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Home again with memories to keep…
The rest of the story is really about getting home after such an amazing vacation. Funny how our travels through Michigan and Wisconsin seen like ages ago and it was just over a week. We did a lot! The return trip, of course encompassed loads of discussions of what we’d seen and experienced over the past two weeks. And we also started discussions of what/when our next adventure will be. Naturally, we got a number of leads based on trips our fellow travelers had taken. No resolution/firm plan yet, but more than a few ideas…..
Our day yesterday began with the transfer from the Fort Garry Hotel to the Winnipeg airport. All smooth, save for about 25 Nat Hab travelers arriving at the airport with limited slack before flight time. As far as we know, everyone made it through the super-careful (!!!) check-in and screening. The flight was easy; we found the car and headed off. First stop: Starbucks! We drove about eight hours to Valparaiso, IN, and – having chosen our hotel based on being near a good-sounding restaurant – enjoyed a lovely dinner. Our hotel was free, thanks to the Hotels.com credit that Jillebob secured when our reservation earlier in the trip went awry! Indeed, it made up for that little kerfuffle. We decided to power through a long drive today to get home. While a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful trip, sleeping in her own bed is sounding pretty good to Jill, and trading in polar bears for a Fergie snuggle is high on Sarah’s list!
November 3-4, 2021
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Farewell, Canadian Tundra!
Up early, we were on a strict schedule to get everyone out on the rover for the trip across the tundra to the rover launch facility. Our trip timing could not have been more perfect (thanks for the tip, Chris and Ruben!). We arrived pre-snow to appreciate the earthy colors of the land; witnessed the ponds freezing up overnight; had first a dusting and then a heavier snowfall; and on our departure, saw the landscape with a shallow but broad covering of snow. An amazing transformation. As dawn broke over the tundra, we took in the stark beauty of the place, the flag trees (branches stripped clean except on the leeward side), the crazy bumpy road, and the Hudson Bay to the north. And we bid good luck to the bears preparing for another winter on the ice.
From the rover launch facility, the group split onto two shuttle busses up for optional activities in town. We opted to hitch onto parts of each town tour to do a bit of shopping and wander around town to get a feel for the place and practice exercising again – ha! When we went off on our own, we were under strict guidance on what was on and off-limits. Bears are taken very seriously. People stay away from major bear traffic areas this time of year. There is a safe-zone identified on city maps, indicating where visitors need to stay. This is a town where all vehicle and building doors are left unlocked so that if one encounters a bear or hears the loud warning whistle, one is to immediately take shelter in what ever is closest. DO NOT look for the bear. DO NOT take the opportunity to pull out your camera. As Fiona explained, if a bear comes after a person, there’s a good chance that someone would shoot the bear. No one wants to be the one who tempted the bear and became responsible for his death. Coming into town, we stopped by a polar bear holding facility (“polar bear jail”), where bears that are consistently drawn to populated town areas are taken for a bit before re-homing far away. This is intended to break the ursine temptations of the city. The townspeople, conservation enthusiasts and tourists alike, all pitch in to keep people safe and bears safe.
Lunch was in a town restaurant, then we were off to the airport for our pre-international-travel Covid tests and to catch our charter flight back to Winnipeg.
Reflecting on the trip, we can both say definitively that even with 2 ½ years of anticipation, it exceeded our expectations. Polar bears are cuter, scarier, more gracious, more massive, more grand, more compelling than we could have imagined. Seeing them quiet and snuggly on one day, then active and aggressive (or playing) the next, was the perfect juxtaposition. Everything we learned from our two amazing guides brought so much more to the experience than simply observing the bears. We appreciated Kyle’s care in driving us around the tundra and his unfailing humor. Understanding their environment and the conservation challenges and efforts to keep these creatures on our planet are indeed so important. And our experience with Natural Habitat Adventures (Nat Hab) and their partner, Great White Bear Tours, was fabulous. We couldn’t have asked for better, more attentive staff, always asking how they could make our experience better, even while setting expectations and limits to keep us safe in every way, as well as making sure no one impinged on anyone else’s enjoyment. As for our fellow travelers, it was a super nice group. With several groups of friends/family, several couples or other pairs, and several single travelers, we were lucky enough not to have anyone who didn’t meld with the overall group, and the mixing and mingling with seriously interesting and enjoyable co-travelers was very enjoyable. Quite a few had previously traveled with Nat Hab, some might even be considered regulars. As for us, based on this experience, we would certainly consider another Nat Hab adventure.
