“I flew in on a helicopter and landed at Nissen Bight and I was just blown away that we had these kinds of beaches in our backyard. I had been travelling all over Latin America beach-bumming it and it was like this epiphany – whoa, are you kidding me, this is right here.”
Of all the pioneer names in British Columbia that have survived through the generations, perhaps the most unusual is Maria Mahoi. She was not a politician, nor wealthy coal baron, explorer or Hudsons Bay Company official. Rather, she was a mother. And yet that alone has been enough to earn her a place of honour and have her homestead enshrined as an integral part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. Her defining trait was her spirit, which allowed her and her family to flourish at a time when Maria had every reason to be suppressed, being twice indigenous – as both a Hawaiian and as a British Columbian native. "She was a woman who had a value of success...
An easy vista? Well, maybe 'easy' is understating it. There are, after all, 434 steps to reach the top – not to mention the various additional dirt scrambles, roots and climbs up exposed bedrock. So you may need a break on the way up. Or six. No matter. In the end it is more a good workout than a torturous climb, and the reward is a view that will make it all worthwhile. At the 240-metre summit are several chances for eagle-eye viewpoints over the north entrance to Howe Sound and across to the many islands that dot the waters off Gibsons Landing. Gibsons Landing may be familiar to you if you are one of the earlier generations of Canadians...
When the British newspaper The Guardian listed their choice for the top beaches in BC, we thought they should be corrected. Here's the real best beaches in BC.
