Finally a Return to Reality

The weather had to improved sometime, and today was the day.  We got word in the morning that the sun was actually shining in Churchill, and the visibility was clearing at Seal River.  While I’m so sad that our bonus days are coming to an end, I am very happy to get home to my own little wildlife.  Though I think Guinness will be showing her displeasure for a few days.

Since I would be getting home a few days late, I had to call into work to explain why I wouldn’t be showing up on Saturday.  Might be the best call I’ve ever made.  “Sorry I won’t be able to make it to work, I’m stuck in the Arctic.”  I’m not entirely sure the supervisor believed me.  Luckily I have the photos to prove it.  

There was a bit of wait and see in the morning to be sure the plane was going to take off.  While we waited in the lounge we did get to see some bears moving along the ice.  Then we got word the plane was on the way.  As its the end of the season, only one plane was flying.  They put 9 of the guests on the first flight, and I was one of the three chosen to go to the second flight with some of the staff that were getting to escape today.  

After the first group took off, we were treated to a mother and two COYs walking across the ice towards ice.  Myself and the two remaining guests watched from the tower platform as they got closer.  Frustratingly as they got close we were summoned down to head to the runway.  The film crew is staying behind and it looks like they got some amazing footage as the bears got close to the lodge.

On the plane we were updated that there was a massive herd of caribou just passed the lake north of the site.  The pilot told us to have our phones ready.  I was filming take off and actually got to see another mama and two cubs racing across the lake below us before we came upon hundreds of caribou running along the tundra.  It was just an epically wonderful way to end the stay at Seal River.

Landing in Churchill, we had most of the day to wait for our evening flight out.  We first went to the Blueberry Inn, which is owned by Churchill Wild, to have a light lunch.  Then most of us went out for a tour of Churchill, we stopped at the Inukshuk built by the beach.  There is a church that has a stained glass window that was donated to the area by Lady Franklin in memory of her husband.  A small museum of beautiful Inuit carvings and artifacts going back thousands of years.  Then we also stopped at a few little shops to buy some local art and fun trinkets.

Dinner was at a lovely local restaurant named the Ptarmigan.  There motto is Good Ptimes.  Then we were shipped off to the airport.  The weather had started to close in again, but after some de-icing our flight made it out of Churchill.  We got to Winnipeg just two days late!   Now of course I am ready to head home, and my Toronto bound flight is delayed by a couple hours, mechanical issues this time.  So while my vacation is over for now, I have a few thousand pictures I should be sorting through as I relax in the lounge.

Thanks for following along!  I had a great time and could not recommend this place enough if you every want to walk with the Polar Bears!

Another Day in Wintery Heaven

This morning dawned foggy and icy again.  So we are in a holding pattern waiting to see if the planes can make it to us.  It is a small 9 seater hopper plane from Churchill landing on a runway at the lodge that is only approached by line of site.  The ice in Churchill is also bad that they can’t even get out there.  

So, the morning will be spent watching for more polar bears.  The gorgeous little girl from last night seems to have come back.  She’s curled up just out side the dining area.  It’s hard not to give human emotions to a bear.  But based on her small size she seems so young, and maybe lonely after Mama booted her from the nest.  

As the day doesn’t seem promising for airplanes, but perfect for walking we went for another hike.  After going about 50m down the road way, we found Frack wandering back to the lodge.  So we turned back to follow him.  He got very curious about the shed and exploring the windows, and all of a sudden popped out around a corner towards us.  Frack just really seems to want some friends, so we had to drive him off.  The best part is that the group in the lodge got a video of us with him so close!

We stayed by the lodge to see what he would do next, and if the little Princess would spook, but he wandered north across the lagoon and she kept sleeping by the BBQ patio.   A few others decided to keep hiking, I was a little worn out from the heavy work my ankle is doing so I stayed back.  I was also just fascinated with Princess and watching her curled up so close to the lodge was amazing.

After lunch, as we were getting reading there were shouts of “Wolf on the runway! Wolf on the runway!” Everyone was falling over themselves to get outside to see.  Well, it wasn’t a wolf.  But it was a gorgeous red fox so no one was truly upset.  We got some great pictures before a small group headed out again to go to Two Bear Point.  The wind was a lot calmer but of course we had the icy fog to deal with, which isn’t great for photographs but makes for one hell of an atmosphere!  We didn’t see any bears or foxes out there today, but we saw lots of tracks.  There have also been so many wolf prints, but no wolves have wanted to make an appearance this trip. 

