Before the first blush of dawn, eight inhabitants of Nova Scotia found themselves aloft in a helicopter, journeying towards an experience few have ever had the fortune of beholding. Their destination was Sable Island National Park Reserve, a fluttering ribbon of sand extending for 42 kilometres, secluded at a distance of 190 kilometres from the Nova Scotia shoreline.
Embarking on an adventure courtesy of Picture Perfect Tours, one of the four private companies authorised by Parks Canada to ferry small groups to this remote treasure at a fee of $3,390 a head. The quartet, as well as two transportation companies, are entrusted with the responsibility of shuttling visitors to this hidden gem.
Majestically stoic and wildly untamed, Sable Island’s ethereal charm is intentionally accessible to only a precious few, in a concerted effort to safeguard its unblemished grandeur. Since the establishment of the reserve in the spring of 2014, Parks Canada marked only 3,261 footprints in the sands of Sable Island.
Jason Surrette, the reserve’s operations manager who spends extended intervals living on the island, candidly professed his unconditional love for this work station that he tenderly calls home. “When most people encounter a horse or a seal, they are naturally overcome with unadulterated delight. It’s raw, it’s real and it’s overwhelming,” Surrette mused.
The island’s helipad became the group’s touchdown point from where he lead them to the Main Station, a structure that doubles as a base for Parks Canada’s personnel.
Upon arrival, the enthusiasts were extensively briefed by Surrette about keeping their visit to Sable Island as non-invasive and as environmentally friendly as possible, encapsulating the importance of preserving a 20-metre barrier between them and the island’s wildlife including the wild horses and seals, and of course, leaving no trace of human interference.
The island serves as the cradle for an estimated 450 wild horses, their lineage tracing back to the 18th century, a population now guarded from human intervention by Canadian law since 1961. Sharing the sandy home with these equine residents, is the world’s largest grey seal breeding colony, birthing their pups during the transition from December to February.
The tour, co-hosted by the founder-turned-guide of Picture Perfect Tours, Geordie Mott, promised an immersive sensory revelry that as Mott expressed, was “a full body experience,”. Mott’s devotion to Sable Island was both passion and kinship; a family tale woven into the island’s history through the romantic rendezvous of his great-grandparents during the First World War, and thus, his very existence linked to Captain Joseph Blakeney, a Sable Island superintendent, and his Great-Grandmother Muriel, who found love in William Mott, an islander turned partner. “Sable island, thus surely runs in my veins,” Mott admitted.
At the culmination of a seven-hour hike across sand and tall grass covering close to 10 kilometres, an overwhelming sense of bitter-sweetness flooded the party as they boarded the helicopter to return to Halifax. This expedition was one of many for Mott, who promised, “I will keep doing this for as long as I can possibly walk.”.
