Toronto Hippo Tours I Went On A Bus - In The Water…….
June 27, 2008 on 2:16 am | In Travel Insurance | No Comments
Some time ago I noticed these odd shaped colourful bus-type vehicles in the streets of Toronto, and I was wondering what they were. I caught a second glimpse and I saw “Toronto Hippo Tours“, and I realized that these buses carry sightseeing passengers not just on the streets of Toronto, but also in the waters of Lake Ontario. Considering that this form of intermodal transportation is definitely unconventional, it just recently came to me that I should do an interview with this company and go on one of the vehicles myself.
They are definitely funny looking vehicles with a rounded snout, bright painting saying “Ride the Hippo”, and an entry at the rear where you board walking up a set of retractable metal stairs.
Today I met with Drew O’Gilvie who is the Director of Sales and Marketing for Toronto Hippo Tours. Drew used to be a Director of Sales for Delta Hotels and obviously has a lot of tourism-related marketing experience.
1. Please tell us who came up with the idea of creating a company with a bus that floats? How long has the company been in business?
Geoffrey Lind founded Toronto Hippo Tours 5 years ago since he wanted to bring the “duck concept”, the famous amphibian vehicle tours in Boston, to Toronto. Last year the company had 25,000 passengers and we expect to far surpass that number this year. Rather than calling ourselves a sightseeing company, we consider ourselves an “urban safari”, a true urban adventure.
2. How many Hippos are there? What makes them special?
We currently have 2 vehicles in operation with a 3rd one that was just recently completed and is just waiting for final licenses, a complicated process that involves federal and provincial authorities and safety checks. The vehicles are Canadian-designed and built, based on a school-bus platform. Contrary to other places, they are not recycled WWII or Korean war amphibian vehicles. They are carefully safety-checked and greased every morning. We affectionately call our 3 amphibian vehicles Harry, Happy and Henrietta, our newest addition.
3. Please tell us about your route and your schedule. Are the tours narrated?
The Hippo tours are 1.5 hours long and spend about 1 hour on land covering the major Toronto sites, all professionally narrated by a tour guide who is also licensed in first-aid. We run tours from the beginning of May to the end of October every hour from 11 am to 6 pm.
4. Please tell us about the prices. Is it possible to book the vehicles for a private outing?
Prices are very reasonable at C$35.00 per adult, or C$30.00 for seniors or students, and C$23.00 for children 12 years and under. The vehicles can also be chartered and are frequently rented for special occasions both by business organizations and private individuals for birthday parties. At C$500.00 per outing, which holds 40 passengers, this can be an extremely affordable special event.
5. Please comment on the special training that your captains and tour guides receive.
Our guides are certified in St. John’s Ambulance and CPR, and are all restricted engineers. They undergo strict testing with government authorities as marine captains and they have to obtain licenses to become school-bus drivers for operating the vessel on land.
After interviewing Drew, I had a chance to actually sample the Hippo experience myself and I got on board, plunking myself down right behind the Captain, who in this case was a sporty-looking lady by the name of Catherine. We had another tour guide who competently and entertainingly mentioned the major sights along the way and cracked some dry jokes in between. Another guide by the name of Dan also accompanied us. He is just finishing up his road licensing and has already completed the marine portion of the licensing process.
The vehicle passes through the streets of Toronto at a very leisurely pace. Our route included major sites such as the Royal York Hotel, Union Station, Yonge Street with the Bay, the Eaton Centre and Dundas Square. We then headed over on Elm Street and down on Bay Street past Old and New City Hall. I particularly enjoyed the gargoyle story about Old Toronto City Hall, where a famous architect took revenge on Toronto city counsellors who criticized him for his cost overruns by depicting their likenesses as ugly gargoyles. We then headed up University Avenue past Queens Park (the provincial government buildings) and on to the University of Toronto campus.
From there we snaked our way down through the Garment District, admiring all of Toronto’s loft conversions and condo developments past the CNE grounds (the Canadian National Exhibition grounds) to a ramp near Ontario Place, where we were getting ready for THE BIG SPLASH - the Hippo’s entry into the water.
It sure was a weird feeling, being on a bus whose windshield is all of a sudden fully submerged by water. But the vehicle straightened itself out pretty quickly and we started chugging slowly into the waters surrounding Ontario Place. “Happy the Hippo’s” top speed is about 5 knots, and the vehicle has a single engine that propels the bus’ transmission on land as well as the propeller in the water. At 20 tons it’s a pretty heavy vehicle and a special ramp had to be built to give it access to Lake Ontario.
We took a little spin over off the west end of the Exhibition Grounds where we had a good look at Toronto’s only wind turbine (we are finally making baby-steps towards greener energy production….) where we turned around and headed back towards Ontario place.
