Highlights and main attractions of Churchill

The small town of Churchill sits on the edge of Hudson Bay in Northern Manitoba and is the starting point for some life-changing polar expeditions into the tundra wilderness. Situated at the most southerly range of a polar bear’s habitat, the milder climate of Churchill means that ice completely melts in the summer months, effectively stranding the bears until the ice freezes again, but creating more favourable conditions for wildlife enthusiasts as you observe them as they wait for the ‘Big Freeze’.

The Nunavut archipelago includes Ellesmere Island, Baffin Island and Victoria Island over a vast area of 2.2 million square kilometres. Ellesmere is just 800 kilometres from the North Pole and has a spellbinding scenic mix of ice caps, glaciers, fjords and vast wilderness. Further southwest of here is Baffin Island, named after the famous explorer William Baffin, this is Canada’s largest island, with a population of just 11,000. It has a picturesque mountain range - Baffin Mountains – with its highest peak Mount Odin at 2,147 metres elevation. It is possible to see Arctic wolf, caribou, Arctic fox, and polar bear here.

Cape Churchill, around 50 kilometres from the town, is the staging point for most bear journeys north across the recently frozen ice. An important area for conservation, it is mainly the large males that hug the shorelines here, usually with between 30 and 40 bears. As we come to the end of the season, the hierarchy here is obvious, with smaller bears or family units keeping their distance.

Polar bears may be the principle attraction, but there area other fantastic wildlife opportunities, from watching or even swimming with beluga whales to birding. Being in the transitional zone between the arctic tundra and boreal forest, there is a variety of wildlife, from Arctic fox, gray wolfs and muskrats, to caribou, arctic and snowshoe hare and mink. Lynx here are a recovering population, but are very rarely seen. There is some fantastic marine life too, with otters, walrus, whales and three species of seal; ringed, bearded and harbour.

Activities in Churchill include dog sledding and scenic helicopter flights. To search for bears we head out in tundra buggies, each fitted out for thirty passengers, but we only allow fifteen so you each have a window seat. Back in the town, learn about the history of this frozen wild west and the fur trade that was once established here.

Accommodation in Churchill is not of the standard of the luxury camps found in destinations throughout Africa, but the infrastructure is reliable and westernised. The emphasis here is putting you in the right place at the right time to maximise your polar bear sightings. The Tundra Lodge is a great example, a train-like structure that is moved at the start of the season to the prime spot, right on the tundra itself. With viewing platforms and observation decks, as well as big windows, you will not miss a thing.