This year’s Beluga Whale Tour
Another great trip to Churchill to spend quality time with Beluga Whales and to photograph polar bears.
We encountered friendly pods of belugas every day and had some great encounters with polar bears as they foraged on the shores of Hudson Bay.
‘Snorkeling’ with Belugas.
Purists may say that if you’re being pulled along and not actually kicking, then you’re not snorkeling. That’s kinda like saying if you’re riding an e-bike, then you’re not actually cycling. Whatever you want to call it, being followed by a friendly pod of playful belugas that swim right up to your mask (or underwater camera) is an encounter you’ll never forget!
Eskimo Point
On the far side of the Churchill River Estuary (where we have many of our best beluga encounters) there is a rocky peninsula called Eskimo Point. This is a hotspot for polar bears during the summer months and this year was no exception. We spotted bears on three out of four days while we were out in the zodiacs playing with belugas.
Belugas at High Tide
The timing of our beluga boarding tours is determined by the tides. We head out at high tide for about three hours of beluga boarding each day because this is the only time that the zodiacs are able to launch. Fortunately, it is also the time of day with the best visibility because the clear incoming sea water pushes the cloudy river water back upriver.
Tundra Tours
At low tide, rather than sitting around, we venture onto the tundra to look for bird and animal life and to soak up the vast tundra wilderness.
One spot we always visit is an Arctic Tern Colony, where the territorial terns swoop down menacingly to scare us away from their nests.
Back from the Winter Hunt
On our best bear encounter day, we saw four bears, including a large bear that we spotted swimming in from the ice flow 40 miles north of the coast. That may seem like an epic swim, but there are records of polar bears swimming 800 miles across open water. This is why they are officially classed as marine mammals.
The ice pack had lasted well into the summer this year, which is great for the bears because it means they have had plenty of time to hunt and fatten up. When there is a late end to the freeze, it also usually means that there are a lot of bears close to Churchill in the fall when we run our special Polar Bear trips, so we’re expecting an excellent season.
Primate Watching Tours?
Our beluga encounters are at the whims of the belugas. We never chase them. If a pod doesn’t want to play with us, we respect that and watch them as they move on. But some belugas are incredibly curious and will spend hours following the mats as we lay there with our heads in the water. The belugas have an abundant supply of capelin to eat (a silvery fish that is their favorite food) so after they’ve filled their bellies each day, they have plenty of time to watch the funny looking primates.
The Ithaca
When we’re cruising around the tundra, we usually include a hike out to the Ithaca; a wreck that is almost a km from shore at high tide, but reachable on foot at low tide without getting wet feet.
The Ithaca ran aground in the 70s after it had engine failure in a storm. Its been sitting in the same spot ever since.
Momma Bear
On our final day of beluga boarding we had some phenomenal beluga encounters, but we also saw a momma polar bear with two cubs resting up on the rocks with a nice backdrop of fire weed.
Aurora Borealis
That night, the aurora forecast looked especially good, so when the clouds parted at midnight, we drove out onto the tundra to photograph the northern lights.
This year we had some avid photographers in our group, so I showed them my technique for painting with light to light up the tundra rather than just shooting the aurora against a black foreground.
Kayaking with Belugas
On our last day we switched from beluga boarding to kayaking with belugas. The belugas love playing with kayaks as much as they like seeing people on snorkel, so we got lots of very close passes and a few playful nudges. Shortly before we were due to head back to shore, a squall came in that made the river very choppy. This led to a few capsized kayaks but that just added to the fun.
A great Trip!
The next day we flew back to Winnipeg, but some guests were already planning a return visit. The belugas and bears of Churchill are an amazing sight and the alure of the tundra and hospitality of the locals is hard to beat. Next July we’ll be back in the Canadian north for another very special Beluga Whale Adventure. Join us there!
