Article From Hunt Club Digest

According to this article, the time to buy forest property is now. With prices in the USA ranging between 2k - 7k per acre, the value of Obatanga Fish & Game Estates just over the border in Ontario becomes quite apparent. Read the article HERE and then visit www.obatanga.com to see what we have to offer!

Spring at Obatanga

Early May 2007

With predictions of severe clear and warm weather in Northern Ontario I leave Charlotte for Detroit and a few hours and one connection later I arrive in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan. The airport is the former Knicheloe Air Force base with runways that seem endless. I jump in the rental car for the short trip across the St Mary’s river and into Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. I bunk in at the Brockwell Chambers ( http://www.bedssm@sympatico.ca/ ) and score the Blue room (much better than the Pink room). In the morning my hostess makes one of her famous German breakfasts for myself and Rob Cormier of R&B Cormier Forestry Consultants ( http://www.rbcormier,com/ ). Rob and I are meeting to discuss our interest in going in on a new bush plane on floats. Rob is a highly experienced bush pilot and he need a floatplane for his high tech digital forest inventory system and I am interested in using it for taking clients to visit Obatanga Fish & Game Estates.

After breakfast we head out to the Aire – Dale Flying Service (www.ontariowilderness.com) dock and Hangar just north of town on the River. We are meeting Andy Pristol of Algoma Timberlakes (www.algomatimberlakescorp.com). Andy and his Canadian partners recently purchased several townships south of the Montreal River in Ontario. Andy also owns a Found bush plane on floats. This is the Cadillac of bush planes and is the same type that we are considering. Andy has graciously agreed to give me a ride up to the Normandy Lodge on Lake Kabenung just North of Wawa.

After a few minutes of cruising on the river to let the engine warm up Andy revs up the engine and after a surprisingly short run we are up and climbing. It is a very windy day but the Found aircraft with its all steel frame feels very solid and smooth. After a short 30 minute cruise we swing in and land on a remote lake where a contractor Andy knows is building a beautiful cabin, or Camp as they are referred to in Canada. The camp is being built in the traditional vertical logs style common in Ontario.

After a few discussions with the crew we are off again, with Andy at the controls. We fly north northwest over the massive Lake Superior Provincial Park and directly over Wawa. A few minutes later we are over Obatanga Fish & Game estates where I give Andy a brief tour of all of our great lakes and geography. As a real estate professional that specializes in large wilderness tracts Andy has seen a lot of quality land and he is impressed with what we have to offer. “It looks like you zeroed in on two of the best townships in the area” said Andy. Rob spots several moose and I see one big black bear along the route.

After a few laps we swing back east across the southern portion of Knicely Township which is owned Knicely Timber & Game of Charlotte, NC and then swing North for a landing in Lake Kabenung and a short taxi up to the dock at Normandy Lodge ( http://www.normandylodge.ca/ ). The owners Klaus and Wilma greet us at the dock and Wilma graciously agrees to whip up a quick lunch for our crew. Normandy is a great commercial fishing camp and outfitter with nice A-frame cabins available for rent.

After a great lunch we launch Andy & Rob and watch them Taxi out and take off into the wild blue for their return trip to Sault Ste Marie. I jump in the borrowed truck that I had staged at Normandy and run up to Iron Lake to meet with Jason and the crew that are working on the Log Lodge project for us.

I find Jason and his crew hard at work peeling and cutting the logs for the bathhouse. We had the spruce logs harvested from the property last fall and staged them in a field near the cabin site. They are hand scribing and fitting every joint and I am immediately impressed with the quality of the work and the tightness of the joints. The weather could not be better, 70 degrees and clear blue skies which makes for a happy and productive crew. Jason and I go over a number of the details to be sure we are all on the same page. I am very excited about how this project is coming together.

Jason and I head out to the site to confirm the exact corners for the camp. The lodge access road was roughed in last fall and I need to get going on having a good layer of gravel spread. The contractor should have it done in the next week or two. The site is spectacular. Perched on a small rise it offers great views west on the north side of the lake. The bedrock is a bit higher than we expected but Jason says he can work with it no problem. With good weather we should have a working lodge in two months.

Jason heads back to the work area and I head into the bush to do a bit more exploring on Keating Township. Sad lake is my destination and after about an hour of hiking through the bush I arrive at the western shore of Sad Lake. At this point the lake is totally remote with no road access and completely untouched by man. It looks like the fishing should be good with great reedy spawning areas as well as rocky outcroppings and structure. I make a mental note to bring a rod next time I come to see what the lake has to offer a determined fisherman.

I head back to the truck and make the short drive back to Normandy for the night. Based on the number of Ruffed Grouse I see along the drive, it looks like the fall hunting season is going to be stellar - just like last year. The combination of harvested areas and old growth appears to be ideal for producing game. The amount of Moose and bear scat also tells me that our big game hunters will have a good season as well.

