Crew

To me, the ocean swell is like the heartbeat of the world.

Favourite Tour: Tofino Hot Springs Eco-Tour

I’m a water person by nature and as far as a life experience, my favourite tour is Mux̣šiƛa Hot Springs Cove. You get a spectacular hike, you get an amazing marine experience, and then the Hot Springs is like nothing else. You’re going to see so much incredible scenery along the way and you’re going to hear a lot of great stories. For a lot of people, it’s their first time ever on the water and it’s a whole new world.

This marine eco-tourism company, Ahous Adventures, is a unique business model because it’s all about community. The focus of this organization is to create an interest in the home communities and develop a pathway for long-term careers. It’s a gateway to a completely different world.

My greatest strengths are logistical and risk management, and leadership team development.

I’m always learning from our team because they all have different pieces to the culture and the history as well as the knowledge they’ve gained through family. It’s not just about viewing the natural environment – yes, we do Whale, Bear, and Hot Springs tours. But it’s about what has been existing in parallel with this natural environment for so many years and creating opportunity to share that with the world. The opportunity to sit with somebody who’s got hundreds of years of history rolling around in their mind, and that’s excited to share that. That’s what makes us unique.

What Brent hopes you’ll take away from your experience: Put down your camera and just cherish this moment as an opportunity that only you might ever have. Just be there in that moment with the whales and marine life.

Credentials Highlights: 

Post-Graduate Certificate in Strategic Human Resource Management, Royal Roads University, and a Diploma in Outdoor Recreation Leadership, Seneca College.

Wh?aala was born and raised in Hitacu. However, Wh?aala has deep lineage to Ahousaht, Hesquiaht, Ditidaht and Yuuthluithlaht.

“One of my biggest goals is to bring more awareness for our people at home in Ahousaht to showcase what the Tourism industry is all about. Ahous Adventures creates work and new experiences, so it’s been pretty neat watching the growth happen. Ultimately, I just want to bring my people into the industry a bit more and have more indigenous representation on the frontlines of tourism.”

Whʔaala attended the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) Awards on February 28, 2024 when Ahous Adventures won the “New Operator or Business that Launched a New Experience” Award. She shared that there is a lot of solidarity between British Columbia’s Indigenous-owned and operated businesses, which is really cool to be a part of. The award itself was exhilarating. It was a pretty big victory, especially after COVID. Sometimes you can’t help but get emotional celebrating in front of 1500+ delegates.

Favourite tour: Wh?aala’s favourite tour is anything that gets her out on the water. “Being out on the land is vital for our existence,” she shared.

With aspirations of being a naturalist, Whʔaala, is fully certified to operate boats and has taken a Marine Mammal Naturalist course through Marine Education and Resource Society (MERS) focusing mostly on humpback whales but needed more experience on the water in Clayoquot Sound. “I’m pretty comfortable talking to people and everything from a customer service standpoint. But the Naturalist aspect of the training has been hugely beneficial.” As the first season went on, upper management saw her to be fit for a managerial role moving forward.

“I try my best to bring my energy to the forefront, sharing my knowledge the best way I can in a respectful manner. I always try to make sure I’m bridging that gap between appreciation and appropriation. Authenticity is very important in this industry, especially when we’re representing the Ahousaht Nation and other surrounding Nations.”

What Whʔaala hopes you’ll take away from your experience: Memories to last a lifetime.

I feel really lucky to have had the opportunity to work for Ahous Adventures from the beginning, and watch it flourish as a business and community. It’s not often that you get to work for a company where you learn so much, not only about the industry, but about the history of the land you’re on, and about the community you are in. It is a wonderful thing to be welcomed into.

“I’m am Australian who was interested in spending my Summer in Canada. Without knowing much about Tofino, I came here and was lucky enough to get a job that, to me, has become more than just a job. Ahous Adventures is a community that has taken me in, educated me, and shared experiences with me that I will never have anywhere else. Working here is something that I’m always going to remember and be proud of. I have a lot of love for Ahous Adventures.”

“When people call. When people email. When people walk through the door, it is the front desk staff that they’re interacting with first. We’re the ones that set the expectation for what they’re going to experience. I think my goal as a front desk agent is to get people really excited about what they might experience out on the water with our guides. Within this role we aim to reflect what the business represents, to give customers a welcoming experience, and an elevated level of customer service.”

