Now I’m off again on my next adventure — more on that in a minute.
We had a great dinner at Bistro on Notre Dame.
Winnipeg – Touring Day
The tour was well worth the time and money. We watched coins being made — from being stamped out of steel sheets all the way to being packed for shipping, and every step in between.
We really enjoyed our tour.
After lunch, it was time to head back to the hotel to pick up our safety equipment, relax, have dinner, and hit the hay.
Tomorrow is a big day. We fly out early to Churchill, where we’ll board a small plane and head to our first location to look for polar bears.
We’ll be staying at Seal River Lodge. Click to see our Location.
I’m not sure what our internet availability will be, so you may not hear from me for the next 11 days. That doesn’t mean I was eaten by a polar bear — it just means there’s no internet!
Day One – Searching for Polar Bears at Seal River Lodge.
At the briefing, they gave us all our safety equipment, which was essentially winter gear reinforced with wire mesh so a bear can’t bite through it. They never answered the question, “What about our heads?”
Good thing I don’t need to be faster than the bear — only faster than the slowest person in our group.
We’re doing this trip with a company called Churchill Wild. They take only 16 people on each trip.
Hudson Bay is tidal, and the water recedes well over a mile. We started our search walking along the edge of the bay, essentially where the water would be at high tide.
Unfortunately, after about three hours of searching, we came up empty-handed. No actual polar bear sightings. It was time to call it a day. We returned to the lodge, changed out of our safety gear, and waited for happy hour at 6:00 PM.
Day Two – Searching for Polar Bears at Seal River Lodge.
After our 8:00 AM breakfast, we donned our foul-weather gear. The temperature was still warmer than usual, but with the overcast skies, it could rain at any time.
We hiked for about four hours. Our guides, Boomer, Marko, and Jess, did a wonderful job.
We returned empty-handed but more than ready for a huge lunch.
We’ll try again tomorrow.
Day Three – Searching for Polar Bears at Seal River Lodge.
Watch this short video:
What it’s like to travel by ATV in Seal River!
Unfortunately, the polar bear could travel quite fast in a straight line, while we had to navigate water crossings and large rocks. Because of that, we couldn’t get any closer.
Tomorrow, we will continue our search for more polar bears.
Day Four – Searching for Polar Bears at Seal River Lodge.
Our last full day at Seal River Lodge. We took the ATVs north before beginning our hike in search of a polar bear.
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We headed back to the lodge for another great dinner. Tomorrow we fly south to another lodge for four more days of searching for polar bears. Let’s hope we have better luck there.
Churchill Wild Video —
Seal River bonus video, six minutes long and worth a look:
Day Five - Travel Day – Heading to Nanuk Lodge.
Today we flew to Nanuk Lodge.
Here’s a video of the event:
Polar Plunge Video.
The flight down — yes, we were heading south — was about an hour long.
Tomorrow, we continue our search for polar bears and hope the one hanging around the lodge will come out from behind the fence.
Day Six – Searching for Polar Bears at Nanuk Lodge.
At Nanuk Lodge, they use vehicles called Rhinos to take us out into the wild. The lodge sits on an island, so to get into the wilderness you must cross one of two rivers — hence the need for these Rhinos.
After breakfast, we departed for our morning safari. For the first time in a week, the sun was peeking out, though it would hide every so often, bringing brief bursts of rain and sleet.
The air temperature was close to freezing, but with our foul-weather gear, we were all comfortable.
As we departed in the Rhinos, we spotted an Arctic fox to the north, near the shore of Hudson Bay.
The photos of the Arctic fox were taken by Steve Pressman of You Gotta Love Nature. Steve is traveling with us on this trip and is a professional nature photographer — some even refer to him as the next Ansel Adams.
After a few miles in the Rhinos, we stopped and began our morning hike.
Almost immediately, a polar bear emerged from the bushes. What a sight — probably well over 1,000 pounds and, standing, over nine feet tall.
Our safety training kicked in: we moved into “blob formation” to make ourselves appear too large to attack. Nineteen humans grouped together look rather intimidating, even to a polar bear of that size.
We stood silently, capturing photos of the bear as it curiously checked us out from just a few feet away. Before long, it relaxed and lay down in the grass, posing for us.
After everyone had taken their photos, we slowly walked away in single file so as not to startle the bear.
As we continued our hike, we came upon a black bear — possibly the same one that had passed by the lodge the night before. It ignored us and wandered off. It was time to return to the lodge for lunch and to share photos.
After lunch, we re-boarded the Rhinos and headed east; in the morning, we had gone west. East of the lodge is the larger of the two rivers that surround it, but the Rhino handled the crossing with ease.
