Thanks, Nathan
Showing posts with label Outdoors Ireland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Outdoors Ireland. Show all posts
4 January 2013
Happy 2013!
Happy New Year! I hope 2013 brings you everything you wish for. Just back to work today after a fantastic break. I will be finishing our 2013 course calender over the coming days with a full listing of our training courses and adventure trips.
Thanks, Nathan
Thanks, Nathan
20 April 2012
Expanding To Galway - Step 8
Easter has been and gone - a little quieter with bookings than last year unfortunately. I spent most of Easter working in Kerry on things like our Killarney Lakes Kayaking and Carrauntoohil Guided Climbs. Driving to and from work through the Gap of Dunloe each day was a great way to wake up! I also used this period to spend time with one of our new Kerry instructor's - Jason McGloin, going through some in-house training. Welcome to the Outdoors Ireland team Jason!
After a few days off on the stunning Sheep's Head in West Cork, I'm back into the Galway office for the next two weeks and this is really the last chance to finalise behind the scenes work before summer season kicks off; things like insurance renewal, safety statement updates, website changes and seo work.
We managed to get our Kerry flyers out in time for Easter, to accommodation and activity providers - thanks to Ruth! Our Galway flyers keep being put on the back-burner due to other more pressing jobs, however I am going through a draft for them after this blog post today.
I finally met with the Galway Harbour Master, who was a great guy, really friendly and helpful, and we have full permission to sea kayak through Galway Harbour, Docks & City. We even have permission to paddle into the actual marina itself, once the marina flood-gates are open, which only happens for a couple of hours each day, due to varying water levels.
The Galway City Sea Kayaking is a fabulous trip, that I'm really excited about - it's so different from our other kayak trips in a real gritty, industrial working docks kind of way.
The Kinvara Bay Sea Kayaking, down to Kinvara Village and Dunguaire Castle and out to the seals is another beautiful trip that I've got to run a few times now - similar to our trips on the Lakes of Killarney in terms of the amazing setting, views and wildlife.
We are spread a little thin at the moment covering two bases and waiting for a second fleet of kayaks and rock climbing gear to arrive, but we seem to be just about managing.
On a really positive note there is an increase in interest and bookings from companies looking for a team building afternoon or team building program. Fota House & Gardens, Killarney National Park and Ventry Beach - Dingle are locations we have been running team training from recently...
Here's hoping for a super productive couple of weeks...
Click Here To Read Our Main Blog
After a few days off on the stunning Sheep's Head in West Cork, I'm back into the Galway office for the next two weeks and this is really the last chance to finalise behind the scenes work before summer season kicks off; things like insurance renewal, safety statement updates, website changes and seo work.
We managed to get our Kerry flyers out in time for Easter, to accommodation and activity providers - thanks to Ruth! Our Galway flyers keep being put on the back-burner due to other more pressing jobs, however I am going through a draft for them after this blog post today.
I finally met with the Galway Harbour Master, who was a great guy, really friendly and helpful, and we have full permission to sea kayak through Galway Harbour, Docks & City. We even have permission to paddle into the actual marina itself, once the marina flood-gates are open, which only happens for a couple of hours each day, due to varying water levels.
The Galway City Sea Kayaking is a fabulous trip, that I'm really excited about - it's so different from our other kayak trips in a real gritty, industrial working docks kind of way.
The Kinvara Bay Sea Kayaking, down to Kinvara Village and Dunguaire Castle and out to the seals is another beautiful trip that I've got to run a few times now - similar to our trips on the Lakes of Killarney in terms of the amazing setting, views and wildlife.
We are spread a little thin at the moment covering two bases and waiting for a second fleet of kayaks and rock climbing gear to arrive, but we seem to be just about managing.
On a really positive note there is an increase in interest and bookings from companies looking for a team building afternoon or team building program. Fota House & Gardens, Killarney National Park and Ventry Beach - Dingle are locations we have been running team training from recently...
Here's hoping for a super productive couple of weeks...
Click Here To Read Our Main Blog
19 April 2012
5 March 2012
23 February 2012
Expanding To Galway - Step 7
Sitting in my new office the last three days; wooden floor, wooden desk, big window looking over treetops towards Galway Bay and Salthill, hot coffee pot; lovely!