Favourite Tour: Tofino Hot Springs Eco-tour “is by far my favourite – I like to describe it as three experiences in one – a boat tour, a hike through the old growth rainforest, and a soak in the Hot Springs. Ahous Adventures has the benefit of accessing the Springs outside of public hours, offering time slots throughout different times of the day. I remember the first time I went on our Hot Spring tour, we went early in the morning. The morning fog was rolling into the springs, bringing this calming energy into the space… and there was a moment where I looked up to see two Bald Eagles fly directly over me. I think about that moment a lot.”

What Maeve hopes you’ll take away from your experience: “It would be really cool if you can walk away and ask yourself, what does this company mean? Can I learn more about the Ahousaht First Nations, about the history of the area, and Ahousaht ḥaḥuułi as a whole? Participating in tours with Ahous Adventures is a great way to experience such a beautiful part of the world through a different lens.”

I really like bringing my knowledge of what my dad has taught me and what my parents know and my family history that goes back to the 1800s throughout the 1900s. I come from a family of whalers. So that’s one thing that really interests me and that interests guests that come here–to be able to tell the stories that I was told and that my great-grandparents and my great-great-grandparents have talked about. My great-grandfather, Peter Webster has written a book about all the history around here: As Far As I Know: Reminiscences of an Ahousaht Elder.

“It’s also just really nice to be able to say, I am from Ahousaht and Ahous Adventures is Ahousaht-owned by our hereditary chiefs. It brings me lots of pride to be from Ahousaht. It’s nice to share the history of where Ahousaht has come from: a small community not many people know about to being known worldwide – to share the knowledge when people come in, and even with my colleagues here. That’s actually why I really enjoy being in the tourism industry. Getting to meet new people and getting to learn different cultures. I bring a lot of positivity into our work area.

“Working here with all these knowledgeable men and women is really great for me to recoup my culture in a way because I grew up not really knowing too much until I was older and in the end of my high school years when we start like relearning everything. It’s just really awesome to be getting to know my culture again and getting to know my land. It’s so different from any other job that I had, learning from Savannah, from David, Eugene, Cole, my dad (Guide, Richard Thomas). I’ve always worked in housekeeping so reception and Front Desk Agent, that is still very new to me, but I’d say I’m moreso learning from my colleagues rather than anything.

“I like having conversations with the guests, asking them where they’re from and just being able to communicate and visit with us. I’ve had so many guests come back really satisfied with their boat driver/tour guide and say, ‘He’s just so awesome,’ and ‘Wow, like I did not expect to see those seals, I didn’t expect to see the Sea lions.’ They’re just so satisfied with seeing the simple things that we’re used to seeing all the time.”

What Ashley would like you to take away from your experience: “I want you to feel comfortable in our work area when you’re here and feel comfortable to talk to us.”

We do have a lot of overlapping families here. We have dads and daughters working together, we have cousins working together, we have aunts and uncles, and we have a lot of couples actually. And this is my first experience working with my husband full-time. I think both of us really wanted to be in a space that was a lot more nature-focused. And here, you can just literally step out your door and boom, you’re there, you’re in nature, and you can walk through it for the next three hours if you wanted. 

“My connection to the community is through my partner, Cole, and I ended up coming on board halfway through October, 2023 to cover off the Front Desk.” Hannah identifies her strengths as clear and concise communication, striving to be happy and positive. She encourages people that “this is a space that you can come in and you can sit, have a coffee and just chat with us, do a puzzle and just hang out. There’s not a lot of places in Tofino where you can just escape this rain and sit in a quiet spot.

“I used to work quite closely with the Indigenous community back in Alberta when I was an Early Childhood Educator. I was a manager, managing a team of 12 women with about 100 children. I have quite a bit of experience, especially with managing Front Desk. I really wanted to get into a space where I can learn again.

“I’m particularly lucky to be in this space because not only am I understanding some really nuanced information about how the community works, how they actually interact with each other, how they choose to kind of operate themselves. Like understanding the chief’s role, the other hereditary chiefs, and just seeing community through their eyes. Ahous Adventures–they’re here for the community. And part of being in the community is showing up for people when they need you–the company’s commitment to the individual people who work here. Here, there is such a rally of community and there’s such an emphasis on that it doesn’t matter where you’re at–you are still valuable. I think we are really good about understanding where everyone is at. Okay, this is your skill. Great. Let’s utilize it. Okay, this is something that you struggle with. Awesome. Let’s pair you with somebody else who’s a bit stronger, who can help you, who can teach you. It’s so amazing to get this different perspective and feel like I’ve been brought into this community with open arms.”

