Shoot the Light 2019
The weather has been unusually mild in Manitoba in October 2019. Suddenly, an early November winter storm brought the temperatures down to -20°C (-4°F). Therefore, the conditions to see polar bears upclose should be ideal. This was our second November trip to Seal River Heritage Lodge and it was again a wonderful expedition.
Preparations
Baggage restrictions are strictly enforced on the flights from Winnipeg to Churchill and to the lodge. You are usually allowed 23kg (50lbs.) of checked baggage and 9kg (20lbs.) of carry-on baggage. While the checked baggage is not usually a problem, the carry-on limit is a real challenge. A camera with a long telephoto lens? 4kg (9lbs.). A second camera body with a wide angle lens? 1.5kg (3lbs.). An iPad Pro or laptop computer? 1.5kg (3lbs.). If you add to that batteries, chargers and all the other travel necessities, you‘ll be over the limit by far. Luckily, for this trip, we were traveling with Canon Ambassador of Light, Charles „Chas“ Glatzer on his „Shoot the Light“ workshop/trip. Since this trip was geared towards photographers, there was an additional allowance of one carry-on piece. That‘s why we could take all of our camera gear along…
Winter in Winnipeg
We have been arriving in Winnipeg a few days early to do some sightseeing and to acclimatize to the time difference and temperatures. We visited Assiniboine Zoo, where they have a nice exhibition „Journey to Churchill“. The polar bears in this exhibition are orphans that were rescued by the zoo and would otherwise not have survived. While we generally don‘t like to see animals in captivity, knowing the story of these polar bears changed our view somewhat. The next day, we walked through historic downtown, which is well preserved from the city‘s boom years in the 1920s. Since the climate in Winnipeg is quite challenging (hot summers and extremely cold winters), many buildings are connected by enclosed walkways to protect those working in downtown from the elements. While the temperatures were not extremely low during our few sightseeing days, -5°C (23°F) can feel quite cold with a strong windchill.
On the last afternoon, we were fitting our polar gear. For temperatures below -20°C (-4°F), only the best gear would be sufficient. That‘s why tour operator Churchill Wild recommends to rent the warm Quartz parkas and FXR winter pants from them. They are also renting out boots, but we were comfortable with our polar grade Sorel boots. After everyone of our group was equipped for the days ahead, we met for dinner at the hotel restaurant. It was a nice first evening with Charles Glatzer‘s Shoot the Light group.
Arctic Wildlife
In Churchill, you are exiting from the airplane out on the tarmac, most likely with Arctic temperatures and high winds. Therefore, we already put on our full expedition gear for our early morning flight from Winnipeg to Churchill. That might not be too comfortable for the flight, but it is the best option to protect yourself from the cold upon arrival. Our connecting flight to the lodge with a small Cessna Caravan was not ready when we arrived in Churchill. The hydraulic pipes of the plane were deep frozen since it had been a very cold night. Our pilot was positive to have the plane ready shortly. He was about to heat the pipes with a torch. Sometimes, having less information would be just fine… Anyway, since the plane was not ready, our guides took us to the Polar Bear Holding Facility, or polar bear jail. You obviously cannot go inside this old hangar, but on the outside, there‘s a beautiful mural of a polar bear. After this short stop, we were shuttled back to the airport, where our flight to Seal River Heritage Lodge was ready. Our group of 16 was divided in half, since the plane could only carry 8 passengers. We were part of the first group and can confirm, that the de-icing of the plane obviously worked well!
After a 30 minute flight, we arrived at the lodge. This felt like coming home, since we knew many of the guides and staff from our past trips with Churchill Wild. After a short lunch break, we headed our for our first walk. While we didn‘t discover any polar bears, we saw Arctic foxes and Arctic hares. It was well after sunset when we arrived back at the lodge. Before dinner, Chas gave us some insights into his photography skills. After a long day, we went to bed early and slept like babies.
The following days were packed with unique encounters. Since the temperature had dropped dramatically about ten days prior to our arrival, most polar bears obviously were already out on the unusually thick sea ice. In a world of constantly warming temperatures and increasingly shorter winters, this was absolutely good news. We were happy about this, even though it meant, that we only saw a polar bear mom with a cub during our stay. They were so cute, the cub was always imitating what mom did. And they were not bothered by our presence at all.
While polar bears were few, there was a group of Arctic foxes just next to the lodge. We spent hours watching and photographing these small and extremely cute animals. Some were always busy, running around or chasing each other. But some were just relaxing in the Arctic sunshine. On our hikes, we also spotted ptarmigans, Arctic hare, red foxes and cross foxes. We even saw a snowy owl in the distance. Hudson Bay was already mostly covered with ice, but there were still open patches of water. This open water was considerably warmer than the Arctic air. Especially at sunrise, the water was steaming, making for the most beautiful sunsets imaginable. We spent every morning outside, filling our memory cards.
Our days at the lodge were over much too quickly. The Churchill Wild team was extremely friendly, the food was gorgeous and the lodge was as cozy as you can imagine. We could have easily spent more then four days there. Note to ourselves: Book a longer stay next time…
Since we have seen unusually few polar bears on this trip, Churchill Wild had a surprise for us. They chartered an entire tundra buggy for our small group in Churchill. After flying from the lodge to Churchill, we had the entire day for exploring the costal flats around Churchill. Most polar bears seemed to have left the Churchill area already as well. But we spotted one big polar bear who was just digging this private day bed. That was quite fun to watch. We were extremely happy with all the wildlife encounters we had during our short Arctic expedition, even with fewer polar bears than expected. And as always, Churchill Wild did a wonderful job taking care of us!
Back to Civilization
We arrived back in Winnipeg late in the evening. Since flying in the Arctic is always a bit of a gamble, we stayed for one more day in Winnipeg, before flying to Toronto and back to Switzerland. We used this additional day to start sorting through our more than 6.000 photos. We were very grateful for these wonderful days and were already looking forward to returning in the future.
