Up to Churchill to see the polar bears
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DIGGWe took off from the Winnipeg airport at around 6:30 a.m. in the dark: my Aunt Mary from Georgia and me, Jean from Minnesota. We each took window seats as we did not want to miss anything. It was dark but we could see lights of Winnipeg as we took off and headed north. Then no more lights, just darkness until the sun started to climb above the horizon.
As the sun rose, we saw lakes (lots of lakes) and forests… no lights, no houses, no roads – just awesome. It made me think of Gary Paulson’s book “Hatchet,” where a young man is flying with a pilot over the bush of northern Canada and the plane crashes. The young man had to learn to survive in the wilderness. Well, I enjoyed seeing the lakes and the colors change from orange on the horizon and deep purple to a dark green below and a gray blue of the water. Then we were swallowed up in clouds. And I thought Uh oh, it is snowing – will we be able to land in Churchill?
No problem… the pilot made an excellent landing. Before we landed I could see that it was a winter wonderland below us. Not to worry; I love the snow and we both were prepared for winter.
We landed and got our carry-on luggage. The flight attendant and people at the airport said “Watch your step – it’s slippery.” They were right – it was very slippery under the snow. The plows were out and constantly plowing. We got pictures of the Churchill Airport in the blinding snow and went inside to be reunited with our luggage, where we met Paul, our guide. We put all of our luggage in one place to be taken to Churchill Hotel for us, then loaded up in a school bus to carry on in our polar bear adventure.
The roads were snow-covered and slippery, but Paul was a great driver and never did slip. He had a high-powered rifle above the windshield in the front of the bus. Somebody asked the question that I was thinking: “Have you ever had to use it?” “No,” he replied. I was glad, as that would be sad for the bear and for people. We stopped at the Polar Bear Jail, where the bears that become problem bears are detained until the ice freezes up. Nobody is allowed in there, so we took pictures outside.
We saw Miss Piggy, a transport plane that had crashed because she had too heavy of a load (although everyone survived). Paul told us that the polar bears sleep right beyond the trees, and that we should stay close to the bus. Seems the dump was right beyond the trees.
Then we stopped at a kennel of 150 Canadian Eskimo huskies. It was awesome. The dogs were so excited to have snow – they were dancing and prancing and running all about at the end of their chains. After taking about six pictures of one of the dogs, I finally got a good profile.
Upward and onward to town. We drove by Hudson Bay and into Churchill, with Paul pointing out all the sites. We stopped at several gift shops but couldn’t stay , as we had a date with Gypsies Bakery for lunch. We drove past City Center, the museum, saw an inushtuk (Edgar’s) as well as the Churchill River, the Fort on the other side and the port where grain is shipped from.
Then it was time for lunch. Gypsies is the best, and by the time we got there we were all hungry. Had a great meal before heading back to our hotel. We went in, got our rooms, put on warmer clothes and my aunt and I headed off to explore the town. The going was tough, because by now there was a full raging blizzard going. We had to squint to see and be careful where we walked, watching for cars and snowmachines. But we managed to go to several gift shops and also to the museum before heading back to the hotel to rest up a bit and search for supper. We ate at the Trading Post Restaurant – I had the arctic char, which was very good – before heading back to the Hotel to get ready for a program on Wapusk National Park at the Railway Station.
On the way, I was watching everywhere for polar bears and trying to see in the blizzard – I had to squint to keep from getting snow in my eyes. I was relieved when I got to the railway station. The Warden of the park presented a great program. On the way out I met Paul, who said he had just seen a polar bear. I knew he lived in the country, so I assumed he had seen it out there. The next day I asked him where he had seen the bear… he said just two blocks from the railway station!
That night I made it safely back to my hotel and got things ready for the next days adventure to go out and see what we had come for… POLAR BEARS. We got up early and ate breakfast, packed our suitcases and left them by the door – we had to leave Churchill that night. We went out and waited by the door for Paul to pick us up. It was still dark out but clear, and we could see stars. Still no northern lights, though. Finally Paul came and we loaded up in the bus.
As we approached the loading area I could see the tundra buggies. I was excited… we were really going to go out in one! We got off the bus and climbed the stairs onto the deck-like structure where the tundra buggies are docked and you get on. We were met by a polar bear (OK, a girl dressed up like one) passing out candy. After all – it was Halloween! The buggy was a queen…a nice vehicle: it was spacious, with very clean windows, a bathroom and a deck we could go outside and stand on to watch bears when we stopped.
We were told we must be seated when the buggy is moving, as it bounces around. There was nobody out on the tundra but us tundra buggies (and, we hoped, some polar bears). We bounced along until finally somebody said “Polar Bear!” Well yes, there were two of them, but they were very far away. I could see them as I had binoculars; Bob, our driver, stopped so people could get photos. But Paul and Bob said we should wait, they would get us closer and see bigger ones than these.
Sure enough, we stopped for lunch and saw a mama bear and two cubs – it was a treat to watch the cubs play. As our guide and helpers brought out our soup for lunch, one of the cubs came slowly over to the tundra buggy and put his paws up on the buggy ,sniffing the air. I was within two to three feet of him and got some great shots. Then one of the cubs punched a hole through a snowy ridge, and mama looked through the window the cub had made. The bears were nibbling on seaweed – Paul said it was to get their digestive tracts ready for eating seal when the ice freezes.
We carried on to another spot, where we watched a big male taking a bath and rubbing his back on the snow. He found a big chunk of snow and used it like a bar of soap to clean his neck, belly, legs and under his arms. He looked like a man taking a bath, sticking his legs up in the air. When he was done he got up and shook and looked nice and clean. After all, this was the first snowfall of the year.
We happened on a mother bear and her cub walking on the ice to a snowy willow-covered hill. She lay down to take a nap as junior climbed the hill and slid down. Then he got interested in us with the tundra buggy and cautiously snuck as close as he could to the tundra buggy, looking back at mom several times. But mom got up and called to him – she must have said “No, You come back here.” So he rather reluctantly turned around and slowly padded back to mom.
We hadn’t seen any ptarmigans when suddenly a black and white flash flew by the window. I shouted “ptarmigan, stop,” and Bob stopped. It landed right outside our buggy with several other ptarmigan, and we got to watch them skitter around. Then off to see more bears – it was a wonderful day.
As we bounced back to the loading dock, there was a smile on everyone’s face… we had seen our polar bears. We arrived at the loading dock as the sun was going down, then headed back to Churchill Hotel for supper and then our ride to the airport. As we left the bus I said goodbye to Paul and thanked him for a wonderful time – he made us feel like family.
This was my second trip to Churchill; my first was over 25 years ago when people didn’t go up to ride tundra buggies or see polar bears… but I did. Maybe I was an eco-tourist before my time. This latest trip was wonderful, and the day on the tundra buggy was even better than I had dreamed. Our plane whisked away, taking us back down to Winnipeg and away from our wonderful Churchill. I can only hope to return again soon. It is a special place. Thank you for letting me tell you of our trip to Churchill to see the polar bears. Go do it – I highly recommend the trip.