Favourite tour: Tofino Whale Watching  Hannah recounts a story of when she was out with her partner, his dad, and his dad’s girlfriend with one other family onboard searching for whales. A boat offshore reported that it could hear whales but hadn’t seen them yet. They decided, “Let’s go and see if we can find them” and entered a fog bank that was “super-ethereal and beautiful.”

“Once we were in there, the water became super-calm. And we were noticing these little ripples that almost looked like water droplets falling onto the water surface, but there was no rain. It was actually fish feeding on a bunch of the little bugs and things at the surface of the water. And all we could see was fog and these little dots of fish everywhere. And then in the fog, you could hear the (breath expel) of the whales. You couldn’t see them, but you could hear them. Then all of a sudden, a bunch of orcas right next to our boat, just breaching and feeding. It was just out of nowhere.

“All of a sudden, the fog just starts to separate right where the boat was. And we got a beam of sunlight and then humpbacks on the other side of us. And they had a baby with them. And the baby was so playful and kept breaching and flipping and jumping. And then the male humpback actually jolted out of the water to feed on the fish. And again, right beside us, he came out of nowhere. And all we just see is his giant jaw just swelling with that water and him just going up and then crashing down. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience from practically nothing. All you’re hearing is their noises to boom. They’re just there instantly. It was incredible to watch them: just so much breaching, so much feeding, so much launching to get the fish.”

What Hannah would like you to take away from your experience: “I think whales are my favourite tour because it’s so nice to see something that large in the wild, because I think it really humbles us as humans. We forget that we’re not the only creatures on this planet of great significance. Seeing these giant creatures and how they just dominate the ocean that is not really explored, not really understood properly.”

You hear a lot of different perspectives of how people see the ocean. Every time the crew comes in and they see a new thing like a Minke whale or Puffins, caring about stuff like that is really cool to me. I hope to learn a lot more about the wildlife in our community, about the ocean wildlife specifically because where we are in the world is such a unique place just because of how the whales migrate. I really hope to learn more about their migration patterns and tracking them.

“I feel like the fact that we’re Indigenous-owned is a really big point in what sets us apart from everything. I think it’s really nice how we don’t try and guarantee whale/animal sightings. We treat the animals with respect. They’re there in their own natural habitat and we’re the ones going to look at them, you know?

“I like hearing the different stories that each customer has. I feel like a lot of people come from so many different parts of the world that it’s so fun to hear how they live and how differently it compares to like we do. Living here my whole life has been quite helpful.

“I am loving how upbeat and passionate this crew is. Everybody gets along. It’s so nice to work here and have a little sense of community. I’ve been doing a lot of shadowing with other Front Desk people and then they’ll go and show me all the procedures. They had me on a three-week training period when I first started.” This is Heather’s first season at Ahous Adventures after working for five years at Tofino Pharmacy where she moved up from cashier to floor supervisor. She identifies her strengths as her enthusiasm for learning and communicating about her interests including local marine life and sea birds.

Favourite tour: Tofino Hot Springs Eco-tour Heather was particularly enchanted by all the bird sightings. “We actually saw two Pelicans, those are super-rare to see on this side of the island. I told my dad about it. And he talked about how rare it was to see two Pelicans at once. My dad is a fisherman. I used to go out with him when I was a kid.

“We stopped and we looked at some otters. We saw some Sea lions. And then, when I actually got to the springs, there was the most beautiful old-growth too. The trees were so amazing. I just could not believe how beautiful they were. And then I saw a lot of different birds like sparrows and swallows, and a couple of heron too. That was gorgeous. We saw a Grey whale when we went out on that Hot Springs tour as well. Eugene was really excited.

Heather recounts that when she was younger and would go out fishing with her dad, she saw an Albatross twice. Asked about their wingspan, she says, “I believe they’re about the same to a little bit larger than eagles. They like fly out in the water for months at a time.”

What Heather hopes you to take away from your experience: Respect for and curiosity about the animals in their own natural habitat.

