Polar Bears Day Two
October 28, 2012 at 10:50 PM
Polar Bear Photo Tour - Day Two - Churchill by Helicopter
Our flight up to Churchill and first day have been amazing. We flew out of Winnipeg at 6:00 a.m. this morning with two great surprises ... The first one was that only our group plus one other passenger was on our flight (it was a 40 passenger plane) and second a beautiful blue sky day opened up which meant some great images and our helicopter tour was able to fly.
Arrival into Churchill we met Steve Club our Churchill guide, and was the same person I had the pleasure of working with last year. We took the group over to the Polar Bear Holding Facility or better known as Polar Bear Jail!!! There is currently 7 bears being held including one that was making enough noise we could hear him from outside. From there we spent some time visiting some of the other areas in town, the shore line, a region were arctic dogs for sledding are held. These dogs by the way are the descendants of the original blood line of sled dogs from eskimo days.
After lunch we headed to the helo port for an areal tour of the region. We were very lucky and say quite a few bears. Our count was 14 from the flight across the tundra.
This evening after an arctic char dinner we visited photographer Mike Macri’s new photo gallery and presentation centre here in Churchill. He presented a digital slide show of his images showcasing different seasons in Churchill. Amazing images and beautiful new facility Mike. Thanks for your hospitality.
Everyone is tired after a full day and heading off to recharge batteries and get to bed early as we have a 7:00 a.m. start tomorrow morning as we head out and spend the entire day on the tundra in the tundra vehicles.
Good night from James and the Photo Tour Trekkers in Churchill and enjoy a some shots from today.
Morning Sunrise
We had the flight to ourselves, Dave with the white hat napping, and Lorna.
Wendy taking a shot of Polar Bear Jail, this was once a US military base.
Polar bear trap, these are located all over Churchill.
Randy waiting for this shot to come over the horizon. Bears can be anywhere!!!
This is a cargo plane wreakage that fell short of the runway many years ago. It is called Miss Piggy becuase it used to haul pig livestock as part of it's cargo.
One of the sled dogs posing for us.
Another one of the sled doys, they were happy to see us.
The sign says it all ...
Hudson Bay shorline
Churchill from the shoreline.
Inukshuk at the shoreline.
Safety briefing before our helicopter flight.
Heading out over the tundra in search of bears.
The wreakage of the Ethica.
Our first sighting out on the ice. Notice the impression in the snow (bottom right) were a bear has been laying.
This bear was testing the ice.
It almost looks like he is in hunting mode!!
Churchill as we approached the helo port. Notice the many train cars of grain. Churchill is also a shipping port for grain.
One of the helicopters we went up in today.
That's it for this evening from Churchill, time to curl up and get some sleep.
Please add a comment
Love the closing pic!
Hope you have a great day, Monday!
Go easy on the salmon aftershave, Jamie.
Please say Hello go Lorna for me!
Cheers and have fun.
Jerry
Love the HDR of the Inukshuk. Enjoy the solitude.
Luv, Mom