Home » Canada » Churchill, the Polar Bear capital of the world

An account of our trip to this fantastic region of Canada, and our encounters with the majestic Polar Bear.

Churchill, the Polar Bear capital of the world

Djb1166
2004-03-11 16:38:12

Displayed times (last time: )

good nights sleep we took our final look around the town before Gary took us
back to the airport for the start of journey to Vancouver. The Airport was surprisingly busy with several TV film crews wandering
around interviewing people. Apparently they were in town to cover the visit of a Canadian politician. We failed to get our 15
minutes of fame on Canadian TV but did manage to get our flight back to Winnipeg and then on to Vancouver.

Well after all Polar Bear activity Vancouver proved to be a disappointment. It rained virtually all the time we were
there which, I guess, we should be used to coming from England. However it really didn't do Canadas west coast any favours
and our trip up to Whistler was a washout with low cloud obscuring most of the superb views that our guide insisted were
there. We were also disappointed by the amount of begging going on in the city at night which made us feel quite
uncomfortable. The worst example of this came when we were dropped 10 yards from our hotel, on the return from the whistler
tour, and were approached by a beggar yet again. It seemed you could barely step outside the hotel door without being
asked for money. It was a shame as the location of the city was great and I am sure, given some sun, the views would have
been superb.

Excepting the Vancouver stop over this was a fantastic trip. If you want to see Polar Bears in their natural habitat then
this is the way to do it. Don't just go to Churchill and go out on the Tundra Buggies as you will miss out on an
essential part of the experience. Get out to the Seal River Heritage Lodge and really experience the arctic and the wildlife
as it should be. The team in Churchill and at the Lodge could not have been more friendly as were the rest of the group and
we could not have had better views of the Polar Bears than we had. Obviously the wildlife cannot be guaranteed but given
the experience of the team at the lodge I am sure you will see something and the whole wilderness experience is not to be
missed.