While Dan was driving during the water portion of the trip, Catherine, the other captain, and I stood at the back of the vessel and had a great conversation. Catherine is a former insurance sales expert and after being laid off she went into a completely new career - first as a Hippo tour guide, and she has also become a fully certified and licensed Hippo captain. Catherine also knows lots about fixing the vehicle and doesn’t mind getting her fingers greasy when she performs maintenance duties on the bus on a daily basis. In her off -months from November to April Catherine does some cool things, such as volunteering her services to an animal conservation area to protect sloths in Costa Rica, or travelling extensively to Cuba. As a matter of fact, Catherine is a pretty cool and interesting individual herself and I will be doing a follow-up intereview with her in the near future.
Back on land we passed by Harbourfront and headed back up towards the famous Royal York hotel. Shortly after we made a quick turn left and headed back to the Hippo Tours parking spot at 151 Front Street, just a tiny bit east of the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre (formerly called the Skydome), Toronto’s multi-purpose stadium with the retractable roof.
Catherine and I had a chance to catch up for about 10 minutes after the tour was over, and we briefly talked about doing a language study trip to Cuba, something that Catherine was interested in. I shared some information with her since I have had the opportunity to study Spanish at the University of Havana earlier this year.
It seems to me that Catherine is a bit of an adventurer and I am really looking forward to catching up with her to find out more about her new, unconventional lifestyle that went from corporate sales to being a road/lake captain for 6 months of the year, and doing some other cool stuff in the months between..
Thanks again to Drew and the whole crew at Toronto Hippo Tours for spending their time with me and for giving me the opportunity to explore Toronto on a bus - on land and on the water…….
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions(http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.
Submit your own travel stories in our first travel story contest(http://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.
“Life is a Journey
Tags: adventure travel, eco tourism, family travel, hippo travel, Toronto, travel, women travelSecond Interview Coming Up Karla Darocas!
June 20, 2008 on 1:50 am | In Travel Insurance | No Comments
My Second Interview: Karla Darocas - Expatriate Canuck in Spain!
As you will probably know by now, I have a real fascination for everything Spanish (my article on Hispanophilia will attest to that), so I headed over to Spain twice last year. On my second trip where I visited places such as Barcelona, Tarragona, Valencia, Montserrat and Ibiza, I also spent a couple of days on the Costa Blanca, the most easterly part of Spain that sticks out into the Mediterranean.
My friend and Internet mentor David had linked me up with one of his close friends, a very interesting woman from Canada who had moved to Spain a few years earlier. Karla Darocas was very gracious and invited me to stay with her for a night or two and I had a chance to get a brief glimpse into the life of an expatriate Canuck on the Spanish Costa Blanca.
Karla, her Scottish friend Rhonda and I went on a day trip on the local train to Benidorm, the largest tourist resort town along the entire Costa Blanca. We talked about life in Spain, about the culture and in particular about the humongous influx of Northern Europeans, particularly retirees, who are settling along the Spanish coastline. If I remember correctly, Spain is expecting something like 4 million Northern Europeans to settle in Spain over the next few years.
As a result there has been huge real estate development along the entire coastline and in some places like Marbella literally every square inch of available space has been paved over. For anybody with any kind of love for nature, what has happened along the coasts of Southern Spain is really quite painful to see. Development has progressed with very few limits and as a result Spain is facing serious water shortages and environmental issues due to overdevelopment, overcrowding of coastal areas as well as the building of golf courses. The tremendous increase in prices along the coast has made it virtually impossible for the locals to be able to afford a house there.
However, despite all these excesses, there are still many beautiful places, and particularly the area where Karla lives is an extremely scenic part of Spain. Karla is a very interesting individual who is an artist, but is also involved in a variety of business and non-profit endeavours. Again she is one of those people who manage to combine the artistic with the entrepreneurial. I found her to be a very generous host and I appreciated the opportunity to spend a day and half with a person who could give me local insight into the area.
Her interview will provide unique insight into a culture that fascinates many of us in one of the most beautiful and diverse countries around. Karla’s frank comments describe Spanish society and the life of a North American expatriate and provide an inside look into a beguiling and contradictory culture.
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions (http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.
Submit your own travel stories in our first travel story contest (http://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.
“Life is a Journey
Tags: adventure travel, eco tourism, family travel, hippo travel, Toronto, travel, women travelSue Kenney and the Camino De Santiago Pilgrim, Best-Selling Author, Keynote Speaker, & Coach
June 6, 2008 on 1:36 am | In Travel Insurance | No CommentsI am very happy to be able to present to you Sue Kenney, a very fascinating individual, a consummate athlete and master rower, a pilgrim to one of the world’s biggest pilgrimage destinations - Spain’s Camino de Santiago, a best-selling author, sought-after keynote speaker and coach, and more than anything else, a spiritual leader.