Before long, we spotted a moose — unfortunately too far away for a good photo.
We climbed down from the Rhinos, and after a short walk came upon another polar bear. This one seemed a bit more interested in us than the morning’s bear. We were never in danger, but our guides — Luke, Brandon, and Emri — kept their shotguns ready just in case.
After the bear had finished “posing” (or rather, checking us out), we climbed back into the Rhinos for our drive back to camp.
As we crossed the river heading west, we were treated to a beautiful sunset — a perfect end to a great day of bear sightings.
After dinner, I quickly fell asleep, only to be awakened around midnight to see the Northern Lights dancing across the sky.
The bear photos were taken by Margarite, Gary Nolan, and me.
Day Seven – Searching for Polar Bears at Nanuk Lodge.
After leaving the lodge in the Rhinos and heading south, we spotted the polar bear that had been hanging around the lodge since the day we arrived. He was perched on top of the firewood pile the lodge uses for heat. I think he was just as interested in watching us as we were in watching him.
We continued on and came across a beautiful willow ptarmigan — the state bird of Alaska. I guess it must have gotten lost!
Further along, we saw several moose — a few bulls and two cows with calves. Unfortunately, they were too far away for photos. When it was time for lunch, we headed back to the lodge, crossing the river once again.
After lunch, we went east, hoping to find the moose we had seen earlier. We hiked along the river, but luck wasn’t with us this time.
The good news was that we enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the water.
Now for the exciting part: during dinner, the same bear that had been hanging around decided it wanted to join us!
Watch this ten-second video:
Bear Standing Up Video
After a nice dinner — and a thousand-pound guest trying to crash the party — it was off to bed.
Around 10:00 PM, we woke to the northern lights.
Tomorrow will be another adventure.
Day Eight – Searching for Polar Bears at Nanuk Lodge.
Today after breakfast, we headed west. It was planned as a full-day adventure, taking us farther from the lodge than on any of our previous outings.
We came across a cross built from an old pier dating back to the early 1900s. It was created to honor two conservationists who have since passed away. Both used to visit this area when Nanuk Lodge operated as a goose-hunting lodge.
I was asked about bio breaks while out on these excursions. The guys simply go in nature, while a portable toilet is provided for the women — a bit sexist, if you ask me.
This morning was colder than previous days, and ice had formed along the banks of the waterways.
At the westernmost point of our travels, we came upon a shipwreck from 1913. It was a steamship that lost its boiler in a storm and ran aground. Over the last hundred-plus years, the shoreline has expanded, and the wreck now sits far from the bay.
While we again saw wildlife — all too distant to photograph — it was still a great day out in nature. We’re in an area about the size of California, with only the sixteen of us plus the staff. Kind of crazy to think about.
Being our last day together, we took a group picture with our guides.
Once we returned to the lodge, we enjoyed a nice outdoor fire and made S’mores.
Like most nights, we were treated to a beautiful sunset.
As a parting gift, Steve Pressman — the professional photographer I mentioned earlier — offered each of us a signed copy of one of his coffee-table photo books.
We woke to a beautiful sunrise on our last morning at Nanuk Lodge and set out for a hike through the wetlands.
The temperature was unseasonably warm.
While the scenery was stunning, the trail was quite wet — as you can see in this short video:
A Rather Wet Trail.
Churchill Wild — Nanuk Lodge bonus video, four minutes long and worth a look:
Day Nine – Time to start heading home.
After lunch, we flew back to Churchill.
Upon arrival, we took a brief tour of the town before departing for Winnipeg.
Churchill is in prime Polar Bear country. One of our first stops was the Polar Bear Jail. If a bear refuses to leave town, it gets “arrested” and taken there. Once the jail fills up — about 30 bears — or a bear has spent 30 days in confinement (whichever comes first), they are flown by helicopter 30–50 kilometers away.
Originally, the bears were fed during their stay, but that only encouraged them to return. Now they are only given water.
Throughout town, signs mark areas that are too dangerous to walk because of Polar Bears. The town also has traps set up in various locations to safely capture problem bears.
The permanent population of Churchill is just over 700 residents, and its main economy is tourism.
After our tour, we headed back toward the airport. About one kilometer away were the remains of an airplane that crashed just short of the runway in the 1970s. Fortunately, the ground was covered with several feet of fresh snow, which cushioned the impact and saved the three-man crew.
Once at the airport, we boarded our three-hour flight to Winnipeg. Tomorrow, we fly home.
This was my last international trip of 2025. Canada wasn’t a new country for me, but this year I reached 94 countries and territories visited.
I don’t have another international trip planned until March 2026, but I hope that will be the year I finally cross the 100-country-and-territories mark.
Cheers,
DUG
DUG
