Today was a full-day adventure on the Tundra Buggy! (If you haven't seen this behemoth of a vehicle, you've got to check out the link.) It is absolutely massive and VERY bumpy on the summer tundra.
In the summer the buggy drives around on "roads" constructed by the US Military back in the day when they used the site as a training ground. Sometimes the "road" dips down into one of many lakes, and sometimes it is just easier to drive through one of the hundreds of lakes.
Note that standing at the back of the buggy is not only crazy bumpy, (think back of the bus from school, times a thousand) but dusty. While the views are great; the coating of dust is not.
Land of many Lakes
The lakes are only a few feet deep at maximum and all freeze over come winter. This means that there are only a teeny stickleback fish and a couple of frogs that live in these lakes. The frogs actually freeze in the winter, but survive since they have antifreeze in their blood, which keeps them alive.
These frozen lakes, and ample snow, means a smoother ride for the tundra buggies in the winter. But I still like the summer, as you get the beautiful colours of the vast plant life and flowers. Apparently we're really lucky this year as everything seems to be blooming ahead of time, and at the same time.
Finding North
It isn't hard to find North in Churchill. With the skinny pine trees here you just have to look for the side with no branches. The joke in Churchill is that to make a Christmas tree you have to take two trees and put them together.
Countless birds
Besides the flowers and plant life, there were tons of birds. Snow geese, snow swans, pipers, these whirly birds and dozens of names I can't remember since they're foreign to me. There was always something to look at when cruisin' the tundra.
Polar Bears
The first bear we spotted was a ways away. The buggy seems to go about 5 km/hr, so by the time we got near the water's edge it was walking out into the water and out on a point. You could see it swatting at the horse flies, and generally just content to sit. Such a magnificent creature.
I won the prize for the best spot - the second (and final) polar bear. While we didn't achieve great quantity, we surely made up for it in quality. This bear was more ambivalent to us and was fine with us driving, and parking, pretty close to it. It did everything a photographer would love - sit, walk, lay down, swat at flies, shake its head, sip from the water and more. I'd guess we were watching for about an hour, and even took the opportunity to have some lunch.
Since the buggy started to sink in the bog, we had to move on to the end of Polar Bear Point on more stable ground. We didn't move too far, so the bear ended up making its way towards us! It came so close to the buggy that I could see the bugs on its face. It looked at us, swatted a bit, stuck out its black tongue, and then made its way out into the Bay. We couldn't have asked for a better bear!
Unfortunately we weren't able to spot much else. The arctic fox population has taken a hit due to an outbreak of rabies and mange. Arctic hare are generally hard to spot. Still, with our friendly bear and the rest of the wildlife we saw, it was an amazing day.
Top notch tourists
Having traveled a fair bit, I'm actually pretty impressed with the tourists we've ran across. All are respectful of the environment and surroundings, most have traveled a fair bit and the good majority have excellent cameras. It seems the higher cost and remoteness seem to weed out the chaff you'll usually find in your typical foreign urban or well-traveled haunts. An added bonus!
Last night in Churchill
As the day is winding down, I'm really going to miss this place. Being out of town you find nothing but wilderness and beauty. This place has a certain charm to it that gets under your skin. I can see why foreigners come to live here and pick up work, just to be able to enjoy this beauty every day. Makes you think about what life is about!
Friday, July 30, 2010
More Belugas
The morning started off with a lazy start. With no tour in the morning, and stores opening at 10am, we were able to relax. There was some debate on weather and trying to figure out the rest of our stay. Finally we booked our final tour and just wandered through some stores.
Northern Images
One of the stores you can spend some time browsing is Northern Images. Featuring Inuit and Dene art, it is a co-op that pays their members a fair price for their art. My main purchase was a kick-ass and fully functional ulu!
My break as a Model
Picking up a quick bite at Gypsy's I ended up running into a former University friend. (Of all places!) Turns out that she works for Travel Manitoba and that she's been living the good Churchill life, experiencing all the Churchill fun on her organization's tab!