For more information on Sue’s background please read my interview preview about Sue Kenney, as well as a report about Sue’s presentation about the Camino which tells her story in more detail. After waiting for almost half a year for this interview, due to Sue’s extremely tight schedule, I am really pleased to finally be able to present to you this fascinating individual: Sue Kenney.
1. Tell us a little bit about your life before the Camino.
I was a single mom with three teenaged daughters. I had a career working for 24 years in the Telecom industry. I had trained as a master’s rower for 5 years prior to walking the Camino. At the age of 45, in September 2001, I went to the World Master’s Rowing Championships with a crew of 8 women and we won a gold medal.
2. How did you get the idea of walking the Camino and what motivated you to do it?
One day I was watching TV and saw a show on walking tours in Spain. I found out about the Camino and went on the internet to do some research. At that time in my life, my philosophy about life was based on the idea that every thought, action intention and emotion should come from a place of love. I knew in order to love others, I had to first love myself but I had lost the ability to love myself. I wanted to walk the Camino one day to spend time alone. One day I went into work to find out I was being downsized and that I was made redundant. After being walked out the side door carrying my personal belongings in a cardboard box, I went home and decided that I should go for a long walk. 5 weeks later I left for the Camino.
3. Tell us about your experience walking the Camino, your daily routine, the challenges and the adventures.
I started in St. Jean Pied de Port, France and the first day of walking, I climbed the Pyrenees Mountains. I walked for 29 days covering 20 to 40 kilometers a day. I experienced every possible kind of weather; snow, sleet, hail, rain, fog, wind, sun and mist. I walked over mountains, streams, fields, through forests, in mud, over rocks and every kind of terrain you could imagine. Each day I would wake up early and be the first one to start walking. Often I walked in the dark, with the light from the stars of the Milky Way leading me the way. One of the biggest challenges was facing my fears.
4. Where did you stay, what did you eat? What did you pack? How much weight did you carry? What other practical issues became important in this enormous endeavour?
I struggled with the weight I was carrying; 25 lbs with all my personal belongings. I only carried a sleeping bag and what I absolutely needed, together with food and water for the day. I stayed in refugio’s or hostels for the pilgrims. They usually had bunk beds. There was very little heat and sometimes no hot water. Not all places had kitchen facilities. I never knew what I would be facing, until I arrived there. It was most important to have a place to sleep.
5. What kind of people did you meet? What kind of places did you see?
I met people from all over the world who taught me many wise things about life. Dino the Greek, taught me that a saint is someone who faces their fear. Andreas the German pilgrim taught me that if you pick up a stone and put your sorrow into it, when you place the stone down, you leave your sorrow behind, Bernie the legendary dog of the Camino, taught me the value of walking home from the Camino.
6. Now that we have discussed some of the practical elements of the Camino, please tell us about some of the inner experiences and insights you gained on the Camino.
Each day I walked the Camino, I repeated my intentions. I wanted to find out my purpose in life and also, to gain an understanding of the possibility of finding self-love. Each day I began my journey intending self-love and at the end of each day I completed the day’s walk intending gratitude. Over many days of repeating the rituals around this focus, I came to a place of clarity.
I learned one is never alone on the Camino. Every time I asked for a sign, one would appear. I learned that through the sorrow of others I could find more love. There was a level of compassion for all sentient beings that I had never experienced before. I learned to trust and to have faith. I learned through the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other, I could find my life purpose. I learned not to judge others. By being a simple pilgrim on the road I had to trust others to help me. Through this I also learned to expect nothing, and everything is a gift.
Most of all I learned to value myself, and in turn I could value all others. By believing that I could put my sorrow and the sorrow of others into a stone, I learned that there is hope, that hope itself exists.
7. What was it like coming back to Canada after the Camino?
I struggled with the noise, the speed with which everything was done, the commercialism, the focus on fulfilling the ego and I missed being close to nature. I left Toronto and moved up to my cottage on the lake. I had a strong desire to be creative but didn’t know how to integrate that into my world.
8. Please tell us how your life philosophies have changed after completing the Camino.
Since I come home, I decided I couldn’t work in the corporate sector as an employee. Instead, I could act as a mediator to the corporate world and the Camino world: to bring a holistic philosophic approach to living one’s life congruent with personal values. I have developed leadership workshops based on core leadership skills that are based on compassion, love, awareness, truth, gratitude and care. I believe we are all creative and that we have the ability to create our life, if we seek first to understand the truth. I believe that life is quite simple and that it is necessary to live a spiritual life first.
Most importantly, I believe that one’s ability to be creative is increased with time spent walking. Walking calms the body, mind and spirit. It’s like taking a pause in one’s life.
The whole interview with photos is published at Travel and Transitions - Interviews
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions (http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.
Submit your own travel stories in our first travel story contest (http://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.
“Life is a Journey
Tags: adventure travel, eco tourism, family travel, hippo travel, Toronto, travel, women travelCopyright 2007 Travel Insurance Worldwide Center. All rights reserved.