There is magic in kids' camps

This time of year - the mid-way point of the two-month summer school break - I almost always find myself reminiscing about summers past, and in particular, going to camp as a kid.

You may be wondering, well, fine - but what does that have to do with travel?

In my case, plenty. 

In fact, it would not be too big a stretch to say going to camp as a kid is one of the key factors that propelled me into a career of travel writing.

Bear in mind, much of the travel I write about involves getting out-of-doors, into nature, seeking adventure - and often doing so by canoe or kayak or occasionally, whitewater raft. There is also often a conservation angle or aspect to it. There is good reason for that...

It really all does go back to that first summer at Camp Richildaca in southern Ontario, where I learned to paddle a canoe on a small pond on the day camp's property.

Richildaca Canoe Pond (Photo by Alexandra Heilbron)

Of such things, careers are made...

I also learned the sport of archery, rode my first horse, went on my first nature hike, cooked my first meal over an open fire and slept in a tent for the first time at Richildaca.

Oh, yeah - I learned to swim there, too - kind of an important skill to develop if you plan on spending a lot of time paddling on lakes, rivers and oceans around the world.

Yes, it would be not to big a stretch to say the two-week periods I spent there over three successive summers made a big impact on who and what I became as an adult. Ditto, the successive two camp periods I spent at the Haliburton Scout Reserve.

Without the love of the outdoors, that desire to hike and paddle and seek adventure in the wilderness, I just might be another old sports writer (I did it for 15 years before turning to travel writing), or, worse still - (shudder!) a history teacher.

Chow time! at Haliburton Scout Reserve

Nothing wrong with history teachers, by the way - I'd probably make a good one - but my interest in elementary school North American colonial history (and its associated adventure) combined with my love of the outdoors really did send me down a path that involved a fairly l-o-n-g detour into the University of New Brunswick's Bachelor of Science Forestry program, the eventual earning of a business degree - and a career in radio and print sports journalism for 15 years. 

My move into journalism really is the result of some encouragement from a first-year friend at UNB, Dan Arsenault, someone I'm still friends with today. He coaxed me into joining CHSR, the campus radio station. I did; eventually I also began writing for the Brunswickan, UNB's student newspaper.

Even going to UNB, the launching pad for my journalism career, was actually another case of Richildaca synchronicity: when I worked as a junior forest ranger in Gogama, Ontario during the summer of 1973, the head foreman recommended UNB as a good place to go for forestry if I didn't want to stay in Ontario.

Paddling on Azure Lake, as a junior forest ranger

The entire time I worked as a sports journalist, I still loved camping, canoeing, getting out-of-doors. Eventually, my sense of adventure took me paddling in Belize (where I encountered my first wild parrots!), and it was not long after that I started down the path of becoming a travel writer.

I don't know that any of that would have gone quite that way if I hadn't gone to Camp Richildaca when I was eight years old, and picked up a canoe paddle for the very first time.

I had no clue then that I was essentially beginning to paddle down a path that would make me one of those fortunate souls who gets to "work" by wandering the world in search of stories to write and photos to take. My inclinations and career have taken me to Africa, South America, the Caribbean, Malaysia, Thailand, Hawaii, the Canary Islands...

Zipping down Thailand's River Kwai in a canoe

Richildaca is gone now, the original owners passed away. New ownership and management have developed a new camp on the same site, the Kettleby Valley Camp, and it continues to offer outdoor experiences for children and young teens, helping them develop new skills and interests, helping them make new memories.

So if you're thinking about sending your kids to camp, and you're not quite sure whether to do it or not, why not just let the kids decide? Let them try it, at least for one summer. If they don't like it, they won't want a repeat.

Even if it does not lead to a career, chances are, they'll build some pretty good memories.

And, really there's no telling where that experience may lead them in life...

Not ALL denizens of the deep are 'river monsters'

I admit it, freely; I kind of like watching River Monsters, that TV program that's part fishing show/part adventure travel show/part biology documentary.


For those unfamiliar with the program, the host, Jeremy Wade, travels the world in search of monstrous river creatures that have killed or at least viciously attacked humans.


The most recent episode I watched involved him trying to track down a giant sting ray that had allegedly killed some people in the Parana River, the largest river in Argentina.


As I'm watching it, I'm thinking to myself (not for the first time, either) how much the writers and producers of these shows over-dramatize everything. I know, I know, it's good TV. Who wants to watch it, if it's boring? This program - essentially another outdoor fishing show - has come up with a unique new hook to lure viewers in (no pun intended, but hey, if it works...). But like other shows before it, (The Crocodile Hunter comes to mind) the actual dangers are often over exaggerated.


A bit gruesome looking? Perhaps.
Deadly dangerous? Not likely.


Now pay attention here, because this is important: I'm not about to say there is no risk involved in dealing with the creatures featured in the show. But life itself is full of risks, with no guarantees.


The fact is, yes, you can be injured, sometimes fatally, by a stingray, or a pirhana or many of the other denizens of the deep, whether they are freshwater or saltwater inhabitants. But there's probably a much better chance of getting killed in a car accident on a freeway in North America than being chewed to death by river monsters.


Think about it: Hundreds of tourists go out to Stingray City off Grand Cayman Island every day to snorkel with stingrays and feed them. I've been there, done that, got the ball cap. You don't very often hear about mishaps there. And if there was a high risk, they probably wouldn't do it.


There are other examples; I've enjoyed many experiences with wildife both in the water and on the land that prove the point further.


Another example of something I've done in the water that some people might consider dangerous: I've gone diving with sharks. (Got a hat and a T-shirt for that, too!)

That took place in a closed aquarium in the Maui Ocean Center in Hawaii. We were diving in about 25 feet of water, swimming around with several black tipped and white tipped reef sharks, a couple of hammerheads, and a baby tiger shark (only about six feet long). There were also a couple of large stingrays as well as a smaller spotted eagle ray that we actually took turns feeding. I didn't feel frightened or intimidated at all.

The biggest annoyance were the little fish that kept nipping my fingers every time I got some "chum" from the dive master to feed the ray, "Hihimanu." My fingers were covered with tiny cuts by the time we were done.

Now mind you, these are well-fed sharks, used to seeing divers; still, they are wild animals essentially, and not always predictable. And this particular dive took place about a week after Steve Irwin was killed by a bull ray while he was diving. (I should point out, he was always showboating a bit, taking what I often felt were some unnecessary risks just to get good footage for the TV program, so it's not surprising that's how he bought it). Besides, the ray that killed him in a freak accident was not among the species of rays that live in the Maui tank.


Where's that bat-spray?



Again, though, when all is said and done, it's all about risk management. The aquarium in Maui would not run programs like this if too many visitors were being eaten.

The next day, while diving in the ocean, I saw a gigantic sting ray about 20 feet away. Again, all I felt was a sense of awe and wonder. I never felt threatened or in danger.

So, enjoy the dramatic shows like River Monsters, shudder at the thought of blood and guts and gore and unseen monsters lurking in the waters below; but remember life is rarely as risky or dramatic as TV shows make it out to be - so don't let it stop you from enjoying adventures in the water, whether you're diving or snorkelling under the surface or paddling on top of it. For that matter, don't let fear stop you on land, either.

Just make sure that if you do dive in shark-infested waters, carry your shark-repellent bat-spray with you at all times ...


(Just kidding!)