Before Arriving at Jake’s Landing

Before arriving at Jake’s Landing for your rental, we ask that you do the following:

• Complete your reservation online
• Payment will be completed in full if your reservation is less than 48-hours in advance
• If your reservation is outside of 48-hours in advance you will only need to make the 25% non-refundable deposit and the final payment will be automatically completed at the 48-hour threshold.
• Each guest using our equipment must complete their own Release of Liability Waiver
• The rental organizer must complete the Rental Agreement
• The rental organizer must be sure to add the appropriate number of paddlers and their correct weight ranges via the booking form; this will enable us to allocate and prepare the correct number and size of PFDs for your party
• The rental organizer will also be required to fill out guest information for each paddler, this will include the guests' height so we may allocate and prepare the correct paddles for each participant, prior to your arrival

Punctuality (a word which has never agreed with me) is paramount this season. It’s totally okay if you flub on your departure from home and are not going to make your reservation start time so long as you call or email us with an updated and accurate start time. If resources allow, we will make the change for you!

Arriving at Jake’s Landing

Please note, for now our two washrooms attached to the rental concession building will remain open, but keep in mind they just became some of the oldest and out of date facilities in the Park.

In pre-2020 seasons we enjoyed a ‘hands-on’ approach to getting you on the water, however this season we will rely more on verbal instruction and your own prowess for getting your boats launched and landed.

When you arrive, please follow the procedure below, while also abiding by current social distancing protocols outlined by the Province of Nova Scotia:

• Park your vehicle in the large parking lot and walk with your paddling partners to the rental concession
• Send one delegate from your party to the concession to let our team know you’ve arrived; we’ll direct you to your equipment and answer any questions you have.
• Limit your exploration of the waterways and exposure to risk according to the weather and experience of your party members so to limit the potential for a rescue from emergency services.

Returning to Jake’s Landing With Your Watercraft

• Upon returning to the rental concession, please only approach a dock if it is not occupied by anyone else. Pull your boat up on the shore and bring your paddles and PFDs up to the building with you.
• Place your used PFD’s in the large yellow bin
• Place your paddle, handle down and blade up, into the water filled blue barrel.
• Exit to your left around the back of the building

Chronological Updates:

June 1, 2021

I like to keep up the facade that we, Whynot Adventure, have ‘got it together’, but behind the scenes (and maybe front and centre, too) it’s not always so silky smooth. In light of yesterdays announcement, apparently the Province struggles in the same way. At least we’re in good company.

Our best interpretation is this: the municipal travel restrictions lifted as of 8AM today, June 1st and Phase 1 of the Province’s Re-opening Plan comes into effect tomorrow, June 2nd.

In any pre-pandemic year we’d be down at Jake’s two days prior to opening-day making sure everything is polished and ready for business. We didn’t get that opportunity this year, which means we’ll be preparing to open while simultaneously being open (frig, is this even possible?).

Here’s the plan: Whynot Adventure will have a soft opening on June 2nd at some point mid-day. If you come by Jake’s Landing tomorrow, you’ll likely see us rushing around around, cleaning and organizing, trying to get our feet under us for a shot-gun start to the season.

I’ll ask for your patience— we won’t be able to accommodate any rentals until we’re ‘ready’, which likely won’t be until mid-afternoon. We must have our systems in order, boats organized and cleaned of winter debris, concession swept and polished, digital systems updated and most importantly, our team needs time to be familiarized with how it all works!

We missed a lot of our front country campers last year because of the Jeremy’s Bay Campground closure, so it’ll be really nice to see all those friendly faces this year. If this is you, then please read carefully: Our operations had to adopt many new COVID protocols last year, which are still in place this season. I think you’ll find there are some major benefits to the new way of operating! The most notable changes include:

• All reservations are made through our website, in advance of arrival
• All payments are completed in advance of arrival
• All documents (waiver, rental agreement and covid statement) are done digitally, in advance of arrival.

This means we’ve almost eliminated the long line-ups. Imagine, no more long lines stretching to the parking lot just to check availability. No more waiting in line a quarter-of-an-hour to pay for an experience you’ve already enjoyed (when you’re actually wanting to be back at your campsite having a cold bevy and a hot Larsen). And no more clipboards full of pesky paperwork. Those days should be behind us for good!

Simply use your computer, tablet or smart phone to access www.whynotadventure.ca. Locate the product you want to reserve and follow the steps to complete your reservation and non-contact payment (it should look and feel similar to all the online shopping we’ve indulged in over the past year). Your confirmation email will allow you to complete the digital documents (waiver, rental agreement and covid statement) by clicking the big blue button ‘View Required Documents’.

Finally, does anyone know if I can go to Costco for flip-flops yet?

Best,

Cody, Kar and the Whynot Adventure team

April 27, 2021

In light of the province of Nova Scotia's announcement of travel restrictions in place until at least May 20th, we will not be offering early season rentals prior to our anticipated season opening on May 21st. We will be closely following any updates provided by the Nova Scotia government as the season draws nearer. We anticipate offering non-contact rentals in the same vein as 2020, as soon as restrictions have lifted.