November 2, 2021
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Fiona and Moira
Kyle
The Arctic Foxes
The Snowy Owls
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The Northern Lights
Our final afternoon on the tundra was, of course, at the lodge. After such an adrenaline-charged morning of polar bear sparring, it was quite lovely to have the afternoon to chill. Lunch was ready on our return and after that we took showers, hung out in the lounge, and listened to a couple of good presentations by Moira, our guide for the day. We spotted several polar bears, but none came close to the lodge, as one reportedly had in the morning. We got started on happy hour – once again with tasty nibbles - before the other group returned on the rover, and then our last and final dinner at the lodge. The chef and his two-man crew did a wonderful job for us. All of the meals were delicious, and they were totally meticulous in accommodating any dietary restrictions. We even had snow falling outside during dinner, to make the dining room feel more cozy than ever! After dinner, Moira and Fiona did the obligatory briefing about the following day’s transfer schedule. It will be up and out early for us.
Last night’s post was intentionally called The Northern Sky since it was a muted northern lights experience. While a treat, the title was more a nod to the entire scene rather than a full-on northern lights display.
Tonight, when the knocks on our doors were not gentle, and were accompanied by “Northern lights again….AND THEY’RE BETTER THAN LAST NIGHT,” we knew we were in for something special. One can assuredly see more stunning displays, but this looked and felt like the real deal. The colors were more vibrant and varied, the patterns more interesting, the stars peeking through more abundant and bright. The undulations in the colors and shapes were more dramatic. All in all – an amazing experience. Last night, one of our fellow tundra explorers snapped a few photos on her phone. So tonight, Sarah brought her iPhone to give it a go. These photos may not win any awards, but not too shabby for an iPhone! And seriously, when reasonably sophisticated adults are out in the freezing night air looking at the sky in their pajamas, parkas and boots, using an iPhone camera somehow fits the bill. All in all, couldn’t have had a better way to end our tundra visit!!
November 1, 2021
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Sparring Under a Rainbow
The Arctic Foxes’ turn for an early morning departure for the further reaches of the tundra. After our wonderfully disturbed sleep last night, we were a bit slower moving this morning. But a couple of cups of coffee and hot breakfast later, we loaded onto the rover with binocs, cameras, phones, gloves, water bottles, hot beverage bottles, and all of the other bear watching and warm keeping paraphanalia needed for the day.
Staying on the Tundra Lodge means that our rover is the first out on the wilds of the tundra. It was pretty cool this morning because it was pretty dang cool (pun intended) and going across the shallow ponds meant that we were breaking ice! Beautiful patterns. For the first bit of the morning we made slow progress across the land and saw limited wildlife. That said, it was quite interesting to have seen the tundra mostly void of snow day one, now to have more a hint of the coming winter when everything freezes (including the Hudson Bay) and the bears are lost to the ice. At this point, it’s just the beginning of the serious freeze with some snow on the ground and some of the ponds frozen over. On we went and with limited sightings in the distance, we began to worry….Were we going to have any good/close sightings? YES YES YES! First we spotted a couple of solitary bears, a few quite far away, and one closer, but not particularly active and partially hidden in the willow. We watched another bear for a bit doing some resting, as they do a lot to conserve energy until the ice is ready for hunting baby seals. Then, Kyle (as always in communication with other drivers and keeping an eye on the horizon) got us hurriedly back in our seats to move the rover yet again. We were treated to a spectacular show that lasted about 75 minutes and resulted – between Jill and Sarah – in over 1000 photos.
Two quite large male bears were “interacting” near the 2nd of the two lodges on the tundra (not ours). Polar bears being solitary creatures, it’s particularly fascinating when they are together. Don’t get the wrong idea and take “interaction” to mean just hangin’ together. By interaction in this case, we’re talking serious sparring. Wrestling. Biting. Chasing each other. Hugging each other. Pushing. Tumbling. Challenging each other. Batting at each other. And the piece de resistance: each standing on their hind legs trying to appear more menacing than his opponent. If so many other things we’ve observed were a thrill, observing this behaviour on and off, interspersed with cat (bear) naps, repeated a few times, was beyond description. Were they fighting? Playing? We’re told there is really no way to know, except these guys were rolling on their backs and not being particularly protective of their vulnerable front sides. And as if we hadn’t had enough viewing and photo ops, out came a lovely rainbow just over the wrestling bears.
November 1, 2021
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The Northern Sky
Most hotels have “Do Not Disturb” signs. The Tundra Lodge has “Please Disturb” signs. Indeed, we both hung them on our doors, to be awakened in the case of northern lights. We had been warned that it would be unlikely, as cloud coverage tends to be the norm in Churchill this time of year. But when each of us separately started hearing knocks on doors, it was time to jump out of bed and head to the balconies! Naturally, here on the tundra, the staff can turn most (not all) of the lodge lights off for better viewing, and with no city lights, it’s ideal….
