I am extremely fortunate to have visited Canada many times, but my recent trip to the frozen tundra of Churchill, Manitoba was a truly remarkable adventure.
We flew into Manitoba’s capital city of Winnipeg which is by far the provinces largest, and home to 60 percent of its population. An important trading point since the 17th Century, the city is full of interesting architecture and fascinating history.
After a short stay we took a charter flight up to the frontier town of Churchill, where the adventure really began. Known as the ‘Polar Bear Capital of the World’ it is located on the edge of the Hudson Bay. Countless polar bears head here every October & November waiting for the bay to freeze over so that they can venture onto the ice and hunt their main food source of seals. Most bears have not eaten for months at this point and have been in a state of ‘walking hibernation’.
With a population of around 800 the town has a real frontier feel and is home to a host of local characters. Bear traps (and even a Polar Bear jail) are set around the town and it’s always recommended to stay in group and avoid dark areas. Although accommodation and facilities are basic, the quality was good, clean and comfortable.
We spent time at the wonderful Eskimo Museum and then headed for our first activity – dog-sledding. The knowledge and passion of the guide was incredible and the experience was unforgettable - despite the icy temperature of -20!
After a few drinks in a cozy pub I had a very contented night’s sleep in preparation for our first opportunity to view the Polar Bears. In the morning we headed by coach to the ‘Tundra Buggy’ docking station (and spotted a rare Wolverine on the way). We boarded our buggy and quickly found our bearings with the help of our expert guide and experienced driver.
The Tundra Buggy is a huge coach, specially built to travel on the frozen tundra it looks like a monster truck crossed with a bus, with huge wheels and lots of space inside. We headed off in search of the bears with the warmth of the propane heater keeping us all nice and comfortable. We quickly spotted a couple of bears sparring in the distance and you could see the grins appear on the faces of everyone in the group, knowing that our trip wouldn’t be fruitless. The windows were quickly lowered and camera’s pointed to capture these incredible animals in their natural habitat.
Happy that we had all taken some good shots, we headed off in search of more bears. We were very quickly deleting our original pictures as we continued to see bears throughout the 3 days at much closer quarters. The polar bears are incredibly inquisitive and we had a number of them walking up to the Tundra Buggy for a closer look at us.
On our last day we were lucky to witness a mother with 2 young cubs – it was the first time all year that our guide had seen 2 cubs together. This viewing rounded off an incredible trip and a truly unique experience to view the planet’s most dangerous mammal in their natural surroundings.
Remember that the Polar Bear viewing season is only very short, with selected departures in October and November. Spaces are very limited so make sure you book as early as possible to secure your place on a magical, memorable and inspiring trip.
By Jonathan Whiteley, 1st Class Holidays National Sales Manager
If you would like to take part in a similar tour, please see our Polar Bear Viewing packages.
