General Information
When I booked my last minute flight to Sandspit, the American Express travel agent asked me "Where is that?" I had no idea! I had just taken a last minute deal on a kayaking trip to Haida Gwaii and the info sheet for the trip said to book a flight to Sandspit on the day before the trip. I google-mapped it and got a pit in my stomach. Wow, it was far away!
Getting There
At the time of our visit, there were only two commercial flights per day on Air Canada that went between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Sandspit. It was a tiny plane and the small restroom at the front had wet-naps instead of running water so we are talking pretty small. One of the families on our trip took a ferry with their car which is a more leisurely option, and it allowed them to travel to museums and other places near Sandspit whereas the folks who flew walked a mile to their hostel with their luggage.
Wildlife
The location of our hotel was perfect for photographing wildlife. Multiple bald eagles nested along the road and others stood watch on tall trees along the beach. We had not even started our kayaking trip yet and I had already seen half a dozen bald eagles as well as seals. The area looked a lot like the coast of Maine but the ocean did not have the scent of the Atlantic Ocean. We also tried to capture racing plovers with our cameras, but they usually escaped the zoom lens. No one else was at the beach as we walked along the shore. There were many expired jellyfish that made interesting sparkles in the setting sunlight and where completely transparent.
Where to Stay
We lucked out in booking the Northern Shores Lodge. We did not know at the time how lucky we were but Judy, the hotel manager and prior owner, volunteered to come pick us up at the airport. After leaving our home at 3am EST and arriving in Sandspit after three flights, the ride was very welcome.
Our room was very comfortable with a living room and a separate bedroom with a private bathroom in between. The other man on our trip who was staying at the lodge had a kitchenette instead of a living room but had the separate bedroom as well as a private bath.
Where to Eat
None of us wanted to walk far. There were one or two restaurants that were a mile walk into the airport area which none of us had the energy to get to. The closest restaurant for us was a place called Dick's Wok-In. We normally do not go out for Chinese food unless it is Schezwan which makes us possible the only people in the world who did not know what chop suey was. We each ordered something different to see what came out of the kitchen. When we returned a week later with a party of 8 from the trip we were the experts in what was good on the menu (as far as they knew). Everyone agreed that the meal was excellent. I would return to this restaurant if we ever returned to Sandspit.
