November 2011

November 2011

Phil's Paws for Thought

Thank you to all of the 2011 guests that took the time to send us their favorite photos and videos. Their generosity in allowing us to share them with everyone through our Facebook and Blog pages is greatly appreciated. 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.

A special thank you goes out to Knight Inlet Lodge guide Lori Kublik for supplying us with regular updates and photos on the wildlife of Glendale Cove.

Reservations for our 2012 season are well under way. If you are thinking about a visit next year now is the time to book. This is especially true if a September or October stay is your goal as we expect that those months will be close to if not sold out by Christmas.

My family and I had the pleasure of visiting Norman Carr Safaris in Zambia this summer. We spent an incredible 6 days on safari with them not only at the main Kapani Lodge but at two of their bush camps, Nsolo and Kakuli. The staff, guides, accommodation, food and wildlife were all simply first class. To have the opportunity to see such a diverse selection of wildlife up close is something we will never forget. For anyone planning a trip to Africa I cannot speak highly enough about our experience with Norman Carr Safaris.

In our last issue we incorrectly identified Mark Cator as Mark Cantor. Considering the effort he made in getting his excellent videos to us the least we could have done is spell his name correctly. Sorry about that Mark. To view Mark's videos as well as some new footage kindly supplied by Researcher Mel Clapham please click here.

Knight Inlet Lodge owners Dean and Kathy Wyatt have once again purchased the hunting rights for Glendale Cove. This purchase, partly funded by our stop the hunt wrist band and water bottle sales, will save the life of one grizzly bear that otherwise would have been needlessly shot by a trophy hunter.

After a number of starts and stops to our satellite video project we finally have some footage to share with you. Since the original concept of streaming video has proven impossible due to our remote location we are now recording the footage as photos on a portable hard drive located at the stands. After flying it out to Campbell River it is then stitched together to create a time lapse video. We hope you enjoy this snapshot of the fall bear viewing season as seen from a camera mounted at the viewing stand. To view the unedited footage click here.

We are trying to build our following on both Facebook and Google+. If you visit our Facebook page please be sure to click on the "like" button if you enjoy the site. At present we are at 212 "likes" with a goal of 300 plus by year's end. If you have a Google account of any type please visit our website and click on the Google+ button on the lower left side of the main page right beside the Facebook "like" button.

Back to top

2011 Bear Report

Knight Inlet Lodge has had an outstanding year of bear viewing with a solid number of bears in the area from the time we opened in the middle of May. Some of the highlights of the season include:

Our previously dominate male Bruno being challenged by a younger male. Guests in early June were treated to a very loud and prolonged argument as they moved around the estuary over the course of a day. Although there was very little in the way of a physical confrontation it was an amazing sight for those lucky enough to witness it. We believe the younger male, we call him Clyde, is approximately 10 years old.

For the last couple of years the sow and cub combination of Lenore and Peanut has been one of our regular sightings. This spring guests witnessed the heart wrenching sight of Lenore pushing Peanut away from her side. This necessary but very sad spectacle was followed by Lenore mating with a number of males, hopefully leading to a new cub next spring.

We are happy to report that Peanut is doing well if a bit lonely. For an update on Peanut take a look at this blog entry from Lori Kublik. We will keep updating Peanut's status for everyone via Facebook and our blog.

Bella and her cubs seem to settling in at Glendale Cove now. This fall they have been spotted in the estuary and along the shoreline near the lodge on a semi-regular basis.

Guests in early September were seeing 20 – 30 bears fishing for salmon in the river and spawning channel.

Our pink salmon return has been solid but below the numbers from 2 years ago. Thankfully there is plenty of fish for the grizzlies and the bears are looking good as they put on weight for winter hibernation.

Early October viewing has seen upwards of 6 sows with 11 cubs plus assorted males and females. The high number of cubs in our area is very encouraging for the future.

