Ray Mears began his adventure at the great Wabakimi Provincial Park, located in northern Ontario, where he explored the wilderness canoeing his way across the region. 

Ray Mears on Ontario and the trip:

“I love nature, I love wilderness and relish the challenge of time spent living in wild places experiencing nature in her most raw state. I've been exploring the quieter waterways of Ontario by canoe for 20 years. Ontario contains some astonishing Provincial Parks; last year I guided a canoe expedition in the amazing Woodland Caribou Provincial Park but I still have a long list of waterways to explore including;  Opasquia, Pipestone River, Winisk River, Otoskwin/Attawapiskat River, Albany River and of course the great Wabakimi!

Wabakimi covers nearly 2.5 million acres of pristine Canadian Shield, providing over 1200 miles of canoe routes.  Canoeists travel these water routes and the route descriptions at their own risk...owing to the unspoiled and varying landscapes.

“Paddling solo across big stretches of cold, dark water in strong wind is a sobering experience, there is risk, life is more edgy... This is no place for tomfoolery; the remoteness of the location demands the utmost respect. Even small rapids can be dangerous; here the rocks are sharp and jagged. But the flow is smooth and the waves favourable...To a visitor it [Wabakimi Provincial Park] appears to be a pristine wilderness free of human influence. But little could be further from the case; this area was historically occupied by the Anishinaabe. The fact that we consider the landscape to be pristine is testimony to the great care with which they utilised the natural resources upon which they depended...”

“We are very excited to be working with Ray Mears. Being a well-known personality in the industry and the UK, we know that Ray is the ideal spokesperson for Ontario because of his love of Ontario and Canada and his unrivalled experience in the extreme adventure field. We are exceedingly pleased to be involved in this wonderful collaboration to bring more awareness to the beauty of Ontario and the vast adventure experience travellers can enjoy.”                                                                                                                                                    Puja Khanna, PR Manager Ontario Tourism UK.

Ontario Tourism is delighted with this partnership which helps build the awareness of the world-class adventure itineraries that can be experienced in the province for novice to experienced adventure travel enthusiasts. 

As well as a year-long promotion plan in place in the UK to highlight the partnership, there will be opportunities to interview Ray Mears.

Ontario Tourism will include Ray's recommended itineraries, favourite places as well as booking information on its website, http://www.ontariotravel.net/ukadventure

-Ends-

Notes to Editors

The trip to Wabikimi returned 17th September 2014.  There were 10 attending the trip including two journalists from the UK.

About Ontario                           www.ontariotravel.net/uk                       www.ontariotravel.net/ukadventure

The province of Ontario is located in east-central Canada and is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and five U.S. states to the south. With a population of more than 13 million, Ontario is home to one in three Canadians and is one of Canada's largest provinces, covering more than one million square kilometres (415,000 square miles). Toronto, the capital of Ontario, is Canada's largest city. It is also the commercial, industrial and financial centre of Canada. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is also located in Ontario. Ontario is home to 400,000 lakes and contains one-third of the world's fresh water.

About Ray Mears                      www.raymears.com

Over the past two decades the name Ray Mears has become recognised throughout the world as an authority on the subject of Bushcraft and Survival.  He has also become a household name through his various television series including Tracks, World of Survival, Trips Money Can't Buy with Ewan McGregor, the Real Heroes of Telemark, Wild Britain, How the Wild West Was Won and many more.   Ray has just finished filming a new series called Ray Mears Wilderness Walks for ITV 1 which will be screened this Autumn.

For more information on Ontario please contact:

Puja Khanna

UK PR Manager

Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation

UK Office

Building D, 2nd Floor,                            

28-29 The Quadrant Business Centre          

135 Salusbury Road                    

London

NW6 6RJ

Tel:  +44 207 644 6113

Fax: +44 207 372 5986