We climbed up to Two Bear Point, and then walked back along it to the lake at the north end of the runway.  As we were walking back along the runway we got updates of Frack in the area again.  We angled out across another pond to try to cut him off.  When we got close, there was another update that Princess had gotten up and was also moving towards us.  Curious to see how they would react to each other, we stopped near the road.  Princess noticed Frack first and made a hard turn and passed us by to get away from him.  When Frack noticed her, Princess was already on the move.  He tried to catch up to her, poor guy really just wants some friends.   

So we waited till he passed us by, and then headed back into the lodge for what would likely be our actual last dinner in Seal River.  It was delicious of course, then they showed us a movie called Field of Bones that was a self shot documentary of a Russian scientist who studied Polar Bears in Siberia.  It was interesting to see his experiences.  

A few more foxes, including a Cross Fox, came by the lodge to say good bye.  And then to bed, curled up with my polar bear hot water bottle dreaming of snuggly bears. 

Time to Go?

It’s our final day here in Seal River…or so the itinerary says.  We were up at 6:30 for breakfast and the first flight out was at 8:00.  Well, as they say, when man plans the gods laugh.  Though there are certainly worse places to be stuck!  While the weather here at Seal River seems to be improving, the light is soft and perfect for photographing the bears that wander by.  

Our plane however hasn’t made it out of Churchill.  The temperature is hovering around freezing, so I guess that area can get a lot of fog.   So we wait. And wait.  Luckily while we wait, some polar bears have wandered by.  We watched one big guy travel along the ice towards the lodge, and then went outside to take pictures as he got closer.  he was walking around the lagoon to the north for a bit when another bear popped out.  One wanted to play, the other didn’t.  So we watched till they got bored of each other.  

As we continued to wait, the weather here seemed to be getting better.  The icy fog in Churchill was the problem.  Though it turns out that flights from Churchill to Winnipeg didn’t get out either, so we definitely weren’t going anywhere.  

So we did another hike.  A small group this time again, as we hiked back to the kill site to see what was around.  We saw one bear napping on an island in the lagoon, but he bolted before we even got close.  His tracks were so neat to see, they were perfect and clear he was running fast.

We saw another bear napping by the kill site, it was the one eared bear we saw yesterday.  He is now known as Van Gogh.  He didn’t move much and with the blasting wind and icy snow it was hard to get a good picture.  We took a new route back along Two Bear Point to the north end of the runway.  It was gorgeous just looking at the lake from there and all the ice covered trees.

After an easy walk back, we relaxed at the lodge waiting for dinner.  Which was interrupted by a very young looking polar bear that wandered up to the compound and then curled up under the window to nap.  She was just so adorable.  Definitely wanted to snuggle.

So off to bed, wondering if we will escape tomorrow.  But the forecast is looking like more of the same.  

One Day More

Today was the last full day at Seal River.  Everything had already been so epic, what more could we see? Amazingly, there was more!  The day started slowly.  During breakfast we noticed a bit of colour with the sunrise, which was something we hadn’t seen yet!  Everyone grabbed their cameras to capture the pink hues reflecting off the ice and open water.  The only thing that would have made it better was a polar bear.

Well, as the light increased we actually spotted a polar bear, Frack, sleeping along the shore directly in line with the sunrise.  It was so perfect, and an arctic fox was running around too.  We spent a bit of the morning watching him, and then the small female came by the lodge.  She came very close to the deck so we were right by her, which was amazing.  But they both decided they were bored of the lodge and wandered away.

So we kitted up again for a hike.  We started by walking along the shore of Hudson’s Bay.  We found so many tracks in the ice, everyone seemed to be heading north.  It was pretty neat, along the shores the ice was slushy so the tracks had frozen pretty clearly.  We could see bear, fox and wolf tracks all running in the same direction.  There were tracks for a mama and one cub as well.  So we had a lot of optimism as we followed them along.

We found one bear further up the shore resting on a point in the distance.  But with the tide high, we really couldn’t get any closer.  So the group turned back and followed some tracks through the willow brush that led us back to the main runway.  When we got through we saw another bear resting at the far end, it appeared to be a new female.  But she wasn’t interested in us, as we got a bit closer she walked away from us down a hill out of site.  As we followed her onto Lake Uh Oh, so named as its at the end of the runway and if the pilot makes a mistake you end up in the lake!  Anyways, as we got to the lake we could she she had travelled quickly to the far side to settle on a new point.  She clearly wanted nothing to do with us, so we took the hint and headed back. 

The walk back to the lodge was fairly uneventful.  After warming up and waiting for lunch we saw another bear headed towards the lodge.  He was moving north across the shallow frozen ice of the bay, and he seemed to be moving with purpose.  He kept stopping to sniff the air, and didn’t even pause to examine the lodge as he went by.  He was a bear on a mission.