The job involved shooting and filming Churchill for Travel Manitoba, and finding models had been a challenge. So understanding her struggles - as a fellow Marketing grad - I volunteered to play a prop in the Eskimo Museum. So if you happen to see a Churchill video or advert and you see someone who you think looks like me, odds are it will be! It was a quirky fun thing to do that killed some time before the next adventure.
Kayaking
I love kayaking. Being on the water is so peaceful and relaxing. The steady pace of the paddle, being the master of your fate by choosing where to go, the possibilities are endless. (Well, depending on currents and tides.)
The belugas brought kayaking to a whole other level.
Belugas love to swim with kayaks. Once you find a pod - or a pod finds you - they literally hover under water, watching and swimming next to you. They also love it when you move, as they like to hang out at the back, enjoying the bubbles. There they'll slow turn on their back, belly up, almost waving at you with their fins.
There were several times where we had over half a dozen whales next to us, behind us, and diving under us. If you're lucky they'll also bump the underside of your kayak. For us we got a little nudge on our rudder.
It was an incredible experience that I would recommend to anyone. You actually felt like you were with the whales.
Don't order the steak
Tonight's meal was our freebie at the Lazy Bear Lodge, as part of our package. I was excited to try either caribou or musk ox, but sadly both were not available. With a slab of meat on my mind I went to the third choice - steak.
I like my steak cooked slightly more than rare. My steak was medium to well done. Total fail. Mom had the arctic char with cranberries and other bits, so with presentation alone it seemed like a better choice.
While we haven't tried the more common dishes, I have a hard time recommending any upper end dishes considering the price. And to boot, they don't serve alcohol! The milkshakes weren't bad though.
Northern Images
One of the stores you can spend some time browsing is Northern Images. Featuring Inuit and Dene art, it is a co-op that pays their members a fair price for their art. My main purchase was a kick-ass and fully functional ulu!
My break as a Model
Picking up a quick bite at Gypsy's I ended up running into a former University friend. (Of all places!) Turns out that she works for Travel Manitoba and that she's been living the good Churchill life, experiencing all the Churchill fun on her organization's tab!
The job involved shooting and filming Churchill for Travel Manitoba, and finding models had been a challenge. So understanding her struggles - as a fellow Marketing grad - I volunteered to play a prop in the Eskimo Museum. So if you happen to see a Churchill video or advert and you see someone who you think looks like me, odds are it will be! It was a quirky fun thing to do that killed some time before the next adventure.
Kayaking
I love kayaking. Being on the water is so peaceful and relaxing. The steady pace of the paddle, being the master of your fate by choosing where to go, the possibilities are endless. (Well, depending on currents and tides.)
The belugas brought kayaking to a whole other level.
Belugas love to swim with kayaks. Once you find a pod - or a pod finds you - they literally hover under water, watching and swimming next to you. They also love it when you move, as they like to hang out at the back, enjoying the bubbles. There they'll slow turn on their back, belly up, almost waving at you with their fins.
There were several times where we had over half a dozen whales next to us, behind us, and diving under us. If you're lucky they'll also bump the underside of your kayak. For us we got a little nudge on our rudder.
It was an incredible experience that I would recommend to anyone. You actually felt like you were with the whales.
Don't order the steak
Tonight's meal was our freebie at the Lazy Bear Lodge, as part of our package. I was excited to try either caribou or musk ox, but sadly both were not available. With a slab of meat on my mind I went to the third choice - steak.
I like my steak cooked slightly more than rare. My steak was medium to well done. Total fail. Mom had the arctic char with cranberries and other bits, so with presentation alone it seemed like a better choice.
While we haven't tried the more common dishes, I have a hard time recommending any upper end dishes considering the price. And to boot, they don't serve alcohol! The milkshakes weren't bad though.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Out on the water
Today was our beluga boat tour, and it did not disappoint. We had gorgeous weather with clear skies, a bit of wind and belugas.
