Churchill Field Notes and Photos – Aurora Season

The first groups of travelers have been experiencing dramatic cold and sensational northern lights in Churchill these last couple of weeks. Here are some pictorial field notes from the far north and northern lights season guru Brad Josephs. So much of what Nat Hab’s aurora borealis trips encompass is more than seeing the northern lights. The amazing train trip north and stops at Pisew Falls and Thompson leading to the journey through boreal forest and taiga coming to rest in Churchill. Dog-sledding, igloo building, curling and various other cultural experiences make this an unforgettable adventure. Northern lights above the vast frozen Hudson Bay is more often than not the proverbial “icing on the cake”! Enjoy

Nat Hab group in Churchill

Natural Habitat Adventures group with guide Brad Josephs. Brad Josephs photo.

 

dog sledding in Churchill

Dog – sledding in Churchill. Brad Josephs photo.

 

boreal forest in Churchill

Moonscape above the boreal forest before the aurora appeared in Churchill. Brad Josephs photo.

 

aurora borealis in Churchill, Wapusk Adventures

Northern lights above Wapusk Adventures tee – pee and boreal forest. Brad Josephs photo.

 

Natural Habitat Aurora Pod Churchill

Northern lights action at the Natural Habitat Aurora Pod. Brad Josephs photo.

Natural Habitat travelers in Churchill.

Natural Habitat Adventures travelers beneath the northern lights in Churchill. Brad Josephs photo.

Churchill Polar Bear Season – Guest Blog Finale

In our last posting from Jeff and Kathy Klofft, we have some of Jeff’s remarkable photos of a polar bear family trying to escape safely from a energized male polar bear hoping to get to mom to mate or possibly at the cubs for some sustenance. These interactions are fairly rare but pretty exciting when witnessed by travelers. You can see more of the Klofft’s adventures on their blog site Go See It Travel!

“We watched the sleepy family for a little while and then noticed a large male making his way towards their direction.”

Polar bears churchill

Male polar bear starts to move towards mother and cubs. Jeff Klofft photo.

Our guides explained that a male polar bear can try to separate the mother from her cubs in order to mate with her.  The cubs will surely not survive on their own without their mother, and their survival depends on her staying away from the big male.  Unfortunately, she and the cubs were sleeping soundly as the male approached closer and closer, and all of us held our breath in dread of what we might see if he surprised them before they could hustle away.

polar bears churchill

Mother and cubs become aware and begin to move. Jeff Klofft photo.

Finally, as we all silently willed the mother bear to wake up and move on, she was up on her feet and she and her cubs were on the move even faster than Jeff’s rapid camera could catch it!

“So once she started to move, she and her cubs MOVED!  Some in our group actually were able to hear her hiss at the big male. They ran towards our Polar Rover at top speed until she was right behind our viewing platform.”

polar bears in Churchill

Polar bears on the run to safety. Jeff Klofft photo

“Directly behind us, the female stopped to see where the big male was, and found him to be plodding along in her direction, so although she slowed her speed, she and her cubs continued moving off away from the larger bear.”

polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba

Mother polar bear on the lookout for aggressive male. Jeff Klofft photo.

The big male moved more slowly but quite deliberately in her direction, stopping along the way to sniff where she and the cubs had been.

polar bear churchill

Sniffing the family’s scent the male polar bear slowly tracks them. Jeff Klofft photo.

 

polar bears in churchill

Once the big male had given up the chase, the polar bear family moved off toward the shore in a group. Jeff Klofft photo.

 

polar bear churchill

Male polar bear finally gives up the chase and heads for a rest in the willows. Jeff Klofft photo.

 

Churchill Polar Bear Season – Guest Blog Series

Another report from the kloffts adventure to Churchill with Natural Habitat Adventures this past fall. Check out their travel website at Go See It Travel for more photos and blogs about their travels!

All of us were anxious to see polar bears, but we weren’t spotting any on our first evening out.  We did see the most incredible sunset on the tundra, and even though we were all a little disappointed, we couldn’t help but feel privileged and awed by the environment! We put our cameras away and enjoyed dinner set out in the rover on the dark tundra.  Then just as we were getting ready to leave, someone spotted a mother bear and two very young cubs outside of the rover, walking right in front and beside the vehicle. Too dark to photograph, we could see their white fur glowing from the dim interior lights of our polar rover and just enjoyed the magical moment of seeing polar bears in the wild for the first time!