So while we ate lunch, the staff went to the lookout to scan the area.  As we gathered for the last hike of the trip, it was just a small group of us.  Four diehards heading out in the wind for one last hike.  Technically it was the warmest day of the trip, but the windchill was crazy!  But with the smaller group we were able to make a better pace north along the shore again.  The guides had spotted a few bears at a kill site about 3km away.  We were able to get pretty close, and a film crew that are making a documentary on arctic foxes came out with us.  With the tide out this time, we were able to cross the lagoon by island hopping.  The ice wasn’t very thick, and pretty slushy at points, it’s a good thing they gave us high quality boots!! But we got close enough to watch the bears napping after the feast and the foxes fighting over what was left.  It didn’t look like the bears had many left overs though.  About seven arctic foxes were dashing around, trying to steal each others meals.  It was just the most amazing end to the day.  As the light was fading and the snow was whipping right in our faces, it was time to head back to the lodge.

We got back in time for some mulled wine before dinner.  It was an excellent roast, and then we finished the night with a slide show that the guides had been compiling from our week here.  It was still an early night, as our flights home are supposed to be early in the morning!

Going on a Bear Hunt

Today started a little calmer, no wake up calls so it was breakfast as normal.  After breakfast we geared up for another trek, and headed out.  A bear had been spotted at the place we had seen mama and cubs yesterday.  We were hopeful she was still hanging out, but it turned out to just be Frack napping on a comfortable hill.  

After watching him for a little bit, we walked further along to a spot that often has arctic hares.  We were in luck as there was a couple that were resting.  They are very confident of their camouflage ability, so we were able to slip fairly close to get some great pictures.    

On the walk back, another bear came ambling into the area.  This was a female, she was a bit leaner than the other bears we had seen so far, and pretty dirty!  We watched here exploring the paths as she walked across the runway and into the willow brush.  She was interesting to watch.  We saw Frack and Radiohead walking along the skyline.  They were pausing for breaks frequently.  And it was almost lunch time, so we kept headed back to the lodge.

After lunch, it was pizza day, as we were prepping to leave again, we got summoned to the front porch to see a bear ambling down the roadway.  It was the small female walking by.  We ended up racing from the front of the compound to the back, and then returning to the front.  As first, the female wandered by, then one of the males -Frack was slowly following her.  He just seemed curious, but she wanted nothing to do with him so she kept on walking.  There isn’t proper pack ice formed yet, but during low tide the shore ice can be thick enough for the bears to walk on.  So the female kept heading out till Frack got bored and gave up.   She found a nice flat chunk of ice to nap on.

Then it was back to the front as Radiohead came down the path, looking for his friends.  He found Frack chilling near the compound by the shore, and the two of them tussled a bit and then took a nap.   Our walk for the day got cancelled, as there were three bears so close to the compound! So we spent the afternoon watching them and the occasional arctic fox who scurried by.

After a while the female woke up and decided to walk south towards us, she was exploring the point of the lodge, but hadn’t realized the two trouble makers were napping on the shore.  We watched with interest, as she slowly approached them.  As soon as she realized there were two male bears near by she reversed direction and headed back across the ice.  The boys woke up at this time, and decided they wanted to play with her.  So another slow foot chase happened, as the boys just could not take a hint.  Eventually the female made it to the shore and vanished into the willow brush.  The boys gave up at this point and described to spar a bit more on the shore on the far side of the lagoon.

This was the hint for me to head inside and warm up.  We had an afternoon presentation on Arctic Foxes with some mulled wine, followed by another excellent dinner.  The evening was finished off with a presentation on the adaptions of arctic animals, then chatting by the fire before another early bed time.  

Looking for Bears

The first full day in Seal River started with a literal bang, at about 7:30 there was a loud knock on more door with a shout of “bear!”  I was awake but half asleep, so I took me a moment to process what was going on.  Then a quick rush to get my gear on and join every one outside to find a male polar bear ambling along the compound fence.

We watched from the safety of the fence as the bear nosed around checking every thing out.  He was joined after a bit by another young male.  As the explored and nosed around they would start sparing - not a true battle but practicing their skills for when it comes time to challenge for a female at mating season.

We were a bit late to breakfast watching the bears spar, break apart to rest, and then spar again.  An arctic fox also ambled into the area at one point.  What a start to the day!  Everyone was coaxed inside with promises that the bears likely wouldn’t wander far.  

After breakfast we went out looking for the males, they had wandered off down the runway.  We found them resting after a bit, and then the cycle started again of them sparing.  We were able to follow them for a bit and get decently close.  We got some amazing pictures of them, and apparently this behaviour is a bit unusual for this time of year as the bears normally are conserving energy at the end of the fasting season.  But these chonky boys were more than happy to put on a show.