Where the Churchill River and Hudson Bay meet, the belugas enjoy a feeding frenzy. There were literally hundreds of belugas that it was hard to tell where to look at times. Absolutely amazing!
Prince of Wales Fort
Our first stop was across the river to the Fort. Created by the British, it was taken over by those pesky French for a short period of time. Over time weather has done quite the number on the site, and now it is being slowly reconstructed. It is hard to imagine this Fort being built in the 1700s! A highlight was seeing a little masonry symbol carved in one of the stones.
Baby Beluga in the Deep Blue Sea
I love belugas. They're playful, not too big, and just so cute. We saw tons of babies, which are grey and swim right along side their mothers. We even had a sonar to listen to their squealing and squeaking. Our two hours on the water passed by like minutes. I just wish I could reach out and touch one!
They don't really have much fear and swim around and under the boats. Sometimes they'll swim behind the boat (under water), enjoying a facial from the bubbles from the boat's motor. If you want to see belugas, this is the place to come.
Tides
A lot of the tours are not only weather dependent, but also tide dependent. When you think of Manitoba you don't really think of it as a maritime province. When you come to Churchill, you can't help but think of it as such.
Eskimo museum
The Museum is home to one of the oldest and most comprehensive collection of Inuit artifacts and sculpture in Canada. Free of charge (donation appreciated), it is an easy way to spend upwards of 45-60 minutes.
Eskimo dogs
A guy in town raises Eskimo dogs, and apparently holds a good chunk of the existing population he is trying to revive. We passed the little pups who were, like pups, bounding about and curious. The best part was their talk - yipping, yelping and a little bit of howling. I've never seen such talkative puppies! I wonder if they could pull me to work in the winter time.
Dining in Churchill
I came here with few expectations, including minimal veggies and fruits. I've been pleasantly surprised with the variety and relative cost. Tonight's meal was at the Tundra Dining room, featuring pizza with olive paste, tomato, artichokes, caramelized onion and feta. Yum!
Creatures spotted: belugas, seal, arctic turns, parasitic jaegers, and horseflies.
Flora: fireweed, yarrow, purple paintbrush, yellow ones, white ones and others I can't remember.
Where the Churchill River and Hudson Bay meet, the belugas enjoy a feeding frenzy. There were literally hundreds of belugas that it was hard to tell where to look at times. Absolutely amazing!
Prince of Wales Fort
Our first stop was across the river to the Fort. Created by the British, it was taken over by those pesky French for a short period of time. Over time weather has done quite the number on the site, and now it is being slowly reconstructed. It is hard to imagine this Fort being built in the 1700s! A highlight was seeing a little masonry symbol carved in one of the stones.
Baby Beluga in the Deep Blue Sea
I love belugas. They're playful, not too big, and just so cute. We saw tons of babies, which are grey and swim right along side their mothers. We even had a sonar to listen to their squealing and squeaking. Our two hours on the water passed by like minutes. I just wish I could reach out and touch one!
They don't really have much fear and swim around and under the boats. Sometimes they'll swim behind the boat (under water), enjoying a facial from the bubbles from the boat's motor. If you want to see belugas, this is the place to come.
Tides
A lot of the tours are not only weather dependent, but also tide dependent. When you think of Manitoba you don't really think of it as a maritime province. When you come to Churchill, you can't help but think of it as such.
Eskimo museum
The Museum is home to one of the oldest and most comprehensive collection of Inuit artifacts and sculpture in Canada. Free of charge (donation appreciated), it is an easy way to spend upwards of 45-60 minutes.
Eskimo dogs
A guy in town raises Eskimo dogs, and apparently holds a good chunk of the existing population he is trying to revive. We passed the little pups who were, like pups, bounding about and curious. The best part was their talk - yipping, yelping and a little bit of howling. I've never seen such talkative puppies! I wonder if they could pull me to work in the winter time.