The next morning I head out early to Grayling Lake on Knicely Twp to meet contractor building the new access road, Joe Leadbetter of Diamond Lake Mining (http://www.diamondlakemining.com/). The road is coming along great and should be open for the fishing season. As I come over a rise in the road I see a large black bear about 50 yards away on a hillside. He looks to be at least 200 lbs and for about 15 seconds he does not notice me. Once he does he is off in a dead run up the hill and back into the bush.

Joe sure does have nice equipment! Joe is most famous for finding diamonds in Wawa, and his find – the Leadbetter Formation – may soon go into commercial production with Dianor Resources (http://www.dianor.com/).

All in all a great trip and I look forward to getting back up in June to survey the progress on the Lodge and make some deals.

Winter at Obatanga

I made a trip up to enjoy the winter wonderland and get a bit of business done in Wawa at the end of January. My trip just happened to coincide with an Artic blast of cold air that saw temperatures dip to truly frigid conditions. As usual the airline was kind enough to lose my luggage with my cold weather gear and snowshoes. Ever the opportunist, I took this as an opportunity to buy more gear (“honey, I had no choice it was that or risk freezing to death!”). I stopped at an outfitter on the way out of Sault Ste Marie and picked up a great pair of snowshoes and a pair of winter boots.

Hitting Highway 17 for the tremendously scenic 2.5 hour drive up the Lake Superior coastline I made it into Wawa just as it was getting dark but still with enough time to hit the General Store. There I picked up a great pair of heavy wool lumberjack pants and a hat that were much cheaper than I expected. I was ready for the elements.

I had a lunch meeting scheduled in town but I was determined to get a good snowshoe hike in while I was up there. So was up way before dawn for the 30 minute drive up to Paint Lake Road and Obatanga. The rental Ford Explorer started right up despite the frigid temperatures and I pulled into the Barn at Lake Kabenung about 45 minutes before dawn. Looking at the thermometer I knew I was in for an interesting experience. It showed -25F (-32C)! Just how cold is -25F I wondered?

Quickly getting the snowshoes on before my fingers froze I set out across the ice on LakeKabenung and headed south toward Iserhoff Island. With all the cold weather the ice must be thick enough I thought. Better safe than sorry so I stopped to chop a quick test hole. Getting through 8” of solid ice without breaking through I figured I was safe to start really moving. Luckily it was dead still with absolutely no wind. Moving quickly I built up some good body heat and found that I was actually quite warm as long as I was moving.

I made it about 1 km out onto the lake just as the sun started to rise. What a beautiful place to be. Crisp, clean air filled my lungs and the beautiful sights of the frozen North woods filled my vision. Pushing on to the place where someone has built a high dive off the rock cliff I stopped to snap a few photos. With the angle of the sun my shadow made me look like a giant stick man. I think I will send those to the Patagonia and see if they will put me in their catalogue. At -25 stopping for even a few minutes to take the photos results in cold fingers and toes so I press on.

Farther out I cross an otter trail in the snow that connects the island with shore. About 2 hours into the hike I make a lap around the smaller Island just West of Iserhoff and I am headed back North toward the truck. I now notice a light but steady breeze directly out of the North. It not much but at -25 it stings my exposed face. Cursing the airlines that have my balaclava at the bottom of my lost suitcase I make a face guard with both hands to keep my nose from falling off and haul ass toward the truck.

Back at the truck after 3 hours out on the ice I congratulate myself on once again cheating death. Not really that bad but definitely a new experience. In the time it takes to get my snowshoes off and stored my fingers flash freeze. Thankfully the trusty Explorer starts right up and I fire up the heater. Sure that the bright sun must be warming things a bit I check the temp. Still stuck at -25 it has not moved a bit. It looks like we are in for a cold weekend.

Back to Wawa just in time for a hearty lunch at the Embassy and then off to meet with a road building contractor. He gives me a tour of roads he is building in the bush North of town for the people doing diamond exploration. I am amazed at the equipment he has and how well he works with the natural contours of the land to get the roads in. It looks like we have found our contact for any new roads we need.

I was fortunate to be invited to attend an annual dinner held be the Speaker of the Ontario Provincial Parliament, Mike Brown on his annual snowmobile tour of the province with his Ministers. Local dignitaries including the Mayor, the Chief of the Michipicoten Nation, Economic development officials and other local officials attended. It was a great opportunity to get to know many of the leaders of the great community of Wawa and the province of Ontario.

I am looking forward to my next trip in May. The contractor was scheduled to start on the Iron Lake Log Lodge at the beginning of April but a late season snowstorm left over 3 feet of fresh snow and drifts over 6 feet deep. He now plans to be up in late April when the snow thins out. We are keeping our fingers crossed for a good spring.

I will post a new update after the May trip with more photos. I look forward to seeing you up there and sharing the great Estates of Obatanga with you.

Ilan Plaltrow

sales@obatanga.com