We learned a lot about the aurora borealis. Sparing the details on the science, suffice it to say that even when they’re present, one doesn’t always see the dramatic colors we’ve come to expect from National Geographic-level photography. What we saw to the naked eye was mostly quite muted. What looks like wispy clouds in the sky, with subtle greens and blues that fade in and out, comes to life with long exposure photography. After the lunar eclipse experience we had at Skybeds in Botswana, we knew that our good-but-not-fantastic cameras were unlikely to capture the magic of the night sky. Indeed, we left it to those with mega lenses to do the long-exposure photography, sharing tripods and coached along by Fiona and Moira for optimal settings. So it was lovely to simply enjoy. Despite it not being the dramatic morphing colors we expected, it was no less exhilarating. Keep those eyes peeled for the subtle hues coming and going. ...And then, as if someone wrote on the sky directly above in with a multi-colored-tipped pen, a swirl of much brighter lights appeared. Truly amazing. And then, within a minute or so, it was gone. The snow came in with a flourish and sent us back to our beds, so-so-so pleasantly surprised by the bonus of our trip.
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Polar Boulders and Cubs
Sleeping on the tundra is a pleasant experience. The cozy roomettes were comfortable and very conducive to sleep. The only noise was the howling wind outside that occasionally rocked the lodge and some pitter patter of sleet against the window. Neither of us experienced any of the inside noise our guides warned of, such as the water pump, loud walking, or doors slamming. A tribute to how our entire group is dedicated to this special experience.
What a day! Our group of 29 were divided into two groups: Arctic Foxes (including Jillebob and Seb) and Snowy Owls. The Arctic Foxes had the afternoon on the rover today, so we had 30 extra minutes of sleep before a yummy breakfast in the dining room (the Snowy Owls ate first). The morning was relaxing. We took showers at our leisure (lodge rule—no showers between 8PM and 8AM), sipped coffee, kept watch for wildlife from the lounge, and saw a fascinating documentary about an unexpected year-long disruption in train service to Churchill, which is their primary way of getting life’s necessities economically, and a mural festival that brought hope to the town at a very difficult time. Quite inspiring. We had several polar bear sightings from the lodge. They were off in the distance and on the move. Our group had great fun together out on the decks, using our binocs and hoping for decent photos. Lunch was lovely, leading up to our afternoon departure for the tundra.
We loaded into the rover and, waiting for Kyle, all of a sudden, Peter, the sous chef, made a dramatic entrance yelling: “Quick, we have to go, there’s a bear…” He was followed by Kyle in a full polar bear costume. Well, it’s Halloween, after all! Turns out Kyle aims to entertain. Not sure if we got more a kick out of his bear antics or he got a kick out of hamming it up. He even “performed” for rovers we passed over the afternoon. So, off to a good start. Let’s begin with an explanation of polar boulders. When scanning the horizon for bears, one – of course – looks for white features. There’s a bear!!! Yay. Oops. Maybe just a white rock. But there’s a bear?!? Oh, a boulder. You get the idea….. But indeed there were a number of good bear sightings, too. Most of today’s bears were sleepy. Sounds boring, but boring it was not. Each bear was a thrill. And the bears snuggling (sow and cubs) – omg. Too cute for words. We’d sit and watch, only to have the mama raise her head, look around and then the cub raise his head, and then snuggle back into mama’s fur. And tuck in a bit deeper. But seriously, it’s cold out. Let’s have a little action! Oh, she raised her head again… LOL. Several bears were solo, with head resting on one of their ginormous paws. Others were tucked in the willow, half hidden and snoozing. It’s a serious game of hide and seek, watch and wait for a bear sniffing in the wind, snuggling in a bit tighter. Keeping warm and safe on the tundra.
We caught some more ptarmigans. Even better viewing than yesterday. Love the fuzzy feet. And a gyr falcon. Neither of us is a birder, but we’re told this was a very rare sighting. It even had prey in its talons.
What a lovely day. A perfect blend of relaxation, anticipation and rewarding views of the compelling creatures we came to see. The surroundings: stark and moon-like. The weather: snow, sleet, a bit of sun, fog, and wind. Cold wind – brrrrr. Wow. We went from toasty on the rover to freezing when the windows had been down for a while.
Our last bear sighting for the day brought us full circle: the same sow and cub pair we had seen in the morning in a new setting. Life on the tundra.
On return to Tundra Lodge, happy hour was underway. Naturally, there was exciting exchange of bear stories among Arctic Foxes and Snowy Owls. The groups had different sightings, but both had fabulous experiences. We’re feeling like fast friends, and sharing of stories over dinner went in all variety of directions. After dinner, Moira did a presentation on bear scent marking behavior related to some research she supported on grizzly, panda and polar bear marking behaviors. Who knew….
A bit more blogging and off to bed.
October 31, 2021
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