I grew up on the West Coast and I’ve been coming here every summer. I love working here so that I can be a part of the community now. 

“We love telling people that we have a coffee bar. We have early morning tours that leave at 7 a.m. for Hot Springs. We’d be here at six-thirty. So, no one’s going to be open, but we have coffee–it’s an Italian coffee machine and we use locally roasted beans. We do a lot of espresso-based drinks. We can do lattes, cappuccinos, mochas. We can also do like matcha and tea, London Fogs, anything anyone wants. An Americano, just a regular coffee, anything. I originally have a lot of experience working as a barista in previous years, and I have a lot of customer service experience. So, I just love that kind of environment. I bring a lot of fresh energy.

“Part of the role at guest services can also be to suggest other things that people might enjoy so that you’re not just their concierge for the tour, but really part of their larger experience. Being able to spend more time here – not just for a weekend – I found all the secret spots, little hikes and little secret beaches, and I love to share that with people. It’s really nice just being able to live here and just fully do what you want every single day – the beach surf life.

“I love that the people who work for our company, we’re all very close, and being able to talk to people from Ahousaht has really just helped me enjoy the culture more and just become more knowledgeable. Some guides are more knowledge-based. Some are more storytelling, but it’s all just tied into the culture. And I find that the guests really love that. You’re not just watching whales. You’re hearing stories, you’re getting knowledge. I think that’s a really key part of our company that people really love to see.”

Favourite tour: Tofino Hot Springs Eco-Tour “You get best of both worlds, right? You get like a little hike, a little relaxation in the hot springs. And then you also get to enjoy the wildlife and just the nature of the coast when you’re out on the boat. I love going on our open boats because I love feeling the wind in my face.”

What Kira hopes you’ll take away from your experience: She’d love to share what she’s been learning about the company.  

My connection is I am Métis and Indigenous. I didn’t know a lot about my culture and my heritage because my great-grandparents died when I was super-young. I wanted to come here to Tofino, and I wasn’t really expecting to work at an Indigenous tour company that knows so much about the heritage that I come from. It’s just so great to know and value and learn all the culture when I got here. 

“Ahous Adventures, they really know a lot about everything on the water because they grew up here. They have a great smile on their face and it’s a great time when you get to hear so much about their history out here.

“I bring a passionate feel to our Front Desk team because when I really want to learn about something, I like indulging what I’m learning. They’ve given us some HR training and we’re doing customer service training right now – it’s called SuperHost. I feel like it will make me a lot more of an outgoing person working on this job because you’re talking to so many people that come in and you’re making great friends with all the people that work here too. It’s a very energized community, especially a tour company. lt’s like, ‘Okay, let’s get amped. We’re going on a tour. We’re going to see some wildlife.’”

During the winter, Canyon is an avid snowboarder and a lift operator at Mount Seymour in North Vancouver, BC. “I love being in the mountains and I love the secluded vibe. I’m a very nature-spoken person. I came here in October 2021–2022, and I obviously loved it. I think it’s because of surfing also, because I just love being on a board pretty much. It’s just the whole vibe Tofino gives off,” says Canyon. “Okay, I want to live here.”

Favourite tour: Tofino Hot Springs Eco-Tour “I came here with my girlfriend, Kira, we both went on that one. It was a nice boardwalk through Flores Island, and it was so breathtaking to see and indulge in all the nature around there and then just get in the natural hot springs. I haven’t been in water so hot before and so it’s like, okay, I need some hydration for sure, but it was really nice.

Also recommended: Tofino Whale Watching “I would say the Zodiac whale watch is definitely the most thrilling ride you’ll get with our company because you’re out on the open water and you’re looking for a bunch of whales and the waves are just… some days it’s just like a little roller coaster, for sure.

What Canyon hopes you’ll take away from your experience: “Just experiencing our company, experiencing nature, and experiencing the indigenous knowledge of this whole beautiful place out here, the Clayoquot Sound. To learn something out there and hopefully, see something.”

I believe I can bring more information about the water with my experience on the water, because I’ve been on the water since I was a little girl, having a dad and both of my grandpas being boat drivers. (Storytelling and listening out on the water) It brings connection, I believe. So, it also just a little peace being out in the ocean. 

