Our little Zodiac is gliding along Canada’s Churchill River, and my two kids are hanging their heads over the side looking for beluga whales. The sun reflects off the water as sub-Arctic shrubs dance in the breeze along the shore. We are up early on a long summer day to catch the hide tide, and hopefully, some whales.
Churchill is known as both the beluga whale and polar bear capital of the world, and we have come here to see both.
Suddenly, we spy a white hump breaking the surface of the river and our guide slows down the boat. Six to eight little white whales surround the boat, investigating us as we check them out. Two or three whales swim alongside and turn their heads to look at us. Belugas are the only whales with flexible necks (their seven neck vertebrae aren’t fused). It looks like they are nodding at us, seemingly making eye contact.
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Each summer thousands of beluga whales migrate to Churchill’s coast after wintering in the high Arctic. They give birth and nurse their babies in the relative safety of the Churchill River.
Belugas outnumber Churchill’s human population of around a thousand people by three to one. They are one of the big tourist draws in summer.
Like the belugas, my husband Henry, two sons and I have made the trip to Churchill for a summer holiday. We are here to see polar bears and beluga whales, of course, but also to gaze at subarctic wildflowers, learn about the history of the Hudson Bay and play on the beach.
Another exciting stop on our visit is the Parks Canada Visitor Centre. Exploring the exhibits, we learn about the flora, fauna and people that make their home here. A parks interpreter fascinates the boys with tales of life at the Prince of Wales Fort. They can almost imagine themselves as fur traders in the 250-year-old stone outpost. Just hearing about difficult winters makes me glad we’re there in summer.
From the visitor center we drive to Cape Merry, where we can see the fort across the Churchill River. We line up the canons and pretend to shoot boats coming into the river from the Hudson Bay. Orange “bird perch” lichen color the glacially scoured boulders that we all leap between. We run from rock to rock until we’re overlooking the Hudson Bay where beluga whales are leaving the river for the evening to hunt in the estuary.
Next up, we meet Jim, the driver of our Frontiers North Adventures Tundra Buggy. The boys are so impressed with the giant wheels and high platform of the Tundra Buggy, we wonder if anything else can compare.
Henry and I had been on Tundra Buggies many times during Churchill’s famous polar bear season in October and November, so we’re worried a summer tour might not be as interesting. We soon find out that we’re wrong.
The bright green willows and vibrant pink fireweed blossoms immediately grab our attention. Shallow ponds dot the tundra of the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. Even before we see any polar bears, we’re smitten with this summer buggy tour.
Before long, we see a big polar bear walking slowly along the opposite side of a pond from the road. It stops and relieves itself (which our boys find hilarious) before rambling off into the distance. After lunch in the buggy, we catch sight of another bear; this one walking toward a pond.
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Everyone in the buggy lowers their windows and aims their cameras at the furry, white beast. It wades out into the very shallow pond and lays down. Even though it doesn’t feel especially warm to us, bears get hot in summer and the water chills them out and cools them off.
On the way back, Jim lets the kids “drive” the Tundra Buggy over the rough road — another highlight for kids who are a long way from getting a driver’s license.
Bears, belugas and forts are fun, but I also wanted to see wildflowers. On a walk along the coast of the Hudson Bay, I am rewarded. Crawling over rocks are right, red bearberry berries set amongst shiny, deep green leaves. Anemones and grass of Parnassus fill the meadows. And seemingly everywhere, the downy white tufts of Arctic avens make it look like’s was a troll convention in town.
On our last day in Churchill, Henry and the kids go out to look for belugas from the boat once again. I treat myself to a snorkeling tour. We aren’t five minutes from the port when our guide spots a pod of beluga whales. The four of us snorkelers, donning thick wetsuits and hoods, drop into the cold waters of the estuary where the Churchill River meets the sea in the Hudson Bay. Twenty or so whales swim around us, singing songs and living up to their nickname, “sea canaries.”
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Once again, the whales seem as interested in me as I am in them. They swim close by, emerging from the murky water like magic. A mom with her gray, slick calf swims so close I can practically reach out and touch them.
Our time in northern Manitoba is filled with awe-inspiring encounters with the great white icons, polar bears and beluga whales. It’s also full of history and wildflowers. But, the thing we all take home with us is experiencing these things together. And when we talk about our summer holiday in Churchill, there is more “we” than “I” to our stories. That is what you want from a family vacation — time together experiencing an amazing place.
By Melynda Harrison for Frontiers North Adventures. For more on Churchill and other travel in Canada’s north, visit Frontiers North Adventures.