Friday 13 August 2010

Our last day in Churchill dawned – Boy! Am I going to be sad to leave this place! We set off for our last tour, a zodiac tour to watch more Beluga Whales. This was going to be the tour to stay warm and dry and take lots of photos. Heading out into the Churchill River, we could not see any pods of whales, so we headed for the mouth of the river and that gave us a great view of the Prince of Wales Fort that we had only seen from the opposite river bank.

Just entering the Hudson Bay, I was so excited to actually be in the Bay, not just on the river and able to look over its vast expanse. I almost forgot that we were supposed to be looking for whales. Suddenly we spotted – not whales, but a polar bear up on the rocks below the Fort and we got as close as we could and watched it for a while climb to the top of the rocky breakwater and then settle down for a nice sleep. Three bears in four days – not bad for off season!!

We then found the whales, but every time we got close, they disappeared. After a while we went back up the river and found a pod that was in a playful mood. By now the mist was coming in and an eerie atmosphere settled into the river mouth. I got some awesome photos of whales against the misty background. This pod followed the boat for a long time, coming up right alongside us to breathe and one getting so close that he nearly bumped his head into the propeller. The skipper revved the engine to give him a fright and prevent him from hurting himself. It was over far too quickly and time to return to shore.

With the rest of the afternoon to kill, we walked into town and did some souvenir shopping and saw a fantastic Arctic exhibition complete with life size polar bear den, mother and 2 cubs, Indian wigwams and a fantastic documentary film of the fragile ecosystem of the arctic. Eventually it was time to catch our flight back to Winnipeg and Liam had to practically drag me out to the plane. It took me 3 days of mourning to get back into the swing of the trip and start looking forward to see the Magnificent Rocky Mountains – the next highlight of our wonderful adventure.