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Learning to cater to tourists Residents taught how to offer a safe and memorable experience in Hall Beach and Iglulik
Miranda Scotland
Northern News Services
Published Friday, August 2, 2013
HALL BEACH/SANIRAJAK
Five Nunavut residents are ready to offer tourists a safer and more memorable experience after recently taking a guide-training course in Hall Beach.
Capt. Isaac Issigaitok drives the boat while Issaccie Qanatsiaq searches through binoculars and Bruno Immaroitok eyes the water for walrus off the coast of Hall Beach. The men were out on the water in late July as part of a guide-training course. - photo courtesy of Wes Werbowy
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Participants from Iglulik and Hall Beach learned how to cater to hunters and eco-tourists.
Trainer Wes Werbowy of Wilderness Consultants carried out the first half of the course last summer but poor ice conditions prevented him from doing a walrus hunt with the men.
Werbowy returned to the hamlet July 19 to 25 to finish the lesson.
Participants know how to hunt, Werbowy said, but what they didn't know was how to present the animal photographically.
If they did take a photo, he said, it would usually just be a snapshot that's unappealing for promotional use.
It's important, Werbowy continued, to craft the photo in a way that's respectful of the hunter and the walrus.
There shouldn't be any blood visible and the animal should be displayed well.
For instance, for a photo Werbowy and the men took together, they spent two or three hours hauling the walrus out of the water, using ropes and pullies, to position it.
"Think of pulling a truck out of the depths onto an ice floe with a rope," said Werbowy, describing the effort.
It's a lot of work but it's worth it to get shots the men can use to promote their outfitting businesses, he said.
Plus, good photos make excellent keepsakes for the tourists, which is important, said Werbowy.
"Some of these fellows who come up let's say would be American. Well he can't take that walrus home with him logistically and by law he can't import ivory into the United States.
"So what does he got as an enduring memento of this time? It's the photograph. That's all."
Werbowy also worked with the participants on how to effectively share their traditions with visitors.
By showing tourists how Inuit cut up walrus, the guides are allowing them to experience one thousand years of history, said Werbowy.
"A subsistence hunter without training doesn't think of this in those terms. He is thinking of getting food for his family."
Hall Beach resident Enoki Irqittuq was among the participants involved in the course.
He has taken tourists out before, Irqittuq said, but the program showed him ways to enhance the adventure further, he said.
In a letter Irqittuq wrote to Werbowy, he said the key lessons he took away were the necessity of informing visitors of dangerous areas, how to properly set up a campsite, the need to set times and follow them, and the importance of being a patient guide.
"You have to have lots of patience when you're taking out the photographers," Irqittuq told Nunavut News/North with a laugh.
"They can take some pictures hours and hours in one spot."
In the first part of the course the guides learned about licensing and regulations, first aid and cooking.
Werbowy also offered advice about photographing animals in their natural habitat.
Shelly Brake, community economic development officer (CEDO) for Hall Beach, is responsible for Werbowy's visits.
She had wanted to bring someone with his expertise up for a while and he came recommended by another economic development officer .
Brake said she recognizes the potential for tourism companies to thrive in the area.
"I would like to see outfitting start up and I think there are a lot of people here who are interested in it and Iglulik as well," said Brake. "So hopefully in the next year or so you'll see a couple of outfitting businesses."
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