As I am currently covering all Galway bookings and quite a lot of Kerry bookings, I am trying hard to establish a simple weekly routine. Having our great instructor team in Kerry is helping, but I am still down there each week, and will be for the foreseeable future. It's impressive driving at 50mph how much more fuel you can save as opposed to 60/70mph, especially pulling a trailer; and you generally get there within the same'ish amount of time.
We are nearly over-busy right now, which is an absolutely brilliant complaint, however I am struggling a little to stick to the planned schedule/business plan for our expansion. For example our new flyers are to be ready for Easter and they should have been designed and ordered last week, but it will not be until this coming week that they get done.
We haven't signed off yet on our permissions to use Galway City/Harbour for our guided sea kayak tours and we have some provisional bookings for these sea kayak tours of Galway Harbour next month!
This is a good complaint though - it just makes me a little nervous as I see how quickly Easter and then the busy summer months are rocketing towards us. I can also see how easily something may potentially get overlooked, such as not having hiking boots for participants of our Carrauntoohil Guided Climbs; which happened for one client last week.
I am learning a lot right now and this quieter period of having two operation bases is good to iron out any teething problems and get our entire team up to speed on the changes. Writing these blog updates also helps me to reflect and re-focus on progress.
I needed the past three days to complete the unpacking of all our equipment, catch up on emails and diary jobs and send out an email newsletter, which was about a week overdue.
After a Mountain Skills 1 in Galway this weekend, on the Burren/Galway/Clare border, I have the entire week to focus on finishing off both our Kerry and Galway operations, from new flyers, to pricing trailers/sheds, to PR work, to ordering new sea kayaks, to dealing with the harbour master and county council and following up on some possible funding.
Generally I have avoided any funding/grants over the previous years of running Outdoors Ireland, although have participated in many of Failte Ireland's training courses, provided freely by them. This time around however it really kills me to see how the really hard-earned taxes I pay are wasted by our completely useless government and by the fact that the self-employed are nearly penalised. I wont even begin to start on the VAT/Revenue crooks - so to sum it all up; if I can secure some funding for the large enough capital outlays we are about to have, then this time around I certainly won't feel guilty about it.
On a cheerful note; we have just launched a really nice product, which I am looking forward to working on - Iyengar Yoga & Kayak Workshops In Galway. We have a 'Two For One' Special Offer until April on our Galway Mountain Skills Courses, Kinvara Bay Sea Kayak Trips and Galway City/Harbour Kayak Trips.
Carrauntoohil Guided Climbs and Killarney Lakes Kayak Trips are ticking over in Killarney right now; while there is healthy interest in our Galway Sea Kayaking; and this is actually quite early in the season/year for so much interest - which is very promising.
More next week and hopefully by then I will have a huge list of things achieved and ticked off!
Nathan
As I am currently covering all Galway bookings and quite a lot of Kerry bookings, I am trying hard to establish a simple weekly routine. Having our great instructor team in Kerry is helping, but I am still down there each week, and will be for the foreseeable future. It's impressive driving at 50mph how much more fuel you can save as opposed to 60/70mph, especially pulling a trailer; and you generally get there within the same'ish amount of time.
We are nearly over-busy right now, which is an absolutely brilliant complaint, however I am struggling a little to stick to the planned schedule/business plan for our expansion. For example our new flyers are to be ready for Easter and they should have been designed and ordered last week, but it will not be until this coming week that they get done.
We haven't signed off yet on our permissions to use Galway City/Harbour for our guided sea kayak tours and we have some provisional bookings for these sea kayak tours of Galway Harbour next month!
This is a good complaint though - it just makes me a little nervous as I see how quickly Easter and then the busy summer months are rocketing towards us. I can also see how easily something may potentially get overlooked, such as not having hiking boots for participants of our Carrauntoohil Guided Climbs; which happened for one client last week.
I am learning a lot right now and this quieter period of having two operation bases is good to iron out any teething problems and get our entire team up to speed on the changes. Writing these blog updates also helps me to reflect and re-focus on progress.
I needed the past three days to complete the unpacking of all our equipment, catch up on emails and diary jobs and send out an email newsletter, which was about a week overdue.
After a Mountain Skills 1 in Galway this weekend, on the Burren/Galway/Clare border, I have the entire week to focus on finishing off both our Kerry and Galway operations, from new flyers, to pricing trailers/sheds, to PR work, to ordering new sea kayaks, to dealing with the harbour master and county council and following up on some possible funding.
