April 2012
Phil's Paws for Thought
A great big Knight Inlet Lodge thank you to the 2000 plus people that read our last newsletter. It means a lot to everyone involved with the newsletter to get that kind of response.
Did you know that Knight Inlet Lodge is on Facebook? Our page is a great way both for friends of Knight Inlet Lodge and guests, past and future, to keep up to date on what is happening at the lodge. If you have not already done so please be sure to "like" our page when you visit and remember we are always looking for photos and videos to share with everyone.
The winter of 2011 / 2012 has been a good one for our micro hydro plant. To date we have been able to operate for 45 days without using our diesel generator. By our estimation this has saved over 3000 litres of diesel and reduced our winter carbon emissions dramatically. While the water supply is not sufficient for anything other than the winter months it still represents an important part of our ongoing efforts to lower the lodge's carbon footprint.
January was a cold and windy month at the lodge. Outflow winds of 35 – 50 miles per hour coupled with minus 12 Degrees Celsius daytime temperatures caused a good portion of Glendale Cove to freeze solid. Our thanks to Marie Hudon for these photos of what it looked like.
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A mobile version of www.grizzlytours.com is now up and running. Take a look with your smart phone to see what we have been up to.
Knight Inlet lodge has 2 Twitter handles, @knightinlet and @knightinletbear that you can sign up to follow.
Our 2013 pricing is now available. If you would like us to send you a copy of our tariff please send an email to info@grizzlytours.com If you would like to book for 2013 as soon as reservations open then let us know at the above email address and we will contact you. We anticipate opening reservations for 2013 in August.
Don't forget that we love seeing the photos and videos that you took during your stay with us.
We are always happy to receive your photos and videos so even if your visit was in years past we would love to see and share your pictures.
Knight Inlet Lodge was very pleased to receive a 2012 "Travelers Choice" award from Tripadvisor. We are particularly proud of this award as less than 1% of hotels and resorts in the world earn this distinction annually. This honour, and finishing eleventh on the list of all inclusive resorts, would not have been possible without all of the glowing reviews that our guests have taken the time to submit. Thank you everyone.
We are hoping to have one or two guides from Norman Carr Safaris visit us this spring. While details are still being worked out it is looking promising. The guide exchange between the two lodges is something that we feel is of great benefit to both the guides and the lodges.
Please help with Faltering Light’s Online Petition to stop the trophy hunting of grizzly bears in B.C. This cause is one that Knight Inlet Lodge supports and believes in.
For those of you eagerly looking forward to the latest instalment of Dean's Rant we apologize. Dean is far too relaxed from his holiday to rant about anything. He promises to do better in the next issue.
GRIZZLY BEAR CARVING
This past fall Knight Inlet Lodge commissioned local chainsaw carver Glen Greensides to create a life size replica of "Bart the Bear". Guest's fortunate enough to be at the lodge in October witnessed a true artist at work during the time Glen was creating his masterpiece. For many of the guests the highlight was the chance to visit with Glen and have him explain the step by step process of carving with a chainsaw. We hope you enjoy these photos of our "new" grizzly bear. For more information on Glenn and his art please visit his website www.greensidesart.com
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| Bart the Bear by Glen Greensides |
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| Cedar log in it's raw form |
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| Glen making the first cuts |
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| Bart taking shape. Glen taking a well earned break. |
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| Bart getting his dental work finished |
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Canadian Tourism Commission- Signature Experiences Collection
In October of 2011 Knight Inlet Lodge was chosen by the Canadian Tourism Commission to be a charter member of the Signature Experiences Collection. One of 115 tourism companies in Canada to be selected Knight Inlet Lodge is looking forward to working with the CTC to market both our lodge and Canada as a destination.