This is the second season at Ahous Adventures for 17-year-old summer student, Latoya Frank, where she is learning new skills as a Front Desk Agent after starting as a Barista. She sees her strength as her ability to communicate and to multitask – an asset when handling 25 drink orders simultaneously in the morning rush. Latoya is grateful that the company gave her a chance even though she didn’t have any experience.

Latoya often sees marine life on her way into work from Ahousaht: “I seen a whale a couple of times, some otters on the way. Even a wolf one time.” She has also had the opportunity to go out on tours with most of the guides. “I always hear the people who are on the tour always come back and say how much how much fun Richard was. How Eugene’s so happy and had humor and told us jokes, and he tells us jokes too.”

Favourite tour: Tofino Whale Watching Latoya been out on the whale watch half a dozen times – seeing mostly gray whales and orcas. “I like the whales. I haven’t seen a humpback yet. That’s the only whale I’ve never seen.”

Also recommended: Tofino Bear Watching “It was pretty cool seeing the bears and how calm they are just getting at their trying to find their food, like moving rocks. And I found that that crows follow them just to get their leftovers.”

After her summer contract, Latoya will attend Grade 12 at Maaqtusiis Secondary School with plans to focus on graduating, and may in future train to become a tour guide.

“I liked when Eugene was showing me around on the boat. This one time, I was able to sit with Eugene and he was telling me about the water and stories. And he was showing me which place was which so I’d know on the map. My dad, too, and my grandpa, they always tell me about different things.” Latoya has been learning where the reefs are and how to navigate using the red and green lights which help guide boats safely home at night.

What Latoya hopes you’ll take away from your experience: How friendly and humorous Ahous Adventures tour guides are.

What’s unique to me is all kinds of different life. You know, what we see is Harbour seals, birds, Sea lions, Puffins, and all kinds of bird life, and Grey whale, killer whale, Humpback, the black bear, wolf. To me, it’s no favourite animal. To me, they’re all equal.

“It doesn’t matter how old I am and how long I’ve been running for a boat, I’ll still keep learning probably how the ocean is,” says Alex, who does the morning Hot Springs tour for Ahous Adventures in the covered cruiser. While he’s been guiding for 15 years, he explains, “I’ve been on the water maturity of my life here. Ever since I was about eight, nine years old. My father taught me and my brother how to go along by the tide, the wind, the top of the sea. When we started with my father, me and my brother, we only had a CB, no radar, no GPS, nothing.” we just had–watch our father. He always said, even in the daytime, ‘Watch where you’re going, you’ll know where you are if you’re in the fog.’ If it (technology) breaks down, I know I won’t get stuck because I learned from my father.

“That’s what I teach these new boat operators: always remember the marks, the landmarks on the beach when it’s sunny. When it’s foggy, you’ll remember where you are. I used to be fishermen, and we used to go there (Hot Springs) all time. And I knew the territory without, like I was telling you earlier, no GPS, no radar, no nothing.

About the marine eco-tourism industry he says, “They’re more respective of how the companies are dealing with First Nations now. They’re starting to look the way the First Nations are teaching the non-nations how to become tour guides.

His advice to the guides he trains is to “Take it from your heart” and to find their own voice when speaking with guests. “You could say what I told you about how deep they go, 3,500 feet in one breath. But a killer whale, you can’t say what I say about them.”

Alex was out for a second time with a group who had been on an earlier bear watch when they came across 50 orcas seven miles off Wolf Rock. “I shut the motor off and they all, you know, kind of just went around the boat like this, all 60 of them. The closest you can get is 400 meters to 300, to respect their privacy, especially when they’re teaching their young ones how to kill for their food.”

Alex, who comes from a whaling family, always practices respect with all the marine animals they see from whales to bears to wolves. He adds, “There’s different markings on killer whale, Humpback, and Grey whale, you know, they’ve got names.

“Grey whales,” he points out, “migrate from Baja, Mexico to Aleutian Islands,” and “Humpbacks migrate to Hawaii twice in one year and come back. I mean, a lot of traveling for a big mammal. Right?”

In addition to his extensive marine knowledge, Alex shares his culture with his guests. “Sometimes I sing some good songs, happy songs. And that’s my way of making the people enjoy the tour. The way I see it right now, the guests are always happy. Doesn’t matter who takes them out. We have different boat operators here. They come out into the office, and they tell our staff here it was a great trip.”