June 27, 2020

We are OPEN! Actually, we've been open since roughly the first week of June. We haven't made much of a 'splash' about it so we could ease into our new style of operations. All systems a go!

For now, we're maintaining a 10-5 kind of business day, and we're closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. As soon as visitation picks up, we'll revisit our operating hours/days.

If you have a backcountry campsite booked for a Tuesday or Wednesday, and you need a canoe or some camping gear to make your adventure work, you are still able to reserve your equipment through our website-- I'll just make a special trip in to organized your equipment so it's ready for you when you arrive. Just remember, in order for me to do this I have to confirm you and all members of your party have digitally completed the Waiver and Health Declaration.

June 6, 2020

COVID-19 Operation Procedure

With the aim to resume operations at Whynot Adventure, we have the following goals as our guideposts: the safety of our team and guests, mitigating and eliminating potential transmission vectors for the Coronavirus and the preservation of the Keji experience.

This season will be substantially different from any previous and we have adapted our operation accordingly.

For many of you already familiar with Whynot Adventure, you will notice a new website (similar to the last) which has streamlined the online reservation experience. An availability calendar has been integrated to help you easily plan your visit to Keji. We’ve also smoothed the functionality so you can easily add multiple rentals to your cart (I know this was difficult in the past and I am sorry it took a pandemic for us to fix this), and this will make the mobile experience much nicer.

We have also introduced a new document, called the 2020 Health Declaration, which will be mandatory to have completed by each individual prior to your arrival. Unlike our Waiver, the 2020 Health Declaration will have to be completed with every subsequent reservation. This is a hassle, I agree, but for now it is necessary. We just have to kick Covid-19’s butt in order to get rid of this document.

For obvious reasons we are no longer exchanging paperwork (waivers, agreements and declaration) at the rental concession. Each of these mandatory documents will be presented to you through your online booking confirmation email, or alternatively are available through our website under the Resources tab in the main menu at the top of the screen.

I suppose you’ve already deduced from the previous paragraph we are asking all of our guests to pre-book through our website prior to arriving at Jake’s Landing. Our website will allow you to make your reservation up to one-hour in advance of the rental start time. If you’re in the Park already and want to make a rental reservation on a whim, Friends of Keji is still providing free wifi at the Visitor Reception Centre for you to connect with your mobile or tablet.

Other notable changes are our hours of operation. For now, we will be open 10am-5pm Thursday through Monday. There are only two of us currently working at the rental concession, which is about 1/5th our usual capacity (except I firmly believe our previous teams were def greater than the sum), so we’re directing the burden of labour to our digital system (it doesn’t get tuckered or overwhelmed as easily as I do).

May 27, 2020

The Province of Nova Scotia received some great news today! Whynot Adventure will be dovetailing with the rest of the province and is aiming to begin offering services on Friday, June 5th.

As mentioned in the May 17 update, we will only be accommodating reservations which were made online in advance of arrival (think curbside pick-up). This will ensure all documents (rental agreement, liability waiver and personal health declaration) can be signed without exchanging pens and paper. Payment in full will also be part of the advance reservation.

When we open, we will be operating at a decreased capacity and decreased hours compared to previous seasons. More details to follow.

While Keji will be opening to day use on June 1st, we (Whynot Adventure) will remain closed to services prior to June 5th at the earliest, even if you see us down there cleaning and prepping :)

May 17, 2020

My tendency is to apply tongue-in-cheek snark or humour, but I don't feel that's appropriate considering the gravity of the ongoing global pandemic. Forgive me if what follows is drier than you expected from me.

While we have not seen a reservation for months (that can't be said for cancellations) and our HQ is currently locked 10km inside a 'no vehicle access' Park, we have been lucky and we feel a lot of gratitude.

We are grateful so many of you have sheltered in place to help 'flatten the curve'. We are grateful the government has been able to assist so many Canadians and businesses financially. We are also grateful to all the folks who've gone to work day after day in the face of so many infectious hazards, in order to keep the rest of us healthy, supplied with good food, in receipt of parcels from away, and in good supply of home renovation products. We were especially grateful, too, when garden centres were deemed essential. For these and many other efforts collectively made, we say thank you.

Our hope, if the stars align, is to resume some hint of our operations at some point in the upcoming season. This means we will have to adapt and adopt procedures to represent current best practices in order to minimized risk of transmission.

Here's what you can expect in the short term following a re-opening:

Operational Considerations

• Advance online reservations only (eliminates exchange of paperwork, minimizes interpersonal exchanges)
• Curb-side style pick-up
• No shuttle services
• Smaller operational capacity
• Ongoing disinfecting and cleaning of rental equipment
• Augmented Cancellation Policy

While on site, we will expect our guests to abide the current and appropriate guidelines set forth by the government and Park authorities.

We are also considering encouraging our guests to bring their own PFD (lifejacket). Please note, in order to be in compliance with the law, your PFD must be approved by Transport Canada. Don't worry, if you don't have your own, all of our boat rentals will still include PFDs, but they may be wet from our new cleaning/sanitizing procedures.

In the mean time, we'd love to hear from you. We'd like to hear any and all of your suggestions or ideas on how we may better serve you and your adventurous spirit moving forward in a post-pandemic era.

Live long and prosper.