Hay River (July 07/03) - A Hay River couple has decided to go with the flow of the river for a new tourism enterprise.

Beatrice Lepine and Bert Buckley Sr. see an ecotourism opportunity on the Hay River.

They have just launched a boat tour, offering views of the river and shoreline that most people - even many local residents - would likely never see.

Buckley, who has been a commercial fisherman in Hay River for 35 years, says even he has seen sights on the tour he has never seen before.

"This is something people never experience," he says, as he navigates the brand new Emily Rose - an eight-metre pontoon tour boat that can accommodate 18 people.

The tour covers the mouth of the East Channel up as far as the New Village of the Hay River Reserve. In between, it passes all the many aspects of the river - the NTCL shipyard, barges, numerous vessels, Coast Guard facilities, the Hay River Reserve and natural scenery.

Some of the sights are surprising. For example, on a calm day, a line can be visible where the sediment in the river meets the clearer water of Great Slave Lake.

Lepine has developed the script for the interpretive tour. She delivers the information in person or on tape if she is working at her regular job as a forester with RWED.

"People don't really know how important the marine environment is to this community," she says, adding it is difficult to get on the water if you don't have your own boat.

The tour focuses on the marine environment and the human history of the area.

Lepine has gathered a lot of information in her research. Passing by the Hay River Reserve, for example, Lepine points to the steeple of St. Anne's Church and explains it is made of tin shaped to look like marble.

As a commercial fisherman, Buckley says tourists often ask for rides on his fishing boat. However, he says he couldn't take them because he never before had a tour operator's licence or the necessary insurance.

Lepine says there have not been boat tours on the Hay River since the early 1990s.

"It's something I've wanted to do all my life," she says, noting Buckley also had a similar interest. "And we both decided to take the leap."

They began offering tours on June 28 through their company Northex Tours Ltd., and will continue until September, depending on the weather and the demand.

Lepine says she and Buckley are confident about their business idea. However, she adds with a laugh, "If it doesn't work, we have a great family boat."