We thought our morning was amazing, but we got word from the lodge that a mama and two cubs were walking past.  We hurried back to try and see them, but unfortunately she moved too quickly along the shore.  So we went inside for lunch.

Our afternoon walk, it was reported a bear was spotted near the ponds at the end of the runway, and they suspected it was the Mama.  So we went out again, and our luck held!  It was a mama and two COY cubs.  Cub of the Year means the babies were born within the last 12 months.  They were very adorable, but one of the cubs was very cheeky and wanted to come check us out.  It led to some amazing pictures before he was getting too close.  Not only do we not want to piss off the protective mama, but we don’t want to teach the cubs that humans are nice.  Because a lot of them aren’t.  So we got to practice our anti bear techniques. We got him to scamper off once, but the cheeky lad came creeping back.  So after scaring him off again we moved along.  

We found found the two males again.  Recently there had been a pair named by the staff Frick and Frack. But it seemed like Frick had kept going leaving Frack behind. Frack had a new friend they named Radiohead, he was named Radiohead because he’d been tagged after a stay in Polar Bear Jail.  This time they were just sleeping, we did get some cute pictures and one amazing moment when an arctic fox was trotting by, spotted the bears, and turned and ran off the other way!  I got some shots of the fox lined up perfect with one of the bears.

That was the end of the walk for that day, so it was just a stroll back to the lodge before the early sunset.  We had appies and adorable hot chocolate with polar bear marshmallows before dinner.  Dinner was another delicious treat, and an early night was had by all after a small presentation on Polar Bear behaviour that was interesting.  Of course the loss of ice is bad for the bears, but it was interesting to learn about how they are adapting, like hunting belugas in the summer.

A fairly cloudy night, so no real chance at seeing the northern lights.  I’m keeping an eye on the forecast, we might get some clearing in a couple days!

Welcome to Churchill, Manitoba

 I have been wanting to do a trip like this since I was in high school, i remember learning about Churchill, the Polar Bear Capital of the World, and being fascinated.  Back in those days it was a long train ride to get to the small community on the shores of Hudson’s Bay.  It sounded amazing. 

But life and time was passing me by, and this year I was thinking about all the places I want to go, and all of the places I have been, and I realized it was time for Churchill.  I started researching all the various tour companies.  Most of them were based out of Churchill proper, and would take you out for the day on large tundra buggies to see the bears.  One i think even had sleeping accommodation on the buggy.  But I was just picturing a bunch of large vehicles circling one or two bears, all angling for the best view, and I knew that wasn’t what I wanted.

So I kept coming back to Churchill Wild, it’s unique in the world because it takes its guests out on foot to see the bears.  The guides are well trained in bear behaviour and with 30 years behind them, it seemed like an amazing option.  So I flew in to a remote lodge along the Seal River. 

Our day started horribly early in Winnipeg where we caught a flight to Churchill.  On arrival at the airport we were greeted with a sign on bear safety.  Unfortunately we were informed the weather was poor so they weren’t sure if our small hopper would be able to make the next leg to Seal River.  Not ones to waste the time, we were whisked onto a bus for a tour as the pilots kept an eye on the weather.

The first stop was the Polar Bear Holding Facility (aka Polar Bear Jail) where any “problem bear” can be held.  A problem bear is one that wanders too close to town or makes a nuisance of themselves.  The bears are usually lured in with traps so they can be placed in the Jail for about 30 days before being relocated.  The idea is to make the town memorable as an unpleasant place to be, without causing any harm.  

Just as we were starting to drive along the coast we got the news we would be staying in Churchill for lunch.  I wasn’t thrilled, I wanted to get going.  And then the phone rang again, and we had ten minutes to get back to the hanger! So our driver quickly got us to the hanger, our group of 12 loaded onto two separate small planes for a short hop into Seal River.  Apparently the flight was “sporty” but we made it safely, and the previous guests were able to head out.

We were fed an amazingly lunch before heading out for the first walk of the tour.  Before the walk of course we got a thorough lesson on bear safety, the non-lethal deterrent, and of course all the guides do have the lethal option.  But in 30 years that option hasn’t been needed and they do not want that at all.

Our first walk was fairly uneventful.  We did see some Ptarmigans, and a snowy owl.  But no bears.  A bit disappointed, but tired, we headed in for dinner before the light faded.  Well, long before dinner, sunset was before 4;00.  We had some lovely appies and drinks before dinner, saw an arctic fox exploring around the compound.  After an amazing dinner there was a small talk on the northern lights, though the skies are looking pretty overcast, so we could be prepared just in case.  Then off to bed for a morning of bear walking. Hopefully we will find some!!!

Just a teaser, my alarm in the morning was a bang on the door and shouts of “Bear! Bear!”