit the region in more than two decades, on a series of 14-night cruises which begin in Seattle and travel through British Columbia’s Gulf Islands and Inside Passage to Alaska.
Passengers will visit the ancestral village of Old Massett, the village of SGang Gwaay in Ninstints, a Unesco world heritage site, K'una in Skedans and Haida Heritage Museum. Two onboard Haida interpreters and local artisans will provide guests with an insight into the region’s culture.
The vessels will then travel to Alaska, visiting Misty Fjord, Frederick Sound and Chatham Strait, before calling at Tracy Arm Fjords, South Sawyer Glacier and Juneau. A park permit will enable guests to spend a day in the Glacier Bay National Park with a native Tlingit interpreter.
National Geographic photographer and marine biologist Flip Nicklin and Jon Waterhouse, National Geographic Fellow, will join selected expeditions.