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A Guides view by Bob Scriba
The whale surfaced just beyond the log breakwater in front of the lodge with an inconspicuous puff that would have gone unnoticed to everyone except for the sharp eyed dog, Finnegan. She barked her alarm, alerting all the guests on the deck to the giant invader. A flurry of action ensued as people rushed to alert all other guests, guides and staff to the rare humpback encounter, so near to our floating home. Everyone manned a boat to follow the whale as it cruised around Glendale Cove and back into the deeper waters of Knight Inlet. From photos taken we were able to identify this whale as "Spinner" by the numerous scars he wore from when he became entangled in and released from a fisherman's net. For many of our guests, this was a first ever sighting of a whale and one that was a totally unexpected pleasure. Our guests come for the grizzly bears but many times in 2011, it was the whales and dolphins that provided highlights of their trips.
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The bears did their part too in keeping up our success at providing our world travelers with unforgettable experiences. Lenore with her two year old cub Peanut, Bella and her three yearlings as well as Pretty Boy, Bruno, Clyde, Cross Paw and one other disreputable looking male kept life exciting and unpredictable through the mating season. Lenore chased Peanut away to live on his own as she cast her eyes on the male grizzlies hanging around the cove. To the delight of the departing and arriving guests, a huge fight ensued on the beach in front of the lodge between Clyde and Bruno over Lenore's favors. The fur flew as the two giants roared and wrestled on the rocks as guests and staff alike stood and watched in amazement at the power and savagery of Mother Nature's way. When the dust had settled, Clyde strolled off with Lenore, paw in paw.
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Sadly, Bella lost one of her cubs midway through the summer season. She is still above the 50% average though for raising cubs. Peanut, reluctantly, learned to live on his own and by the end of the season he went into hibernation as a healthy, chunky, beautiful young bear. We also saw the white bear for the first time since 2010. She was her usual, timid self, but she fished the spawning channel and river confidently, keeping a respectful distance from larger bears and people. The salmon returned to the Glendale on time and in reasonable numbers. While there were not as many as we were hoping for there should be more than enough to ensure a healthy outmigration in the spring 2012. The bears were certainly able to catch all they needed for a healthy hibernation.
Once again, for me, the guests were the highlights of the season. The lodge was full, for the most part, and I was again disappointed that I did not meet everyone. I continue to be amazed by life stories and how our guests live. Everyone has a story and we are all connected by our mutual bond and love of the wilderness.
Editor's note: Bob Scriba was one of the more popular and better known guides at Knight Inlet Lodge. Bob and his wife Faye have moved back to Alberta to be nearer their Children and Grandchildren. We will miss him at the lodge. This is a link to Bob's website www.seasonsofthegrizzly.com
A visitor's view
This story was contributed by multi time visitor John Barnett. We appreciate John taking the time to share his thoughts on Knight Inlet Lodge.
Many years ago when I was working for Australia's National broadcaster I interviewed an American gentleman in one of our 'off the beaten track' tourist destinations. He made his living writing short and meaningful little sentences for tourist postcards. To end the interview I asked him what he would like to write about this place. His reply was "Now that I have discovered this delightful spot, how can I stop others from finding it"?
Sadly for me the years have proved this true; I have seen so many beautiful and unspoiled places that I featured in my programmes ruined by the greedy chase for the tourism dollar, developed with no regard for the environment that made it attractive. But Knight Inlet Lodge and its associated activities is the exact opposite, and that's why I have publicly stated that it is my favourite destination in the world.
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To me it epitomises the ideals of eco tourism, allowing visitors to observe bears and a host of other wildlife in their natural habitat whilst enjoying all the amenities of a first class resort. And whilst I abhor the term 'education' in relation to eco tourism, every visitor has the opportunity to learn as much or as little as they wish to about the ecology and history of this magnificent rainforest part of British Columbia.
As you enjoy your stay at Knight Inlet Lodge it may pay to remember that all that surrounds it is not so perfect. The BC government issues licences for 'sportsmen' to shoot Grizzly bears, they issue licences for salmon farms that present hazards by way of disease and parasites for wild salmon, and the logging industry which is such an important source of revenue for the Province is a destroyer of habitats. Somehow there has to be a balance.
But unlike my American friend, you, having found this delightful spot, can happily encourage your friends to visit; because under the stewardship of the owners and their staff Knight Inlet Lodge and its surrounds will remain an unspoiled getaway from the outside world where you can truly be one with nature and yet do so in absolute comfort.