{"id":375,"date":"2014-12-08T13:45:09","date_gmt":"2014-12-08T18:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ustoa.com\/blog\/?p=375"},"modified":"2022-11-10T16:46:39","modified_gmt":"2022-11-10T21:46:39","slug":"touring-manitoba-with-tauck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustoa.com\/blog\/touring-manitoba-with-tauck\/","title":{"rendered":"Touring Manitoba with Tauck"},"content":{"rendered":"

by an AFAR Ambassador<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

I had never heard of Churchill, Canada.\u00a0 I must have somehow glossed over my northern neighbor\u2019s most central province in my junior high World Geography class, as well as on the wall-sized map that hangs over my camel colored sofa in my New York City apartment.\u00a0 Although I had only been to Canada once, to its capital city of Toronto, the turquoise waters of Banff and Lake Louise, the modern and much talked-about hub of Vancouver, B.C. and the slopes of Whistler all ranked high on my \u201cto travel to\u201d list.\u00a0 But Manitoba<\/a>?\u00a0 Any idea of this place was as unfamiliar to me as Tajikistan– even more so, as I had previously heard of Tajikistan.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The town of Churchill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Churchill, a town that claims 923 residents, but from what locals say only actually has about 600-700, is the polar bear capital of the world and is located in northern Manitoba.\u00a0 It hugs the Hudson Bay and is a place where the First Nation people of Canada, the Inuit, Cree and Maite, have been for thousands of years.\u00a0 They were a nomadic people for centuries, living off the land and hunting moose and caribou, and had found a way to make it in winter\u2019s harsh conditions.\u00a0 Yet, they never settled in this particular area that is now deemed Churchill, because they knew it wasn\u2019t their<\/i> land: it was the land of the Western Bay polar bear, who comes to this area every year in the months of October and November and waits for the sea ice to form on the Hudson Bay, in anticipation of their yearly migration northward to hunt for ring seals.\u00a0 Canada established the town of Churchill right on the Bay, which served as an integral port for the fur trade of the early 17th century, as well as a military base during World War II and beyond.<\/p>\n

On board my inaugural Tauck <\/a>expedition, our group landed in Churchill and headed to the Lazy Bear Lodge, a cozy log cabin hand-built, owned and cheerfully operated by Wally Daudrich, his wife and his five children.\u00a0 I stepped inside the Lazy Bear, and it felt like Christmas and coming home.\u00a0 Filled with twinkling lights, candles and warm, crackling fires, the Lazy Bear Lodge and Cafe was our picturesque launching point for the week.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Lazy Bear Lodge Exterior.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Inside<\/a>
Inside the comfortable Lazy Bear Caf\u00e9.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The following morning, I bundled up in what must have been seven layers of clothing and headed out to the old school bus to meet our guide, Colin.\u00a0 A true outdoorsman, from a small town in Saskatchewan and only in Churchill seasonally for the polar bears in October-November and the beluga whales in the summer, he is who you would hope to have at the helm of your polar bear expedition.\u00a0 Colin teaches arctic survival courses and donned only a t-shirt with the face of a voracious and stoic polar bear on its front and back, with a light jacket.\u00a0 We were ready to go.<\/p>\n

\"Headed<\/a>
Headed out on our first day in search of the bears.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a briefing on polar bears and how to stay alive if we happened to be cruising around Churchill on foot– which, at 38 degrees below Fahrenheit with the windchill factor, I found that to be a highly unlikely personal scenario– we set off along the Hudson Bay until we reached our crawler.\u00a0 These Lazy Bear Lodge crawlers are specially built to navigate the arctic tundra terrain: massive, slick, snow-covered boulders, ice patches and brisk icy streams.\u00a0 It looked like a mobile home on monster truck snow tires, perched high enough in the air to keep its inhabitants warm, dry, and from becoming a hungry polar bear\u2019s lunch.<\/p>\n

