Dave Stibbe
Position: Managing Partner Ottawa City Rafting, Trip Leader/Raft Guide
Home: Britannia Village in Ottawa, Canada
Places Travelled:
Scotland, England, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cuba, Costa Rica, and Coast to Coast of the United States and Canada. Almost all my trips have either a river or mountain biking focus. Hmmmm Still looking to visit the great white North.
Why Wilderness Tours?
I spent my formative years here starting at 14 when in 1980 my parents enrolled me in a kayak school, by the end of the summer of 1982 I was working as a safety kayaker. I stayed till the early 90' before moving out west. In 2000 I returned to Ontario and the call of the River brought me back home to WT. I have stayed involved with Wilderness Tours since then because of the wonderful people I continue to work with, and that I belong to the WT Tribe. Wilderness Tours and the passion for bringing the "Magic of Whitewater" to friends, family and visitors to "the Great River" is what keeps me grounded.
Best Memory:
There are so many, but the authentic ones are always about days spent on the river with friends and now my own family. However front surfing the Greyhound Bus Eater on one of our forty foot orange motorized rafts on a staff training trip still is so vivid. Mostly because I was not driving but straddling a tube near the front looking down into the pit. When I looked back the engine transom was out of site folded behind the backside. That meant we had 30 feet of boat on the face of a huge hole. Silly yes, fun even more so. Sunset was on the horizon, and water was warm and I cherish it because it was a one of a kind event that will most likely never be repeated.
Best Story:
When I was in my late teens I had a group from Texas come rafting with us. This was their first visit to Canada and they had heard about how big the dams were that beavers built here in Canada. As we passed by the small river wide dam that controls the water levels on the Ottawa River they asked me if it was man-made. Not missing the opportunity I explained that it had originally been a beaver dam but it had been simply re-enforced by us humans, and it was now what they called a hybrid dam construction project. They believed my story and all of them nodded suitably impressed. I managed to keep a straight face and proceeded to give them the embellished history of all the larger than life aspects of Canadian history.
Favorite Joke:
What did daddy tomatoe say to baby tomatoe? Ketchup
Hobbies / Interests:
I am a teacher and many of my professional interests relate to educational pedagogy and the use of experiential education to engage students. My other passion is photography which I use to express my creative side. However it is my own family of two wonderful daughters Jesse age 10 and Jordyn age 7 and my partner in life Angie, that are the main focus in my life.
Home: Britannia Village in Ottawa, Canada
Places Travelled:
Scotland, England, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cuba, Costa Rica, and Coast to Coast of the United States and Canada. Almost all my trips have either a river or mountain biking focus. Hmmmm Still looking to visit the great white North.
Why Wilderness Tours?
I spent my formative years here starting at 14 when in 1980 my parents enrolled me in a kayak school, by the end of the summer of 1982 I was working as a safety kayaker. I stayed till the early 90' before moving out west. In 2000 I returned to Ontario and the call of the River brought me back home to WT. I have stayed involved with Wilderness Tours since then because of the wonderful people I continue to work with, and that I belong to the WT Tribe. Wilderness Tours and the passion for bringing the "Magic of Whitewater" to friends, family and visitors to "the Great River" is what keeps me grounded.
Best Memory:
There are so many, but the authentic ones are always about days spent on the river with friends and now my own family. However front surfing the Greyhound Bus Eater on one of our forty foot orange motorized rafts on a staff training trip still is so vivid. Mostly because I was not driving but straddling a tube near the front looking down into the pit. When I looked back the engine transom was out of site folded behind the backside. That meant we had 30 feet of boat on the face of a huge hole. Silly yes, fun even more so. Sunset was on the horizon, and water was warm and I cherish it because it was a one of a kind event that will most likely never be repeated.
Best Story:
When I was in my late teens I had a group from Texas come rafting with us. This was their first visit to Canada and they had heard about how big the dams were that beavers built here in Canada. As we passed by the small river wide dam that controls the water levels on the Ottawa River they asked me if it was man-made. Not missing the opportunity I explained that it had originally been a beaver dam but it had been simply re-enforced by us humans, and it was now what they called a hybrid dam construction project. They believed my story and all of them nodded suitably impressed. I managed to keep a straight face and proceeded to give them the embellished history of all the larger than life aspects of Canadian history.
Favorite Joke:
What did daddy tomatoe say to baby tomatoe? Ketchup
Hobbies / Interests:
I am a teacher and many of my professional interests relate to educational pedagogy and the use of experiential education to engage students. My other passion is photography which I use to express my creative side. However it is my own family of two wonderful daughters Jesse age 10 and Jordyn age 7 and my partner in life Angie, that are the main focus in my life.
