A Google search and a chance meeting with a traveller were the two key factors involved in a former Stirton resident embarking on an unforgettable adventure.
Kay Ayres, guest speaker at the March congregate dinner hosted by the Seniors’ Centre for Excellence in Drayton, shared details about her trip of a lifetime.
“I wanted to see polar bears and it was the right time for me,” said Ayres.
“I Googled polar bears and found that Churchill, Manitoba would be the place to go. Before booking the trip, I met a lady from Le Pas, Manitoba at the airport in Cuba, who told me to take my trip in the summer to avoid the winter weather. All I would have to deal with was bugs.”
Ayres flew into Winnipeg and spent the night there. The following morning she took a six-seater float plane to Churchill, Manitoba. Access to Churchill is by train or plane. Residents of the town own vehicles as a safety precaution due to polar bears.
“It is easier to drive in the town than to walk and face a polar bear. No one locks their vehicle as they are a refuge in case a polar bear appears. Guards carrying guns patrol the town and shoot their guns off to scare the bears away,” Ayres said.
“Halloween is a difficult time for the community as children want to be out trick or treating. (But) polar bears are attracted to any sign of food including an empty candy wrapper.”
The polar bear population ranges from 20,000 to 25,000, with two thirds of the population in the Churchill, Manitoba area. Polar bears are at the top of the food chain and have no natural predators.
Attacks only occur on the species if they are aged, ill or dying. Their diet consists mainly of seal, which they consume in large amounts before winter to build up their bodies’ fat deposits. Hunting seals becomes impossible when waterways freeze over.
A marine mammal, the polar bear has the ability to swim up to 1,500km before seeking land. A female gives birth every three years to one cub. Moisture around the polar bear’s eyes attracts bugs in summer which can becomes an annoyance. Polar bears are only white in colour.
After her stay in Churchill, Ayres made her way to Seal Heritage River Lodge, north of Churchill. The lodge is open to tourists for six weeks in the summer and six weeks in the fall and can accommodate 15 guests. Surrounded by rough terrain consisting of rocks, musk, few wildflowers and Hudson Bay, Ayres commented that the sunsets were beautiful and the air was crisp, clean and pure, with air temperatures ranging from 65 to 75F.
The lodge took extra safety precautions because of the large polar bear population in the area.
“It was hard getting used to the men at the lodge carrying handguns, knives and bear spray while inside the lodge. Outside of the lodge the hand guns were exchanged for rifles. Something I’m not used to,” Ayres said.
Barred windows covered shutters open only in the daylight hours and spikes were driven through the lodge’s front door from the inside to discourage bears from trying to enter the premises. A fenced compound surrounded the lodge allowing staff and visitors to walk safely outside. During day trips outside of the lodge, guests were accompanied by armed guides.
“When the traveller I met in Cuba told me I would only have to deal with bugs in July and August, she neglected to tell me how bad it really was. Even though I was wearing a bug jacket, a bug hat with nets, long sleeves and long pants, I got bit. The scars from the bites are still on my legs today,” Ayres said.
The bugs did not discourage Ayres from taking tours around the area. A picnic excursion focused on seeing moose, found Ayres riding on a wagon pulled by an ATV. In order to see moose the group was taught to do the “moose dance” by raising and waving their hands in the air. Unfortunately, they only attracted one small moose.
A second excursion found Ayres in a boat on Hudson Bay in search of beluga whales. A sound machine tied to a rope was dropped over board in order to attract the whales to the area. Guests of the lodge had the option to swim with the whales.
Although Ayres did not take the option because of the cold water, other guests donned dry suits and floats, and with a rope tied around their ankles as a safety precaution, used a snorkel, while swimming amongst the whales. Humming is also used as an attraction tool and can bring the whale close enough that some whales have touched a human’s face and head.
“I would encourage anyone interested in a northern adventure to take a trip to Canada’s north. It is one trip that you will never forget,” Ayres said.