Alex Frank is the author of an upcoming book series which aims to help the next generation who want to become tour guides, featuring photos from his many tours over the years. His advice:

Don’t just think with your mouth, think with your brain and feel your heart, go with your heart, go along same beat as your heart. Don’t rush yourself. Everything will still be there. That’s my way of Ahous Adventures.

We’re the largest Indigenous-owned whale watching company on Vancouver Island. Other than being in an Indigenous-based company, that’s what makes it unique–that we can share different cultural aspects and three different nations along the way as we’re cruising along. We’re crossing three different territories so it’s nice to share all three different nations with the guests. It seems to be more of a commodity now with the cultural aspects of the company.  I don’t know how to explain it, it’s an English word. ‘Its affair with the world.’ 

“I’m from the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations. I do have strong ties also with the neighbour Nations, Ahousaht and Hesquiaht. Obviously, the beautiful community of Tofino and Ucluelet. I’m one of the fortunates that are related to everybody.”

Eugene started training at 18, getting his Skippers’ ticket shortly after, and has been guiding in Clayoquot Sound for 22 years. “I just recently got my Master’s 60-ton. I’ve done the Coastal Nations SAR course with the Canadian Coast Guard down in Bamfield. And that was pretty amazing. I highly recommend it if anybody’s wanting to further advance in the Marine industry and Coast Guard is definitely one of the coolest things to do.”

With his extensive experience, Eugene has also been training the newer guides at Ahous Adventures. “It was nice to get back into the roots of training again – trying to remember everything as time goes on. About each and every different species that we see out there going from the largest whales to the smallest things we see like shorebirds and offshore birds. We have 92 different species of birds here so it’s hard to keep up with that information all the time. Every trip is different, and they are wild animals – we have to run on their schedule.”

Favourite tour: Tofino Hot Springs Eco-Tour “The late-night Hot Springs tours are my favourite. Just because you’re coming down the coast and everybody’s already tied up. Leaving Hot Springs at seven o’clock at night can be a really magical run. All different points of view of the sunset. We had a group of three Grey whales coming back that night and we were just outside Cow Bay, and it was almost like glass, it was so flat. And then the Grey whales were putting on–I call it a Pac Man show–surface feeding.

At the Hot Springs itself, “The waterfall would be my favourite. I can just do that for a few minutes as much as you can bear the heat. And then I just go up and cool off after that.”

I’m from the largest family in the community, also known as the Frank family who are known for their hard work and their knowledge on the waters. I started driving a boat when I was eight years old. It was a 36-foot trawler, so I had no choice to learn how to drive bigger boats. I’ve been running vessels my whole life, from trawlers, tugboats, skiffs. Water taxis. So, I put my hands in all kinds of boats. Come from a line of fishermen as well. I learned how to communicate with people through my father’s side as they love to start convos. 

“Great team. Great leaders,” David says of working with Ahous Adventures. “I wouldn’t have been where I am today without great teamwork and leadership. Last year, I had training from the best in the fleet – best tour guides. They really taught me a lot. I’m still actually learning.”

“So, both gray whales and humpbacks, I just finally started seeing them this year. The orcas I’ve always seen, I was always born and raised with my grandfather’s teachings. Basically all the wildlife that I had seen, but I never knew. Knew what the living habitat was like.” He has also learned from some of his passengers, “bird lovers. They give me give me a little bit of advice about the birds that we have on one of the islands.” He emphasizes, “You never stop learning until your borrowed time is up.”

David points out that an important element on his tours is also humour, a humour he learned from a comical uncle on his mother’s side of the family.

Favourite tour: Tofino Hot Springs Eco-Tour “Because I get to look out for wildlife and I can also talk about our territories. My father, my aunties have talked about it with me in the last year. A little bit of history about certain parts.”

Recommended tour: Tofino Whale Watching–“just because it’s in the open waters.”

Asked what makes Ahous Adventures stand out, David explains, “Our territories lost traditions. Just talking about what our ancestors lost and what we’re gaining back from our elders that are still with us today. I would rather go with knowledge and wisdom than Google because Google doesn’t go as far back as 6–7 generations as I was taught. My elders are actually a really big help with me when I ask them about our territories. A lot of interesting history and war as well–it’s with other tribes. What I was told was that six nations joined up with Ahousaht—seven altogether.

