Exploring the Lords of the Arctic: An Unforgettable Journey to Churchill, Manitoba

Bear Necessities

After 9 weeks on the road we arrived at Churchill. To be here at the start of November had pretty much governed the timing of the rest of our trip so far. We were desperate to see some bears. After the first day really getting to see the Churchill Northern Study Centre, our second day was out on the tundra buggy looking for bears, we weren't disappointed. After seeing a few in the distance we then had the experience of 2 bears coming right up to the buggy and going underneath the viewing platform at the back. The platform is a metal grate so we could see the bears as they went under and looked up at us. 25 bears seen in a day. It was amazing.

Dog Sledding with Big Dawg

The next day started with a helicopter ride out over the tundra and Hudson Bay. This was a nice way to get a different view of the area and we also saw bears on the ice enjoying the taste of the seals they had caught. We also saw a fox eating the remains of another seal that a bear had done with. After this we went to Wapusk National Park and a dog sled ride run by an indigenous family with the main man, Dave, also known as Big Dawg. we had been warned that as there hadn't been much snow our ride was likely to be on wheeled sledges rather the ones with skis/ice runners but luckily it snowed the night before so we were on the runners. This was a great experience and then stroking the dogs afterwards as Dave gave us lots of details about the dogs and his family was a nice finish to the experience.

On the way back to the centre we stopped at the various murals around the town but at one stop we had to quickly jump back on the bus as our bear guard had stopped a big polar bear heading towards us!

More Bears and overall impressions

Our second trip out onto the tundra, seemed pretty lucky as well. We saw 18 bears but had over 30 minutes in one place watching two bears spar, it really was amazing and we felt so privileged to have seen it.

The bears were "acting strange" this year according to the guide. On the way back to the tundra base another was spotted close by and several flash bangs were deployed to scare it away as it was determined to have a nosey around the base. The bear spotters used whenever you got out of a vehicle brought it home how dangerous they can be, at another place we visited the flash bangs were also used when they got too close.

In conclusion, Churchill, Manitoba, was everything and more than we had hoped it would be. 25 years ago me and Karen had planned a trip to Canada to see the polar bears, however with the family and life's expenses we never made it. We are so glad we did now and really glad we went with the research centre. There are fancier ways to do it (and at twice the price) but we felt our trip was perfect, from the detail above to the great staff at the centre. Having a hour talk each evening was great to get a better understanding. The last night this talk was by Georgina who is a member of the Cree people, her story of the residential homes and break up of families through to truth and reconciliation was incredibly moving. She also gave us the chance to take part in a traditional smudging ceremony which I doubt we will do again but it was a moving experience.

To carry on the remarkable luck, on the last night the skies cleared and we heard a knock on our door and "the Aurora" and we went out at 1am to the northern lights!

A quick thank to Liz who joined us for part of our Canada tour including Churchill, it was lovely to share all this with you.

And to finish it all off, at Churchill airport on the way out we met Kara and Nate, a couple who travel full time and create amazing blogs and videos and who we have been following for some time. They are as nice in person as they come across in the video.