Polar bear family in Churchill.

Polar bear family wanders the tundra in Churchill Wildlife Management Area. Jeff Klofft photo.

 

Polar bears in Churchill

Polar bears nursing in the CWMA. Jeff Klofft photo.

 

polar bear in Churchill

Sleeping polar bear near the Hudson Bay coast. Jeff Klofft photo.

 

polar bear churchill

Polar bear yawning from a little stress. Jeff Klofft photo.

Reluctantly, it was time for us to start our journey back to the launch. The guides and drivers keep the schedule, even though we could have could stayed out on the tundra forever after the exciting bear sightings we had on Halloween! The trip back was not disappointing, enjoying the beautiful scenery,We enjoyed the rover ride through lakes and over rocks, and we even spotted some more wildlife!

silver fox churchill

Silver fox roams the tundra in Churchill. Jeff Klofft photo.

This trip with its focus on polar bear conservation, demands that we observe but not disturb, so sometimes the bears are at a long distance, and we must watch them from where we are.  Of course, the bears have no such rules, and frequently, these smart, curious animals would see the rovers and want to do a little exploring themselves.  That’s what happened in this case.  A mother bear and what we later discovered was two female cubs were sleeping, but once we stopped about 1/2 mile away, one of the young cubs was curious and started making her way towards our rover and the others parked near us.  She looked back at her more timid sister and slumbering mother, and seemed to be urging them to come explore with her.  She started out and before long, her sister followed along behind. After they got a certain distance away, mamma bear heaved herself up and plodded along behind her curious off spring.

polar bears churchill, MB

Pol;ar bear cubs approach the polar rover within a few feet. Jeff Klofft photo.

The family of bears walked the whole line of rovers prompting us to ask our driver and guide just how much they had paid the bears for the encounter! After a few minutes of curious sniffing the bears moved on providing us with incredible photo opportunities!

polar bears churchill

Polar bear cubs sniffing out the danger. Jeff Klofft photo.

polar bear in Churchill

Polar bear family moving to safety away from a male bear. Jeff Klofft photo.

Polar Bear Season – Churchill Adventure

Jeff and Kathy Klofft from Boston continue their guest blog series documenting their trip to Churchill last fall with Natural Habitat Adventures. Enjoy!

Our Churchill Adventure Trip Report

Of course, our first flight was canceled…we didn’t even leave Boston before our plans were derailed!  (see our blog post about our challenges getting to Canada from Boston) Go See it Travel

Luckily, we were supplied with contact numbers from both our travel agent Expeditions Trips and the Natural Habitat Adventures in Winnipeg. We called both to let them know our new arrival time- unfortunately 12:30 AM, meaning we’d miss our briefing dinner, but would be likely to make our Sunday AM charter with our group. The Expeditions Trips agent called as soon as the day started on the west coast where they were located, and we spoke to a super helpful representative at Nat Hab in Winnipeg, who assured us we would be picked up at the airport even with our late arrival and told us all of the details we need to know. The driver was there as promised, our guide, Katie, left us all the briefing information we needed for the next day, and vouchers for the dinner we missed (which we couldn’t use but appreciated!) An example of how seamless and proactive Natural Habitat was, was that our driver made a point of explaining that on our charter flight the next morning, we should take note of the changes in the ecosystems as we flew north;  from the plains agricultural regions, to lakes region, to the boreal forest and icy tundra. While we had read about this in the pre – departure materials, had the shuttle driver not made a point to share that with us, we might have flown north and not thought to notice this phenomenon from the plane windows, and it turned out to be one of the many amazing experiences we had during our trip!

Fort Garry hotel Winnipeg

Checking into the Fort Garry hotel in Winnipeg. Jeff Klofft photo.

Upon our arrival in Churchill, our first excursion was to the Parks Canada Visitor Reception Centre, where we had the privilege of meeting park ranger, Rhonda Reid, who after taking a moment to remove her outer “non-issue” fleece, stepped into her official role as park ranger, where she regaled us with information about polar bears and stories about life living in in the north in polar bear country. The best stories were about the detention center for unruly juvenile polar bears, who like young drunk college students can sometimes act badly, and are kept a while till the ice freezes and then sent on their way out onto the frozen bay! We also saw many taxidermy specimens of other creatures we might see in the area. (All legally obtained by Parks Canada from wild life law enforcement seizures)

Parks Canada in Churchill

Parks Canada ranger Rhonda Reid interprets a polar bear den for travelers. Jeff Klofft photo.

