Get ready to ride the river
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This article was published 06/05/2019 (2434 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Tristan Schneider and Sam Anthony started their Manitoba travel company like a kayaker attempting a new set of rapids.
“We went into it blind and just went for it,” Schneider said during a recent interview with The Metro.
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Schneider, who grew up going on extended canoe trips with his family, dropped out of business school to start Twin River Travel with his friend Sam Anthony in 2016. The company offers all-inclusive canoe trips that take paddlers out onto the lakes and rivers of Manitoba.
“Both of us realized university wasn’t really for us, we just thought that we could really make travelling and the wilderness a career,” said Schneider.
The 22-years-old entrepreneurs from the Wolseley and West Broadway area have created a product that appeals to people of all ages, experience levels and backgrounds. Last summer, they led a two-day canoe trip to Seagrim Lakes that included three generations of family members — from a 70-year-old grandfather to a 20-year-old grandson.
“None of them had done anything like this before, but this trip worked for them even though they’re all in different stages of life,” Schneider said.
Now in their fourth season, Twin River has added a new “13-day odyssey” along the Bloodvein River to its 2019 tour options.
“It’s an incredible trip, but not a beginner trip,” said Schneider. “You can see the Bloodvein with a four-hour drive from Winnipeg, but to actually paddle the river it turns into a six-hour drive plus an hour-long float plane trip.”
The Bloodvein trip has already drawn interest from international travellers in Australia, Germany and England who want to paddle the river located in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Pimachiowin Aki.
“People have what they call grail rivers,” Schneider said in reference to Bloodvein. “They’re hard to get to, they’re hard to paddle and there’s a lot of time and energy required.”
While attention from an international market is exciting, Twin River still caters to a largely Manitoban crowd — many of whom didn’t grow up going on extended canoe trips.
“There’s a ton of people that would love to get deeper into the wilderness, but don’t necessarily have the skills or the equipment,” Schneider said. “If you buy a trip through us we provide absolutely everything, you just have to bring some clothes and a toothbrush.”
The trips range in length from two to five to 13 days long. Included in the package price is transportation from your home to the launch site, camping equipment and food.
When asked why he likes exploring Manitoba by river, Schneider said,“I do a ton of travelling for both business and travel, I’ve been all over the world, but at the end of the day the only time when I feel like I can actually really relax is when I get out into the middle of nowhere… It’s the only real vacation in my mind.”