Winnipeg to Churchill and beyond

We are up really early for our 7:00 a.m. departure for Churchill.  We can walk to the airport. It is just minutes away.  We are a bit nervous because of the baggage size requirements, but in the end, we passed through with no problems.  Our plane was a 737.  The front end was all cargo, the back end passengers.  We were loaded and took off, flying north over an increasing barren landscape.  The flight lasted about 90 minutes.  Not much of a wait on the ground, since we were the only plane there.   The flight was going on farther north.

We met the Churchill Wild crew and we were divided into two groups.  The plane flying us north was a De Havilland Otter that could only take a few passengers.  We were group 2, so we had to wait until the flight made a round trip to Seal River. We got on the bus for a tour of Churchill.  It was a Sunday, so most places were closed.  Our delightful driver, Debbie, took us around town, gave us some history and dropped us off for lunch.  After lunch we went back to the airport, which was empty, but the doors were unlocked and we were able to await the flight from Seal River.

We did pass by the polar bear jail, where bears that wander into town are kept until they can be relocated farther away.  You know if the bear has been in jail if it has a green spot on its back.

Bear Jail

We finally boarded our flight north.  We would fly to Seal River and from there change to a float(or sea) plane to continue our journey.  Leaving Churchill we flew over the Churchill River and our pilot banked around so we could see Fort Prince of Wales, built by the Hudson Bay Company in the 1700's.

 The color of the water and the lowlands was beautiful in the fall light.  As we flew over the Churchill River we could see pods of beluga whales.  They looked like pieces of rice floating on the surface.  I did not get a shot of them, but Mike did on our way back.

We landed at Seal River and we were transported to the lodge by six wheeler and a passenger cart.  There was a polar bear waiting along the road as we passed.  We had a brief stop at the lodge to repack our bags and then we were off to the float plane for our trip to the Tundra Lodge at Schmoke Lake.

Seal River Lodge

Bear sunning

Our plane to Schmok Lake Tundra Lodge