 

After our stop at the Visitors Center, we made our way by bus with our driver for the trip, Stephanie, to the Rover Launch area for Great White Bear Tours, one of two outfitters permitted to run vehicles in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area.

Don Walkoski Great White Bear Tours

Don Walkoski, founder of Great White Bear Tours and the Polar Rover vehicles and driver Stefanie, Jeff klofft photo.

We enjoyed some wildlife spotting from the bus on the way to the launch and on the tundra as the sun set.

red fox on tundra in Churchill, Manitoba

A red fox prowls the tundra for lemmings under the snow. Jeff Klofft photo.

Stu, our steady Polar Rover driver. Jeff Klofft photo.

We were introduced to our Rover driver for the duration of our visit to Churchill, Stu, a retired RCMP and current polar river driver for Great White Bear. Stu, not only shared insight into life in Churchill, having grown up there, but was also very knowledgeable about the animals we saw and helping guests to spot them in the distance. When the rover was stopped for meals or snacks, he quickly transitioned to waiter extraordinaire, serving amazingly gourmet meals from coolers in the rear of the rover. We were also pleasantly surprised by the level Natural Habitat went to accommodate special diets.  There were few vegetarians and others with religious diet restrictions, which were accommodated cheerfully and unobtrusively.

 

Replica polar bear den at Parcs Canada Visitor Center in Churchill. Jeff Klofft photo.

I had heard the rovers described as school buses on big wheels, but they are much more than that! The heated extra wide vehicle with a marine style toilet in the rear, comfortable coach bus style seating, a large mesh grate floor viewing platform in the back, made for a very comfortable day in the rover!

Polar rover and polar bears in Churchill

Polar rover with curious polar bear nearby. Brad Josephs photo.

 

CWMA churchill sunset

Churchill sunset across the tundra of the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. Jeff Klofft photo.

 

polar bear under polar rover

A polar bear under the grated back observation deck on our Polar Rover. Jeff Klofft photo.

Check in tomorrow for polar bear action in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area and polar bear photos from the phenomenal adventure the Klofft’s experienced!

Polar Bear Season – Guest Blog II

Continuing our guest blog series from Jeff and Kathy Klofft from Boston, Massachusetts. The couple chronicle their travels with photographs and a blog post detailing their trip and post their stories on Go See It Travel website. This Churchill post follows yesterday’s post on their polar bear adventure in Churchill during this past polar bear season.

My tips for planning a Polar Bear Safari in Churchill

Here’s what we’ve learned.

There is no “road to Churchill”, so visitors will have to take a flight from Winnipeg, Manitoba or take the train over a couple of days to get into Churchill. Once in Churchill, you’ll need to find a hotel or guest house.  The polar bear season is the top tourism season in Churchill and there are only a few hotels or guest houses available in a very small outpost town and they will book up quickly, so advance reservations are critical.

churchill airport

Arriving at the Churchill airport. Jeff Klofft photo.

polar bears in Churchill

Polar bear viewing from Great White Bear’s polar rovers. Jeff Klofft photo.

So if going it alone sounds complicated, there are several full service tour companies that offer packages that include transportation, lodging and daily activities to see bears and learn more about the culture and people of Churchill. We chose to travel with Natural Habitat Adventures (click here) They use some of the same outfitters you would use if you book your own trip, (and you might find, they’ve already booked most of the lodging for their guests)  We were very happy with our Nat Hab trip because of their excellent guiding, partnership with the World Wildlife Federation, and the addition of unique opportunities to learn more about the culture and people of the north. But we mostly chose Nat Hab because they handle all the details of the trip for their guests, in an environment where “smooth” isn’t even used to describe the ice on Hudson Bay!  Between the weather, food arriving only occasionally by train and a busy, short tourist season in a village with only a few services like restaurants and hotels, it was nice to have someone else handling all the details. The weather alone can cause itinerary changes almost hourly, and our Natural Habitat Guide, Katie, handled them all with her cell phone and a smile, and communicated them well to our group, while we relaxed and enjoyed the scenery!

natural habitat churchill

Natural Habitat small group experience. Jeff Klofft photo.