Generally I have avoided any funding/grants over the previous years of running Outdoors Ireland, although have participated in many of Failte Ireland's training courses, provided freely by them. This time around however it really kills me to see how the really hard-earned taxes I pay are wasted by our completely useless government and by the fact that the self-employed are nearly penalised. I wont even begin to start on the VAT/Revenue crooks - so to sum it all up; if I can secure some funding for the large enough capital outlays we are about to have, then this time around I certainly won't feel guilty about it.
On a cheerful note; we have just launched a really nice product, which I am looking forward to working on - Iyengar Yoga & Kayak Workshops In Galway. We have a 'Two For One' Special Offer until April on our Galway Mountain Skills Courses, Kinvara Bay Sea Kayak Trips and Galway City/Harbour Kayak Trips.
Carrauntoohil Guided Climbs and Killarney Lakes Kayak Trips are ticking over in Killarney right now; while there is healthy interest in our Galway Sea Kayaking; and this is actually quite early in the season/year for so much interest - which is very promising.
More next week and hopefully by then I will have a huge list of things achieved and ticked off!
Nathan
23 January 2012
Mountain Skills 1 In Kerry Mountains
Photos & Video From Our Mountain Skills 1 In The Kerry Mountains Over The Past Weekend. The MS1 Course Was Run By Kilian Kelly & Nathan Kingerlee, With A Small Group Of Participants & Cold Dry Weather - Perfect Hill Walking Conditions!
21 November 2011
Expanding To Galway - Step 3
I spent the last few days in Galway, partially as a weekend off and partially as a chance to get some Galway expansion work done.
A morning meeting with Failte Ireland was fairly productive and highlighted several more areas of work to be done between now and our Easter launch date, mainly in terms of working with county councils and the harbour authority.
What's reassuring for us as a business expanding into a new area, is the fact that adventure tourism in Galway and Clare doesn't seem main-stream/established/majorly recognised; or certainly to my initial research. While boat trips and coach tours are big business and there's a lot we can learn from how they run their operations, especially in relation to their city centre booking booths, adventure tourism is a new and niche area that we can hopefully play a part in developing.
As work has progressed over the past couple of months it's become clear that there is a need for at least one more Outdoors Ireland instructor in Kerry, especially over this coming spring and summer; so I'm currently recruiting for a new team member...
Applications are beginning to come in and over the next two/three weeks we'll set up interviews and get another instructor on-board. There will be a long and intensive in-house training process to get the person au-fait with all of our practices and methods of running training courses and guided trips.
I need to get back up to Galway as soon as possibly, probably mid December now, to finish checking out kayak locations, meet landowners and just get things ready to have a proper product in place.
The main challenge I'm still grappling with is whether we really need a second work vehicle or not. While in terms of spending/cash flow it would be great to avoid buying a second vehicle, it's looking like it's going to be necessary, even simply in terms of looking professional in both of our locations.
A morning meeting with Failte Ireland was fairly productive and highlighted several more areas of work to be done between now and our Easter launch date, mainly in terms of working with county councils and the harbour authority.
What's reassuring for us as a business expanding into a new area, is the fact that adventure tourism in Galway and Clare doesn't seem main-stream/established/majorly recognised; or certainly to my initial research. While boat trips and coach tours are big business and there's a lot we can learn from how they run their operations, especially in relation to their city centre booking booths, adventure tourism is a new and niche area that we can hopefully play a part in developing.
As work has progressed over the past couple of months it's become clear that there is a need for at least one more Outdoors Ireland instructor in Kerry, especially over this coming spring and summer; so I'm currently recruiting for a new team member...
Applications are beginning to come in and over the next two/three weeks we'll set up interviews and get another instructor on-board. There will be a long and intensive in-house training process to get the person au-fait with all of our practices and methods of running training courses and guided trips.
I need to get back up to Galway as soon as possibly, probably mid December now, to finish checking out kayak locations, meet landowners and just get things ready to have a proper product in place.
The main challenge I'm still grappling with is whether we really need a second work vehicle or not. While in terms of spending/cash flow it would be great to avoid buying a second vehicle, it's looking like it's going to be necessary, even simply in terms of looking professional in both of our locations.
31 July 2011
Pay What You Like Adventure Activities In Kerry
This Autumn, From Monday 17th - Sunday 23rd October, Join Us On One Or More Of Our Adventure Trips Or Training Days & Pay What You Like!
