By MICHELLE HICKS
Advertiser

Paul Rose, owner of Red Indian Adventures, offers river tours and canoeing and kayaking courses for the public to experience the area’s natural beauty. - Michelle Hicks photo

Paul Rose has been paddling the rivers in the Exploits Valley since he was a child, and it only been over the last two years that’s he’s been making a living at letting others in on his pristine secret.

The Grand Falls-Windsor resident formed Red Indian Adventures in May 1997, with the help of government funding, such as the Job Transition Fund, the Self-Employment Assistance program, and SEED money. The business offers sea kayaking, canoeing and rafting tours throughout the area’s attractive waterways.

Mr. Rose said there was a lack of this kind of service in the region, and he saw an opportunity to turn his love of nature into a career.

Starting off was difficult, he said, but without the financial assistance he received, getting Red Indian Adventures on the water would have been even more of a challenge.

"I started kayaking 14 years ago on the river here," said Mr. Rose. "I've been canoeing since I was a child, and I’ve been taking courses and upgrading certification in kayaking and canoeing since I was a teenager."

The business owner is well-experienced, qualified and certified having been approved as a senior moving water instructor, a Level IV lake water canoeist, a swift water rescue technician, and a licensed provincial guide. Mr. Rose is also called in by the local search and rescue if there is a river rescue.

Besides carrying out tours, Mr. Rose also offers courses from the beginner level, which he said people with no experience need in white water canoeing, flat water canoeing and kayaking and white water kayaking.

"I learned on my own the hard way," he said. "I learned with a text book on the shore, basically, but you would save a great deal of time and money by taking a course in the beginning. You would buy all the right equipment first, instead of making purchase mistakes. For example, with our courses, there is a two-and-a-half hour lecture on equipment on kayaking. I wish I had that available to me when I started."

Currently, a basic kayaking course is being offered at the Exploits Valley YMCA, where he is able to offer theory and pool time for teaching. This course is recommended for anyone interested in white water or sea kayaking. From there they can continue on with their training in whichever direction they prefer to go. Another will be offered in May. For river canoeing and kayaking, participants are taught inside for theory and outside on the Exploits.

"We're definitely paddling on of the best rivers in eastern Canada," said Mr. Rose, who has been on many rivers in Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario. "Over the past two years, white water kayak tours have been growing tremendously. I’ve had people paddle with me all over Canada, and their dumbfounded that no one here paddles. They have so much to say about the river."

He said there are two things that impress the visitors, including the fact you can drink the water, and that there isn’t anyone else lined up to compete for the same water space.

Red Indian Adventures take tours for rafting, white water canoeing and kayaking mainly from Badger to Aspen Brook, and a second area where they spend a lot of time is called the Canyon Section, an expert run, from the salmon ladder to Sanger Memorial RV Park.

If someone doesn’t have equipment, the business also offer rentals of the necessary gear.

Building construction for the operation is taking place at Aspen Brook, across from Cornfield Lake Road. During the season, Mr. Rose said extra staff is hired, and this year he hopes to have four people working with him.

Most tourism-related businesses take five to 10 years to become self-sustaining, said Mr. Rose, but he doesn’t expect his venture to take that long. He predicts the Exploits River and surrounding waterways will get busier, as more people realize the rich water resources the area has to offer.

For more information about courses or tours, contact Mr. Rose at 486-0892, or e-mail redindian.adventures@nf.sympatico.ca.

Source: "Adventure tourism coming up Roses," Advertiser, vol. 63(31), April 19, 1999, p.11.