Day twenty

Here's the most important shot of the day.Yes people, those are BABY polar bears. With their mum. How freakin' cute are they? These babies are about 10 months old.

This afternoon we travelled back to Churchill and spent an hour in town before heading back to the airport. We flew back to Winnipeg and arrived around 8.pm. After three exhausting days on the tundra buggy seeing the amazing polar bears, we crashed out (after having our first showers for three days).

Day nineteen

Today I will mostly let the photos speak for themselves.
Except for this one. The story here is that one of the tundra buggies blew a tyre and it had to be changed. Going on the ground in polar bear territory is not advisable. There were three men to change the tyre, and one man to stand on the roof of the tractor (being used to jack up the tundra buggy) with a shotgun in case of polar bears. Just as well he was there too. One very large male bear spotted the potential for some lunch and snuck up in the grass. The tyre changing boys jumped into the tundra buggy until he went away. But he didn't go away. He got closer and closer (very slowly) until they had to get in the mechanic's vehicle and drive at the bear to chase him off. We called it polar bear reality tv.

This is a snowy owl. They nest on the ground. Well, there are no trees.

Day eighteen

After our first night on the Tundra Buggy Lodge, which was an experience, let me tell you. We had bunks, which is fine. But there were 18 of us in one buggy and we had one shower and two toilets for all those people to share. It was ... cosy. But seeing these magnificent beasts made it totally worthwhile.

This is the outside of the lodge. Sorry about the reflection, I didn't have much more opportunity to get a good photo.OH MY GOD look it's a polar bear! This one spent most of the time just sitting in the kelp bed and waiting for the ice. He would sometimes raise his head as we drove past, but mostly he ignored us and slept.
This one did almost the same thing.
Want to know what a polar bear butt looks like? I have many variations on this shot.
This bear obliged by at least not showing me his butt as I took the photo.
And here's the sunset from our second night. It had snowed early in the morning then cleared up and we had great weather.

Day seventeen

This morning we got up at quarter to dawn to fly to Churchill to see POLAR BEARS! We landed in Churchill after a two hour flight at about 10am. Here's a picture of our plane on the runway after we got on the bus.
This is the world famous polar bear jail! Bears that are caught too close to town before the sea ice freezes are trapped and kept here until they can be released a safe distance away out on the sea ice. They don't get fed, they only get water to drink. It's to encourage them not to come back.
The bears are caught in these traps.
I don't know if I've mentioned how cold it was in Churchill. Oh and those white dots you see in the picture? Not bad photography, no no, that's snow.
Just up the road from the sign that says you shouldn't walk in this area because there are polar bears about, is this boat. The locals have turned it into a sort of playground. We didn't go and play, you know, because of all the polar bears that were about.
After lunch in town (not an exciting place, if you're not going to see polar bears I really don't know why you'd go to Churchill) we had booked a helicopter flight out over the tundra. These are the helicopters we went on.
FIRST POLAR BEAR SIGHTING!! Okay it's a bit blurry but I was excited and it's hard to keep a camera really still on a helicopter.

The countdown continues

Today it's 6 weeks and 6 days til we leave. Neither of us can wait. We received the final itinerary from the polar bear trip yesterday and are SO excited. We've got 2 days out on the tundra, a helicopter flight and some time in Churchill to look forward to. YAY it's getting closer!

Getting closer

On Friday we passed the eight-week-til-our-holiday mark. Both of us are so looking forward to it we can hardly stand it. I have been practicing taking photos with the new camera, mostly of poor Huffle who has learned to hate the sounds of the flash firing up, ready for extreme polar bear photography!

Every night, the boy Google Earth's the tundra buggy in Churchill. Unsurprisingly, it hasn't moved in the past two days. But we could see polar bears right outside which is THRILLING.

My boss is starting to realise that I will be away for a whole month, and oh my god who is going to do my work? It's kind of funny but I do feel a bit sorry for her. I do a lot of things that she doesn't have the technical knowledge to manage so I think a lot of things will be waiting until I get back. Oh well.

Geared Up

On Saturday, we went shopping. We bought the cold weather gear. We spent a fortune. All I can say is, I'm glad it's winter here right now so we are getting some use out of the cold weather gear.

I bought:

• puffy down jacket
• ski pants
• polar fleece pants for inside
• merino wool zip up hoodie (WAY cool)
• waterproof/windproof cool jacket
• thermal underwear
• socks
• beanie
• gloves

The boy bought:

• puffy down vest
• base jumping pants (no, I don't know why either)
• polar fleece pants for inside
• thermal underwear
• merino wool zip up hoodie (not as cool as mine)
• waterproof/windproof cool jacket
• goretex jacket
• polar fleece shoes (for inside, they are hideous, he loves them)
• socks
• beanie
• gloves

Notice the boy's list is bigger than mine. And we discovered that they have charged us twice for his puffy vest. But he is so pleased with it he thinks he might just ask for another one anyway.

Itinerary Part 4

After we have spent two days at the Chateau Lake Louise, we'll be travelling to Calgary to get on a plane and fly to Winnipeg for the polar bear trip! This is the whole reason for this holiday. I am so excited about it. This is what we'll be doing on this trip:

Tundra Buggy Lodge Adventurer
Dates Oct 19, 2008 - Oct 22, 2008
Tundra Buggy Days 2
Lodging 3 nights Tundra Buggy Lodge
Average Day Temperature High/Low -1 ° C (31 ° F)/-7 ° C (20 ° F)

Sample Itinerary
Day 1
Early morning departure from Winnipeg. You'll have some free time in Churchill before being transferred to the Tundra Buggy Launch mid afternoon. Board the Tundra Buggy and begin the trek to the Lodge, meandering along the tundra. Providing opportunity to view, photograph, and learn about Polar Bears, other arctic wildlife and the environment. Arrive Tundra Buggy Lodge for your first overnight stay.

Day 2 - 3
After breakfast, depart the lodge by Buggy, spending the day on the tundra in search of wildlife. Overnight Tundra Buggy Lodge.

Day 3
After breakfast, depart the Lodge, spending the day on the tundra and returning to Launch for your return transfer to Churchill. Spend a short time in Churchill before being transfered to the airport for an evening departure back to Winnipeg.

Activities
Tundra Buggy Adventure
The best way to experience an intimate encounter with a wild polar bear is on an authentic Tundra Buggy. All of our Tundra Buggies are all furnished with dual-pane frost-free windows and contain propane heating systems that closely resemble a cozy fireplace, with real flame (behind glass). Each day, we depart early and board our world famous Tundra Buggies looking for polar bears and other wildlife out on the tundra. You will enjoy picnic style lunches and refreshments while you are bear watching.

Churchill and Area Tour
A guided bus tour of local and historical points of interest surrounding Churchill, including such attractions as Cape Merry, Port of Churchill and Manitoba Conservation's Polar Bear Holding Facility (weather permitting).

We've also included an optional helicopter flight over the tundra, during which we are guaranteed to see polar bears (or our money back). I'd rather see the polar bears!