Choose From Beginner Kayak Trips, Night Kayak Tours, River Kayaking, Rock Climbing, Climbing Carrauntoohil Or Map & Compass Training...
To Be The First To Know More Sign Up For Our Newsletter
More Details Coming Soon!
No Bookings Being Taken Yet
Check Out Our Trip Advisor Page
To See More Check Out Our New Website Blog
Choose From Beginner Kayak Trips, Night Kayak Tours, River Kayaking, Rock Climbing, Climbing Carrauntoohil Or Map & Compass Training...
To Be The First To Know More Sign Up For Our Newsletter
More Details Coming Soon!
No Bookings Being Taken Yet
Check Out Our Trip Advisor Page
To See More Check Out Our New Website Blog
10 May 2011
Sailing The South West Coast
Sabaro Under Sail On Day 1
Clearing Dursey Sound, Against Wind & Mild Tide
Dursey Island
Dursey Island
High Seas Rounding Crow Head
Higher Seas Rounding Crow Head!
Mouth Of Crookhaven On Day 2
Leaving Crookhaven Bound For Baltimore
20 April 2011
Easter Adventure Activities In Killarney
Here Are Some Outdoor Adventure Activities Happening Over Easter!
Fri 22nd April
Rock Climb In The Gap Of Dunloe
Time: 2pm - 5pm. Price: €50 Per Person
Equipment Provided : Beginners Welcome
Sat 23rd April
Kayak Trip On Lakes Of Killarney
Time: 2pm - 5pm. Price: €50 Per Person
Equipment Provided : Beginners Welcome
Sun 24th April
Kayak Trip On Lakes Of Killarney
Time: 10am - 1pm & 2pm - 5pm. Price: €50 Per Person
Equipment Provided : Beginners Welcome
Sat 23rd & Sun 24th April
Howling Ridge Course
Time: 9am - 5pm Each Day. €200 Per Person
Wed 27th April
Sunset Kayak Trip
Time: 7pm - 930pm. Price: €50 Per Person
Equipment Provided : Beginners Welcome
Thurs 28th April
Family Rock Climb In The Gap Of Dunloe
Time: 2pm - 5pm. Price: €50 Per Person
Equipment Provided : Beginners Welcome
Sat 30th April
Carrauntoohil Guided Climb
Time: 9am - 5pm. Price: €75 Per Person
Hiking Boots Provided
To Book Or For More Details Contact Nathan/Ruth:
info@outdoorsireland.com
+353 (0) 86 860 45 63
11 April 2011
Mountain Skills 2 Training - Kerry
Pitching Tents Near Colly, In Glencar
Timing & Pacing Techniques Towards A Spot Height
Compass Bearings Before Nightfall
Click Here For Details On Mountain Skills Courses
8 April 2011
First Kayak Tours Of Killarney Lakes
Ross Castle/Killarney Lakes Kayaking Today
Ross Canal Leading Into Lough Lein
Tea Break On Innisfallen Island
(Raspberry Tarts Courtesy Of 'Truffle Pig' In Kenmare)
4 April 2011
Howling Ridge Guided Climb, Ireland's Ultimate Climbing Route In Kerry's MacGillycuddy Reeks
Gearing Up At Heavenly Gates & Getting That Last Sip Of Water Before Tackling Howling Ridge
Half-Way Into Our Climb, Overlooking Hag's Glen & Lough Gouragh
Belay Point With Des & Gavin; Eastern Reeks In The Background
Final Delicate Traverse Of Howling Ridge, Along 'The Pinnacles'
Close-Up Of Dave Roche, Sean & Ivor, Close To Topping Out
Howling Exposure - Not For The Faint Hearted!
22 January 2011
20 September 2010
Four Peaks Challenge
Darragh (The Boss) & The Famous Valerie O Sullivan
Sunrise @ Check Point 1
Ascending Caher Overlooking Beenkeeragh Ridge
Niall @ Check Point 3, High On Caher Ridge
26 August 2010
Killarney Sunset
Sunset reflecting across Lough Lein, as the sun dips below the tree-line and disappears into the west, behind the wilds of Dingle and the Slieve Mish... Sunset Kayak Trips
28 July 2010
12 July 2010
Kerry Bog
Came across this digger, stuck in the bog, with the engine still running, this morning in Glencar on my way to the office. Have no idea how the driver's going to free it...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
