Tourism in Northern Manitoba will be expanding this summer to include jet boat tours of the Nelson River system.
Clint Sawchuk, an electrician with Manitoba Hydro out of Gillam, is making a foray into the tourism business with Nelson River Adventures this summer, offering learning and discovery experiences, starting in Gillam and exploring the Nelson River system.
Tours will be offered daily and will range anywhere from two to 10 hours, starting in Gillam and allowing visitors to explore Port Nelson, the Hudson Bay Company's depot building in York Factory, Gull Rapids and Manitoba Hydro's Kettle dam.
Along the way, tourists and their cameras will be treated to white water rapids, the Northern Manitoba landscape, and an array of wildlife, including seals, moose, caribou, and polar bears.
Sawchuk is a proud outdoorsman who enjoys fishing, hunting, and snowmobiling, and rode his snowmobile up to Arviat in Nunavut this past winter.
Up to six tourists at a time can ride along with Sawchuk on his 21-foot, fully enclosed and heated jet boat, as it travels the Nelson River system.
"I've made the trip about 40 times on the boat so I'm familiar with the river system," said Sawchuk, "I thought it would be nice to let other people see what's out there and enjoy it."
Tour prices are fixed, regardless if one or as many as six people want to take a tour. The Kettle River tour is between one and two hours and will cost $250. A day trip to Gull Rapids takes between three and four hours round trip and costs $450.
The two larger excursions to Port Nelson and York Factory are much longer and cost $1,500 and $2,000 respectively.
"York Factory is about 180 miles round trip and Port Nelson is 140 miles round trip," said Sawchuk, "the trip to York Factory includes Port Nelson as well."
Business will get underway for Nelson River Adventures as early as July and run through August. Reservations are available to be made right now.
To reserve a Nelson River adventure, contact Clint Sawchuk at: nelsonriveradventures@gmail.com