Dining in Churchill
I came here with few expectations, including minimal veggies and fruits. I've been pleasantly surprised with the variety and relative cost. Tonight's meal was at the Tundra Dining room, featuring pizza with olive paste, tomato, artichokes, caramelized onion and feta. Yum!
Creatures spotted: belugas, seal, arctic turns, parasitic jaegers, and horseflies.
Flora: fireweed, yarrow, purple paintbrush, yellow ones, white ones and others I can't remember.
Arriving in Churchill
After another good night of sleep, we arrived at Churchill at 7am. If anyone is thinking about traveling to Churchill by train, I would recommend splurging and bunking in sleeper class. For two nights of travel, the option of Economy is filled with people and kids. Seeing the people who chose this option this afternoon, you can see how sleep deprived they were.
Chillin'
The temperature we arrived to was nicely crisp: 12 C! The day has been pretty gloomy, foggy, and chilly. Long sleeves have definitely came out, and I'm still resisting pants.
We walked down the main strip in Churchill, which didn't take long. The town is filled with accommodations, tourist shops, tour companies, and a few restaurants. There is a lot of housing and not too many houses.
The main eating spot is a place called "Gypsy's", which is a Portuguese ran bakery, restaurant and even little grocery store. Highly recommended and popular with the locals.
Oddly enough, I haven't found a standard Chinese take-out place that even most small towns have. Hmm, I guess they do have their limits?
City tour
Our first tour started in the afternoon, taking us around town. This was a great tour than allowed us to explore the far reaches.
We started north of town, viewing the shipping port where the grain is held. This started back in the 1930s, but has really taken off recently. Today the first ship was scheduled to come in for this year's season. It wasn't certain whether it would be able to come in today, as the weather was iffy, but we could see it sitting out in the Bay.
Next was Cape Merry, which has a Battery and a great view of the Bay and Churchill River. We also saw a large pod of belugas feeding at the mouth of the river. The views of the rocks, colourful flowers and lichens was absolutely brilliant. The rocks are the same as you'd find in Whiteshell, but seasoned by the different environment. I can see why people find themselves enthralled by Churchill's beauty.
After weaving back through Churchill we emerged on the east side up the coast. On our way to Miss Piggy we had the most delightful treat - a polar bear! There he was, big and lazy. At this time of year polar bears are in a walking hibernation. While they don't sleep, they don't eat or move around much. They can wonder in to town, so Manitoba Conservation has guards on regular duty to shoot warning shots in the air to scare away any wayward bears. Fortunately, and unfortunately for the camera, the bear was far enough away to be anywhere near danger.
However, since the bear was close enough to Miss Piggy, we weren't able to go play inside the aircraft. I do think the polar bear was worth the trade though!
Chillin'
The temperature we arrived to was nicely crisp: 12 C! The day has been pretty gloomy, foggy, and chilly. Long sleeves have definitely came out, and I'm still resisting pants.
We walked down the main strip in Churchill, which didn't take long. The town is filled with accommodations, tourist shops, tour companies, and a few restaurants. There is a lot of housing and not too many houses.
The main eating spot is a place called "Gypsy's", which is a Portuguese ran bakery, restaurant and even little grocery store. Highly recommended and popular with the locals.
Oddly enough, I haven't found a standard Chinese take-out place that even most small towns have. Hmm, I guess they do have their limits?
City tour
Our first tour started in the afternoon, taking us around town. This was a great tour than allowed us to explore the far reaches.
We started north of town, viewing the shipping port where the grain is held. This started back in the 1930s, but has really taken off recently. Today the first ship was scheduled to come in for this year's season. It wasn't certain whether it would be able to come in today, as the weather was iffy, but we could see it sitting out in the Bay.
Next was Cape Merry, which has a Battery and a great view of the Bay and Churchill River. We also saw a large pod of belugas feeding at the mouth of the river. The views of the rocks, colourful flowers and lichens was absolutely brilliant. The rocks are the same as you'd find in Whiteshell, but seasoned by the different environment. I can see why people find themselves enthralled by Churchill's beauty.