“How I view our community is a whole different perspective,” he says of what he is continuing to learn. “I grew up with my father being a fishermen. But learning about our territories, and what our values and our territories we actually have, and still learning about it. Like sacred, that’s the word, sacred places in our territory that we learn. Well, that’s what brought me back this year was actually learning more about our territories and the sacred parts. I’m still learning our place names. I throw them in with my tours.”

What he hopes you’ll take away: “Just our teaching. We share what we have. That’s our beauty of all our land. That’s basically all I can actually hand to them. And a couple of traditional songs, but I don’t sing so…. I believe a couple of the skippers sing.”

I know a lot about our Peoples, how they lived, and how they gathered food and all that during each season of the year. Summer, winter, fall and spring, they had different kinds of ways of living around here back in the early 1900s.

“My very first day on a job was my most memorable,” remembers Richard. “My very first day I went out with a whole tour and there was Orcas jumping left and right. I’ve seen that before, but it was nothing like that trip and nothing like that first day. I’ll never forget that first day.

“This is my second season now, I started last year. I’m 47 years old now. I was a water taxi driver before I became a tour guide. I’ve done water taxiing to Hot Springs Cove and back to Ahousaht to Tofino as welol as fishing along the coastline and up in the inlets, and offshore as well. This is probably one of my best jobs. I’ve learned a lot from the guides before me – the veteran guides.

“I’ve been doing lots of reading, researching on a lot of these animals that are out here in the west coast – learning more and more every day. I didn’t know the mother Orca was the matriarch. And the males, they take care of the mother. Protect and hunt for them. They’ll only leave the mother just to go mate and then come back to the mother.

“There’s one male, his name is Rainy, and he travels on his own–his mother died back in 2019.” T011A, or Rainy is a transient killer whale (Bigg’s Orca) born in 1978.

“And I’ve got also our Ahousaht heritage. I can hear my grandparents’ voices in my head still. I was with my grandfather. On my mother’s side, Peter Webster (author of As Far As I Know: Reminiscences of an Ahousaht Elder). He went to school in Victoria. And he became a linguist and he learned to write all these languages from different Nuu-chah-nulth tribes. And he’s got lots of stories.”

Richard shares: “There’s one where they caught a…it was either a Grey whale or a Fin whale just outside of Tofino on Wickaninnish Island. Once they harpooned it and threw the skins in (seal skins used as bumpers) they were tied. The canoe was tied to the skins as well. The whale towed them out way offshore. And it took them 18 days to paddle back in with the whale. My grandfather said the mountains looked really small from offshore.

“I pick up stories here and there from my uncles, my aunts and my grandparents. I share those stories with them (the guests). And they seem very pleased and that makes me happy as well.

Richard is rediscovering his Nuu-chah-nulth language through being a tour guide. “I just found out what the Grey whale is Nuu-chah-nulth. I didn’t know that until last year as well.

“There’s the group in Ahousaht that there that’s getting our native language back. Where they’re starting to speak our native language again and I really want to get back into that too as well. I want to learn my language fully.”

Tony Titian, a self-taught mechanic, who mostly grew up in Ahousaht, has been working for Ahous Adventures a little over a year and is hoping to go for his ticket for Outboard Motors in Victoria, BC this fall. Their main focus is engine maintenance for safety of the vessel and peace of mind out on the water for the crew and guests.

Tony explains that a typical day involves mostly maintaining the boats for 100-hour service or 300-hour service. “We do have a 1,000-hour service. That’s changing all quite a bit of stuff on the engine itself.” Both the covered vessels and the Zodiacs have “the same size engines, but the Zodiacs are a bit lighter than the covered vessels,” making them easier to haul out to the shop offsite if needed. They also check for growth and barnacles to make sure it doesn’t clog up the engine or the intakes for the propellor.

Tony hasn’t had a chance to go out on any of the tours yet because they’re so busy. He works under Joel Friesen, Maintenance Shop Supervisor. “For us, it’s all year-round. We take out the Zodiacs out and we leave those covered boats in.” He points out that the covered boats continue running to Hot Springs throughout the year, weather and conditions permitting. The Zodiacs go back in the water in Spring on May 1st.

For Tony, what makes Ahous Adventures stand out is: “The crew, we work with, they do a pretty good job down at the office there. They welcome everybody into the office down that way.