Operators say attraction, which brings in up to 40,000 visitors a year, still an uncut gem

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By Jesse Robichaud
Times & Transcript Staff

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Dennison and Ann Tate say it is time to move on after 16 years spent shining one of the country's most noted diamonds in the rough.

Enlarge Photo

Guides rappel down the cliffs at Cape Enrage in July.

Since 1992, the Tates have worked as volunteers with over 200 paid students who have beckoned up to 40,000 visitors per year to the 150-foot stone cliffs of Cape Enrage.

Together, and with the energy and ingenuity of their young employees, the Tates have developed leisure and adventure pursuits around Cape Enrage's iconic lighthouse, cliffs and fossil beach that meet the Bay of Fundy's natural power and wonder.

The site have most recently been selected as the top view in Canada by Frommer's travel guide and one of the top beaches in the country by Canadian Geographic magazine, and the Tates have been recognized as pioneers in the country's tourism industry for the unique approach to the site, which includes a restaurant, gift shop, rappelling, climbing, zip line, and a number of adventure and leisure-oriented activities.

And while visitation is down this year, as it is across the province, the sites' adventure activities are setting a record year.

But despite the site's successes, the Tates believe Cape Enrage's location -- just 100 kilometres southwest of Moncton -- and natural wonders, can help it become much more in new hands.

"It has made the news in many cases, and we have received a lot of awards, but really the gem is still more or less uncut."

The Tates have presented a transition plan to the provincial government in the hopes that the province will take over the site and help it play the leadership role in the region's tourism sector that they believe it can be.

However, Dennison Tate is taking things one step at a time.

"First of all, there is a concern about whether they are going to buy into it at all. But I think if they are willing to allow someone to express their imagination and vision, it can move to another level," he said.

Tate says he has been in talks with the province for about a month but, after working for so many years in the freedom that affords Cape Enrage, the slow gears of government can appear to move even slower, especially during the vacation months of summer.

The Tates feel the operation has become too large to operate themselves, and they are hoping to spend more personal time with their family as retirees.

But they admit it has been harder to move on from the successful enterprise than it was to start it.

No matter who takes over the site, Tate, a former physics teacher at Harrison Trimble High School, says Cape Enrage is a financially sustainable enterprise if it is operated efficiently.

And while much time and effort has been invested in developing and promoting the site to a point where it is a major tourist draw for the province, Tate says the individuals charged with running the site will need to draw on the same spirit of innovation and adventure that have made the Cape Enrage site a success, rather than coasting on the momentum that has been built there over the years.

"Whoever comes in, they have to be visionaries. I think too many organizations have developed over time with the energy of people with vision, but eventually have been taken over by managers," he said.

"Managers tend to not be given as much latitude as the founding fathers of an organization, when somebody comes into manage it usually stagnates and the product becomes tired."

The Tates transition plan includes recommendations on how government can leverage Cape Enrage to revitalize the tourism industry in the region.

"I think in the same way we have now moved into a wider market and a bigger product, and I think there are lessons that can be learned and some things that can be emulated around the region because they have worked here," said Tate.

"We have demonstrated they can and work here."

While Tate has plenty of ideas on how Cape Enrage could grow in the future, he is quick to note that once the site is handed over, he and his wife will relinquish whatever formal control and influence they have held over the development.

He says he is principally concerned with whether the province, from which the non-profit group leases the land on which the attractions operate, will be interested in taking over.

Alison Aiton, a spokeswoman for the Department of Tourism, said yesterday that officials have met with Tate and are studying the department's options.

"We did meet with the Tates to discuss the future of the site, and there are several options on the table and we are right now trying to decide how we will proceed."

The province already offer infrastructure support to the site: earlier this year a new staircase was installed from the top of the cliffs down to the beach, at a cost of $100,000 to the province.

The province took over the operation of nearby Hopewell Rocks in in 2007, but Tate points out that the Cape Enrage site is truly unique in the province and possibly the country.

"There is no other organization like it," said Tate.

"As unique as Cape Enrage is and has already become, we see it becoming even more so in the future if the province or someone else decides to head in that direction."

Tate says he will always remember the over 200 students he has worked with over the years.

While he says he has enjoyed preserving the iconic lighthouse and introducing visitors to the impressive 150-foot cliffs, stone beaches, and the adventures they can provide, he mostly enjoyed helping young people develop their abilities and interests.

"There is a degree of emotion here," he said of the decision to leave Cape Enrage.

"The highlight for me is having the opportunity to work with students, many of whom keep in contact with us regularly, and when I say regularly I mean almost every week."