Every person or couple had their own window seat, and our Tauck guide, Dale, handed out binoculars and prepped us all with the realization that we may, or may not, see polar bears.\u00a0 Tauck has recently partnered with the BBC to create some incredible content– footage, Dale reminds us, that takes wildlife photographers months <\/i>to collect.\u00a0 Her message was essentially this: although it is inspiring to know what these polar bears look like in such close proximity, this may not be your personal experience<\/i>.\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 But of course, I was hoping to get face-to-face with a bear.\u00a0 Everyone was.\u00a0 It was the dream we all had when we booked this once-in-a-lifetime trip, and it was why we were all sitting bundled so tightly in these below freezing temps, looking like five-year-old children who had been over dressed by their mothers to go outside and build a snowman.<\/p>\n

\"Dale,<\/a>
Dale, our upbeat and fearless Tauck expedition leader.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Within the first five minutes, we spot our first bear.\u00a0 It\u2019s lounging leisurely on some rocks in the far distance.\u00a0 To the naked eye, it looks like a yellowish blob; the bears have been land-bound since the ice melted around June, which means that they\u2019re not the pure white color they will be after they take a swim.\u00a0 It also means they haven\u2019t eaten in four months and are incredibly hungry.\u00a0 If I had my last meal four months ago, I\u2019d be hanging out on the banks of the Hudson Bay and waiting for the ice to form, too.\u00a0 I looked down at my black ski pants and coat– might a bear mistake me for a land seal?\u00a0 I hoped not.<\/p>\n

\"Our<\/a>
Our first bear sighting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The bear stretches, and through my binoculars I can see that it gives a big, unamused yawn, stands up and goes behind some rocks, out of our sight.\u00a0 It apparently was not in the mood to be seen.\u00a0 But, we had spotted our first bear, albeit from a distance, within the first 30 minutes of the day.\u00a0 Things were looking up.<\/p>\n

We continued on our trek, and Colin, our local guide, as well as Dale, also a native Canadian, educate us about the bears, their habits, and about this land.\u00a0 I am so fascinated by how much I didn\u2019t know about a place that is relatively, all things considered, close to where I call home.<\/p>\n

\"Everyone<\/a>
Everyone braced for a bear sighting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The morning passes quickly and we all wait in anticipation to see our next bear.\u00a0 After all, we now know that they\u2019re out there.\u00a0 We sit on the edge of our crawler seats, gazing out the windows to see some tone-on-tone movement of the off-white bears against the glittering white snow.\u00a0 It\u2019s lunchtime, and something about the cold seems to make you extra hungry.\u00a0\u00a0 Hearty sandwiches and chili come to our rescue, and we all take a slight break to relish in our hot meal.\u00a0 My attention is completely and temporarily diverted and is focused solely on my steaming chili, when someone yells out, \u201cbear!!!\u201d\u00a0 In an effort to not spill my lunch, I scramble to the window and see this majestic creature walking towards us, intentionally and stealthily.\u00a0 I think he smelled the chili, too.\u00a0 I discarded my lunch like last year\u2019s fashion and quickly grabbed my camera.\u00a0 He continued towards us and within minutes, was only feet away.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The bear behind the crawler in front of us, headed our way.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"This<\/a>
This polar bear was just a few feet from us, looking up at us as we looked back at him.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The crawler has a back porch kind-of feature, with a metal grate beneath your feet and a surrounding wall that is tall enough to keep the bears from being able to jump on in and have your for their meal, with a side of chili.\u00a0 I ran outside as he headed towards the back, and we all grew still with the bear right below us.\u00a0 His breathing was heavy and I could hear his low growl.\u00a0 I squatted down and came within inches of his face.\u00a0 We were eye-to-eye, and in that moment I had to remember who I was dealing with.\u00a0 This polar bear didn\u2019t want a Coca Cola, no matter how lovable he looked.\u00a0 He came out from under the grate and rose up on hind legs, placing his paws on the ledge.\u00a0 We all gasped and took a step back.\u00a0 We were so close, that I could see the details of his claws and the light shining through the ice on his fur.\u00a0 After a few heavy breaths, he lowered back down, and once he concluded he wasn\u2019t getting chili or Tauck guests for lunch, he lumbered away and crossed a frozen lake, the arctic sun guiding his way.<\/p>\n