Kiixin Tours

Definitely worth the visit! The tour guide brought us to the reserve and showed us old remains while talking about the ancient traditions of their culture. We loved to hear their perspectives about the colonisation of Canada and the effect on the First Nations. The tour guide was very passionate and a good story teller. We took the night tour, so we had a nice view on the beach. (Maybe make sure you ate something beforehand since it starts at 5pm and takes 4 hours)

Touring the sacred site of the remains of the Kiixin village was a beautiful and moving experience for our group. Our guide brought it back to life for us with his stories and songs. The beach was magical. Everyone grew very quiet. It was sad to think of what has been lost in recent times. But the hopeful part, as our guide reminded us speaking of his people, "We are still here!"

This was a fabulous tour! The tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and welcoming, catering to a wide audience, from those with less of a understanding/experience of Canada’s history and nature as well as being able to have further discussions on topics with others. They had the storytellers skill, kindness and openness along with lots of knowledge of the area! Going into Huu-ay-aht village site takes you back in time and it is surreal to stand in the houses of the traditional peoples, surrounded by the beautiful back drop of nature. With the story telling it is all pretty moving and humbling. 100% recommend!

Our tour was with Stella, who is just a fountain of knowledge, and even though she jokes about her tough exterior, she's really kind and thoughtful. We learned so much we never knew from her as we journeyed through Huu-ay-aht territory and history. On top of it, the price of the tour for 4 hours was extremely affordable!

This was my second time doing the Kiixin tour and it was just as amazing as the first time I did it. Both times I had Wish-key as our guide who is a gem of a storyteller conveying with emotion and detail the "journey through time" of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations.

We arrived via boat and were shuttled out to the trailhead within 10-minutes at which time we began our walk through the rainforest. Along the way Wish-key stopped to explain Culturally Modified Trees and other important cultural details about the rainforest. After about 20-minutes in the rainforest, walking along a boardwalk, we descended a staircase which brought us to an opening that leads to one of the most beautiful bays you will ever see. This bay/beach is the traditional village site of Kiixin. Here, Wish-key gave us about 15 minutes to explore the beach, take some photos and soak up the stunningness that surrounded us. Afterwards, Wish-key gave us what he called "Huu-ay-aht 101" - an introduction to the people who lived along this sliver of coastline for over 5000+ years.

After our introduction and a welcoming song, Wish-key lead us into the forest again where we were shown the remnants of longhouses. These houses included that of the chief which features remains of whale bones that were collected hundreds of years ago during a traditional hunt. It's absolutely incredible to see the remains of these structures, especially knowing that over time, they will decompose and be absorbed back into the forest.

Before the conclusion of our tour, Wish-key took us to a corner of the beach where he continued to inform us about the traditional whaling techniques followed by another song.

Having done this tour twice, I really loved that the two tours were quite different. Wish-key has soooo many stories he can share throughout the duration of the tour which makes each experience completely unique.