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" . WATERUNY cumulus 'Wednnday, lune 20. 2007 Touring the Grand homas Kaufmann's family I has always enjoyed the great outdoors, so when his father had a stroke, limiting his mobility, Thomas knew he had to do some- thing to get him outside. His stubborn father, not sur- prisingly, refused the offer. but Thomas bought one anyway. and his dad loved it. “thugm it would be kind of neat to get him a golf cart to get around on." said Thomas. Fast-forward three years, and Thomas. with the help of his family and friends. has taken this idea one big step further. Canadian Recreational Excursions takes tram down to the Grand After watching his son drive his toy train off the track onto the car- pet, he thought about making a tram with golf carts. His new company. Canadian Recreational Excursions. takes people with mobility challenges on tours of the Grand River thanks to a four-car electric tram Thomas developed. Ge/ting the idea operational hasn't been easy. He's had to get permission or make arrangements with the City of Kitchener, Grand River Conser- vation Authority, Ministry of Nat- ural Resources and Region of Waterloo. "These different government bodies, in this situation anyway, were actually really helpful." said Thomas," "They also did a good assess- ment on things. It wasn't like we could just walk in and do whatever we wanted to do," With this process complete, Canadian Recreational Excursions. Br JENNIFER Dunstan 7 mzu'sl: Skiff. Adam Kaufmann stands in a field of green along the Grand River. The area would be inaccessible to a lot of pee pie. especially those with mobility issues. But Kaufman's new service, Canadian Retreational Excursions, tries to give people a view of the historic river they otherwise would not get. ”El-WW0 which Thomas runs with his son [our may see a beaver and a dam Adam, 22, celebrated its grand " "There's times we've gone there opening at the end of April. . Every ttll', r; ttl/t when the beaver's been out swim _ _ - A . ---_----_i. -A _. I -A Ann m;....-.m..ul" The tram departs from Grand Valley Garden Village in Kitchener. near Freeport Health Centre, on three different tours along the Wal- ter Bean Grand River Trail Participants on the one-hour BUSINESS "Everybody really enjoys it. They like see- ing the wildlife." - Adam huhn-nn Omaha]: Recreational Excursions tour may see a beaver and a dam. "There's times we've gone there when the beaver's been out swim- ming around." The two-hour tour takes riders to the Wayside Pond. The tram stops periodically, allowing pas- sengers to get a closer look at the wildlife. which often includes ducks. geese. {mums and deer, With the three-hour tour, pas- sengers travel to remote areas, far- away from the homes and high- way; this route winds and twists through the forest, with a canopy of trees hanging over the tram, It goes G Jie Pioneer Tower. a scenic lookout point, before head- ing back to the garden centre. -"The neat -thing about it is you’re right in the middle of the city" Thomas said, And although these excursions are geared towards people with mobility challenges, everyone is welcome. Thomas said so far all of their customers have been pleased with the tour. One wrote a testimonial that said: "We had a wonderful time .... This was an opportunity for my husband, who uses a wheelchair. to travel through the woods and along the river. We often wish there were other areas along the Grand or in the conservation areas in the region that considered people with mobility challenges." Adair, describes the response as “phenomenal? -. . "Everybody really enjoys it, They like seeing the wildlife," he said, adding passengers especially get excited about deer, The tours’are always varied, but one stands out in Thomas's mind. v "When somebody sees a deer, (they say), ‘Wml. t haven't seen one in like to, 15 years.) " _ . _ He was out in the tram when he came across two girls stranded with their dos whiha1drvelyed a hip probierrT andfouldn't walk: ”They were trying to carry this otntinttedonpqpe26