After weaving back through Churchill we emerged on the east side up the coast. On our way to Miss Piggy we had the most delightful treat - a polar bear! There he was, big and lazy. At this time of year polar bears are in a walking hibernation. While they don't sleep, they don't eat or move around much. They can wonder in to town, so Manitoba Conservation has guards on regular duty to shoot warning shots in the air to scare away any wayward bears. Fortunately, and unfortunately for the camera, the bear was far enough away to be anywhere near danger.
However, since the bear was close enough to Miss Piggy, we weren't able to go play inside the aircraft. I do think the polar bear was worth the trade though!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Traveling by Train
The train trip to Churchill takes two days from Winnipeg. The distance from Winnipeg to Churchill they say is 1000 kms. The reason it takes so long is two-fold:
1. Stops along the way
There are a few stops along the journey. The main ones in the southern part of Manitoba are Dauphin, The Pas and Thompson (the latter of which a boatload of people get on). From there, there are a some stops in the northern part of Manitoba - mainly small reserves that are mainly accessible by train. Even cargo is carried to these reserves by train. And wow are they remote.
2. Speed of travel
While there are times a decent speed is achieved from the train, a good part of the northern trip you're going somewhere near 50 kms/hr (from my judgment). My suspicion is that the train tracks can't handle the fast speed, as I remember hearing reports of the track needing upgrading. Even grain shipped to Churchill's port gets carried in smaller cars, since it is what the tracks can handle.
American delays train
I found out the reason for our near 45 minute delay - a (not-so-bright) American. From what I can tell she flew into somewhere in the US and drove to Winnipeg. "Normally", she explained, "the boarder crossing is only 5 minutes. I didn't think it'd take an hour!" She lives in Hawaii.
Now maybe I'm too type A, but I would think that the average traveller would know to give themselves more than 5 minutes of slack when crossing an international boarder. I still can't believe that Via held the train for her!
Via Rail customer service
The transition from train to bus went pretty smoothly, as there were only a handful of staff to take care of our train. Soon we were packed - even including a washing machine! - and on our way.
On our trip there we received free drinks (pop, juice, iced tea) and cookies. This was on top of our free continental (read: toast) breakfast. They also made a detour to Pisew falls to take in the beautiful sights.
Finally, they took care of dinner for those of us in the sleeper car. Great service!
Smoking
I feel like I've stepped back in a former Europe with the amount of smoking I've encountered. I think one of the reasons the train stops is so that everyone, including the staff, can take smoke breaks. It seemed like half the train smoked! When we stopped in Thompson, I saw 16 year olds smoking. Quite the eye opener.
1. Stops along the way
There are a few stops along the journey. The main ones in the southern part of Manitoba are Dauphin, The Pas and Thompson (the latter of which a boatload of people get on). From there, there are a some stops in the northern part of Manitoba - mainly small reserves that are mainly accessible by train. Even cargo is carried to these reserves by train. And wow are they remote.
2. Speed of travel
While there are times a decent speed is achieved from the train, a good part of the northern trip you're going somewhere near 50 kms/hr (from my judgment). My suspicion is that the train tracks can't handle the fast speed, as I remember hearing reports of the track needing upgrading. Even grain shipped to Churchill's port gets carried in smaller cars, since it is what the tracks can handle.
American delays train
I found out the reason for our near 45 minute delay - a (not-so-bright) American. From what I can tell she flew into somewhere in the US and drove to Winnipeg. "Normally", she explained, "the boarder crossing is only 5 minutes. I didn't think it'd take an hour!" She lives in Hawaii.
Now maybe I'm too type A, but I would think that the average traveller would know to give themselves more than 5 minutes of slack when crossing an international boarder. I still can't believe that Via held the train for her!
Via Rail customer service
The transition from train to bus went pretty smoothly, as there were only a handful of staff to take care of our train. Soon we were packed - even including a washing machine! - and on our way.
On our trip there we received free drinks (pop, juice, iced tea) and cookies. This was on top of our free continental (read: toast) breakfast. They also made a detour to Pisew falls to take in the beautiful sights.