Although it was a “group tour”; and nature people generally avoid “groups”; our group of 16 had our own polar rover, which could have easily held twice our group, so everyone had their own window seat and a seat next to them for gear.  Had we gone alone, we would have shared the rover with a much larger group vying for space on the outdoor platform and at the windows. The food served was excellent, and I didn’t realize how challenging that must have been until I toured the Northern department store in Churchill and saw that the whole produce section could have fit in my carry on bag! The prices were also shocking, making me appreciate how difficult it must be for local people to fill their fridges! It was a splurge to travel with Natural Habitat, as most safaris in remote areas are, but the testament to whether it’s “worth it” was hearing from one couple in our group who was on their 5th trip to Churchill, and even though they were very familiar with the area and had planned their first couple of trips independently, they choose to return with Natural Habitat for last few because they felt the experience offered was worth the expense.

(As far as budget planning- when planning all inclusive guided safaris in the wilderness just about anywhere in the world, I have found I need to budget $500- $1000 per person per day.  I will often compromise on the length of a nature trip rather than miss a peak wildlife experience by going at a cheaper time and missing the natural phenomena I came to see!)

Guest Polar Bear Blog – Polar Bear Season

Before northern lights season starts we wanted to post this blog series from Kathy and Jeff Klofft from Boston. The couple joined Natural Habitat Adventures last fall on a polar bear trip to Churchill and documented the trip in a blog by Kathy and some awesome photos from Jeff. Their blog site is Go See It Travel documenting their adventures around the USA and world. These next few days we will publish their account of Churchill as well as lots of photos from the experience! Enjoy.

Polar Bears of Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

polar bear churchill

Polar bear on the Churchill tundra. Jeff Klofft photo.

There are only a few places in the world to see polar bears in the wild.  This opportunity is further restricted by the fact that generally solitary polar bears have a huge territory range for most of the year and most live year round out on polar ice that is virtually inaccessible to human beings. The bears eat primarily seals, hauling them out of their breathing holes in the ice with their enormous paws. Some of the bears living furthest south, such as the population near Churchill have to move to land for a few months when the ice melts each summer.  One place where polar bears can be seen is in Churchill Manitoba in the Wapusk National Park in Manitoba, Canada. The park area was created on the shores of Hudson Bay, where polar bears wait for the ice in Hudson Bay to freeze each fall. The bears don’t eat during the summer, spreading out in Northern Canada or denning up to give birth to cubs, and are just waiting for the ice to form again, so they can go back out hunting.

polar bear sow and cub churchill, Manitoba

A mother and her cubs wait for the ice to freeze on Hudson Bay to begin hunting seals. Jeff Kloft photo.

With a helicopter (like the researchers use) or lots of time living in bear country, a human might have an encounter with a bear during the 8 months, or so of the year that the bears are on ice, but most chances for bear and human encounters in Churchill will be in the late fall, mid October to mid November, when the bears start to literally lie on the shores waiting for the ice to from.  Watching the bears on the shore waiting reminded me of this adaptation of a phrase about boiling water…”a watched bay never freezes!” But their month long wait on the shores of the Hudson Bay also provides a chance for human/bear encounters.

polar bear sign churchill, Manitoba

Polar bear warning sign in Churchill. Jeff Klofft photo.

For most of human history, polar bear/human encounters consisted of bears being hunted by Inuit people who used every part of the bear for survival, or dangerous encounters where bears sought human food or sled dogs and had to be destroyed to protect people and property.  We learned from our guides that governments who operate in polar bear range states joined together to make agreements which would allow traditional hunting for people who rely on polar bears for survival, but protect them commercial hunting, which was decimating the numbers of polar bears in the wild. Since then, efforts were made to ensure bear/human conflicts could be avoided. Polar bear tourism was developed to happen only in the safest ways for both humans and bears.  During our trip we heard from Elizabeth Kruger, World Wildlife Federation Arctic and Bering Sea Program Officer, that local residents have been empowered and trained to use bear patrols to redirect bears from populated areas, and local activists have changed garbage handling methods to discourage them from seeking human food.  Our polar rover driver described that growing up in Churchill, the family would go out to the dump to see bears.  Today, creative handling and containment of garbage have eliminated the bears at the dump and they roam where they belong, in the tundra.  In Canada concessions were given to allow operators to allow polar bear tourism in the safest possible way.

welcome to Churchill Jeff Klofft

Welcome to Churchill sign on the outskirts of town. Jeff Klofft photo.

So…bears are being conserved, but there are only a few weeks a year in Churchill when it’s practical to see polar bears, and the location to find them is still very remote…so how do you “go see it”?!

Tomorrow we will post more of the blog and answer the question above.

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