From Sydney to Sable Island: helicopter tour offers rare tourism experience

SYDNEY, N.S. -

For the first time, helicopter tours are being offered between one Maritime island – and another that is rarely seen.

Breton Air, based in Sydney, N.S., is planning commercial tours between Cape Breton Island and Sable Island.

While the 43-kilometre island southeast of Nova Scotia is well-known, few people have ever set foot on it.

"The lure of it.  When I was growing up here in Cape Breton, you hear the fables and stories of it", says Breton Air president and chief pilot Matt Wallace.

The 134 nautical mile flight from the J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport to Sable Island takes about an hour and ten minutes. Breton Air will be conducting the tours in a Bell 412 helicopter, which has room for eight passengers and a tour guide.

"I've seen that people want to get out there", Wallace said. "It's unbelievable, when you arrive and just see how absolutely beautiful and how unique the Island is."

The pilot adds the perpendicular approach to Sable Island, from Cape Breton, is a different experience than flying there from Mainland Nova Scotia.

"We noticed that it starts coming out of the ocean like a mirage," Wallace told CTV Atlantic. "Bald dune is about 115 feet high and you see that. As we approach, you're looking at the whole Island."

Wallace says once the helicopter lands, people can get out and see the Sable Island on foot.  They'll be met by Parks Canada staff; Parks Canada has overseen the Sable Island National Park Reserve since 2011.

"We work to maintain ecological integrity at our Parks," Parks Canada spokesperson Jennifer Nicholson tells CTV Atlantic.

The idea, Nicholson says, is to ensure people can have the unique experience of touring Sable Island without disturbing the wild horses and other rare wildlife that call the island home, along with their surrounding habitat. 

Though she adds the flora and fauna are amazing to see, even from a distance.

"All the horses, the seals -- it's just a wonderful experience when you first touch down on Sable Island," Nicholson says.

At more than $3,200 per person, plus HST, the day-long round trip isn't cheap, but neither are the licences required to fly over water or the aircraft.

Breton Air hopes bookings will fill up for its eight departure dates, given that for many people -exploring Sable Island would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"Once you get back, people are almost in awe.  And speechless about the experience," Wallace says.

Breton Air's first Sable Island tour is tentatively scheduled for Monday, July 19 – with a rain date of July 20. The company says other flights will take place from August to October.