Finally, they took care of dinner for those of us in the sleeper car. Great service!
Smoking
I feel like I've stepped back in a former Europe with the amount of smoking I've encountered. I think one of the reasons the train stops is so that everyone, including the staff, can take smoke breaks. It seemed like half the train smoked! When we stopped in Thompson, I saw 16 year olds smoking. Quite the eye opener.
The next adventure: Churchill
A journey of firsts
This week brings a new adventure - exploring the north of my own province. It's a place I've always wanted to go, and a place many people have on their travel list: Churchill!
First #1 - Going by train in Canada
I've traveled by train quite a bit in Europe, as it is a pretty standard way of travel. In Canada, it is more of a luxury method of travel.
We ended up going all out and choosing sleeper class, as I'm too old to spend two days and two nights in a chair. The commercials from Via touted train travel being luxurious and fancy and spacious.
They got the spacious right - compared to a plane. But the interior actually reminds me of old planes, with some well worn decor and a bathroom door that doesn't stay closed. Now I'll take the commercials I saw with a grain of salt, as the Churchill run is very small. I'd imagine one some of the more popular routes in Ontario that the cars would be a bit more spiffed.
Still, I'm excited to see my province by train.
First #2 - Traveling without my spouse AND with my mom
This is our first trip together - without dad. The reason this trip came about was because mom had always wanted to go to Churchill, but dad didn't. So when the Via rail sale came about, it made perfect sense. (Plus I have more vacation time than my spouse, so that too helped.)
Leaving without my spouse was more challenging than I expected. But doing the math, it started to make sense. In all the years we've been together (almost six years), we've never traveled without each other. And for someone who is so independent, it is strange to feel a part of me missing.
The journey
Our train was quite delayed from departing, as we were apparently waiting for one person to board. Now on a plane this makes more sense when (1) checked luggage is involved, and (2) the person is delayed because of a connection. But a train? And about 45 minutes!
The next hiccup is that there is a derailment on the track ahead. So at The Pas we have to get off the train, board a bus for four and a half hours to Thompson. And this happens at 5:30am. (Which is better than the 1:30am time we were initially given) So we'll see how smooth the process is.
This week brings a new adventure - exploring the north of my own province. It's a place I've always wanted to go, and a place many people have on their travel list: Churchill!
First #1 - Going by train in Canada
I've traveled by train quite a bit in Europe, as it is a pretty standard way of travel. In Canada, it is more of a luxury method of travel.
We ended up going all out and choosing sleeper class, as I'm too old to spend two days and two nights in a chair. The commercials from Via touted train travel being luxurious and fancy and spacious.
They got the spacious right - compared to a plane. But the interior actually reminds me of old planes, with some well worn decor and a bathroom door that doesn't stay closed. Now I'll take the commercials I saw with a grain of salt, as the Churchill run is very small. I'd imagine one some of the more popular routes in Ontario that the cars would be a bit more spiffed.
Still, I'm excited to see my province by train.
First #2 - Traveling without my spouse AND with my mom
This is our first trip together - without dad. The reason this trip came about was because mom had always wanted to go to Churchill, but dad didn't. So when the Via rail sale came about, it made perfect sense. (Plus I have more vacation time than my spouse, so that too helped.)
Leaving without my spouse was more challenging than I expected. But doing the math, it started to make sense. In all the years we've been together (almost six years), we've never traveled without each other. And for someone who is so independent, it is strange to feel a part of me missing.
The journey
Our train was quite delayed from departing, as we were apparently waiting for one person to board. Now on a plane this makes more sense when (1) checked luggage is involved, and (2) the person is delayed because of a connection. But a train? And about 45 minutes!
The next hiccup is that there is a derailment on the track ahead. So at The Pas we have to get off the train, board a bus for four and a half hours to Thompson. And this happens at 5:30am. (Which is better than the 1:30am time we were initially given) So we'll see how smooth the process is.
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