Back to top

Pauline Anderson & "stop the hunt"

Every once in awhile someone does something that makes you stop and go wow! One such person is Pauline Anderson, repeat Knight Inlet guest and past contributor to our blog. After her and her husband Ian's second visit to Knight Inlet she has made it her mission to raise money for our "stop the hunt" campaign. Towards that end Pauline has been holding talks and slideshows in her local area and has raised over $300.00 Canadian for the cause. She reports that everyone comments on how gorgeous the grizzlies are and cannot believe that anyone would want to kill one. (nor can we). All of us at Knight Inlet Lodge would like to give a big THANK YOU to Pauline for what she is doing.

If you would like to read Pauline's blogs from her visits they can be accessed through these links. Pauline and Ian 2010 blog and Pauline and Ian 2008 blog

Back to top

Knight Inlet Lodge and Tripadvisor

Knight Inlet Lodge is proud to have made Tripadvisor's list of the "best of the best" all inclusive resorts. Finishing fifth and being the only resort from Canada to make the list is an amazing accomplishment for a small family owned and operated lodge.

Knight Inlet Lodge does not advertise with Tripadvisor nor did we apply to be considered for the award. Since the award is based on the ratings and comments of past guests we truly could not have done this without you. Thank you to everyone that took the time to share their thoughts on Knight Inlet Lodge.

Back to top

Staff Bio - Harold Payne

Harold has been part of the team at Knight Inlet Lodge since 1999. After 10 seasons as Lodge Manager he took over operation of our airport shuttle service in 2010. A key piece of the team, he's a certified marine mechanic, Harold spends his winters making sure that our boats are ready to go for the following season. The staff of the newsletter recently sat down with Harold to get his thoughts on his time at Knight Inlet Lodge.

KIL: What do you enjoy most about your job?
Harold: The guests, I have gotten to meet a lot of really interesting, nice people over the years.

KIL: Do you miss being up at the lodge during the season?
Harold: Not really. I am enjoying being home every evening with my wife. That was the main reason I decided to change jobs in 2010.

KIL: If you had to pick one thing from your time working at Knight Inlet Lodge what are you the most proud of?
Harold: That's a hard one to answer. I guess it would be all the work that has gone into the infrastructure of the lodge. We did an incredible amount of building and improving during my first few seasons at the lodge. I really like how the lodge looks now compared to when I first started.

Harold and his wife Marie live in the Comox Valley with their dog Kloe.

Back to top

Voice of the Great Spirit
By Dave Campbell & Margaret Healion

This much anticipated book featuring outstanding photography of the wildlife and scenery of Knight Inlet is sure to be a popular item with past and future Knight Inlet Lodge guests. For a detailed press release and a link to order the book please click here

Back to top

Dean's Rant

It's the end of our best season ever and I would like to thank our clients and suppliers for believing in how we operate. I also would like to thank our staff for continuing the level of excellence we have maintained for over 10 years in satisfying the needs of our guests. Like any season there were a few speed bumps along the way but overall our level of customer satisfaction is still very high.

Kathy and I would also like to thank all the guests that sent in reviews to Tripadvisor allowing us to get an unsolicited award as one of the top ten all inclusive resorts in the world. This award reinforces to Kathy and I that the way we operate and deliver our product is correct.

Now that all the nice things are out of the way I want to tell you about a couple of things that I am really PO'd about. The first thing is the unacceptably low return of salmon to the Glendale River and the lack of progress in solving this ongoing issue. The other is the continued lack of recognition our Provincial Government has towards the economic value of grizzly bear viewing. Their lack of any kind of protection for grizzlies on the coast of B.C. is inexcusable. We can only succeed in obtaining permanent protection for the grizzlies by you, our customers, writing and emailing the Government to let them know what they are doing is unacceptable.

The contact information and the names of the politicians you should contact are:

Points to consider for your email:
You traveled to B.C. for grizzly bear viewing, total value of your visit to B.C, how many people in your party, your opposition to the hunting of grizzly bears on the coast, how you as a visitor to our province views the fact British Columbia allows a trophy hunt for grizzlies.

We appreciate your help with our ongoing battle. Thank you.

Back to top