Never did I imagine that one day I would be viewing such awesome and iconic animals in the wild AND on foot! Simply an adventure of a lifetime.
Viewing polar bears in the wild in Churchill, Manitoba had always been on the bucket list.
The best viewing time for polar bears normally conflicted with an annual fishing trip to British Columbia, so polar bears had always been put off until a better time. Eventually the stars aligned and in October 2021 we found ourselves en-route to a lodge on the west coat of Hudson Bay, approximately 90 kms south of the Manitoba-Nunavut boundary.
Getting There
The evening before departing north, Claire and I linked up with the other 14 members of our tour group in Winnipeg, Manitoba for introductions and an orientation dinner. Early the next morning we departed Winnipeg on our charter flight to Churchill. After a delay in Churchill due to weather, our group boarded two Cessna Caravans for the 25-30 minute flight to the lodge. Flying at relatively low altitude, we saw several moose during the flight in and, when circling the gravel airstrip prior to landing, we saw our first bears!
Arrival
On arrival we were met by our guides with six-wheel ATVs and trailers (for cargo and people) and prepared for the short ride to the lodge compound. Standing waiting for our baggage to be unloaded from the aircraft, we could see at least four polar bears in the near distance. Two bears were right outside the lodge itself.
Seven polar bears the first afternoon!
Once settled in the lodge, we received a quick orientation and a bear safety briefing then grabbing our gear we headed out on our first afternoon hike. It was short hike but we were fortunate to see seven bears - all sows with cubs. One bear and her 10 month old cub moved off that night, but the remaining five bears remained in the area for our entire stay.
A morning and afternoon hike every day, escorted by some most excellent and knowledgeable guides. We hiked on the tundra and the coastal tidal flats where we saw polar bears, fox, arctic hare and ptarmigan as well as an ancient indigenous hunting campsite.
As a rule we tried to maintain a 100m distance from the bears when we were outside the lodge compound, but the cubs are curious and want to come in close, so the guides needed to intervene (with one guide always watching the mother bear). While the guides were armed with shotguns, bear bangers and bear spray, the sound of two rocks banging together was usually enough to scare off the inquisitive cubs. These close encounters occurred at least once a day.
The viewing platforms at the lodge provided us with excellent opportunities to see the bears up close as well as providing great vantage points to watch and photograph the northern lights at night. Occasionally the curious cubs would come right up to the lodge fence to check out all the critters in the human zoo.
Occasionally the curious cubs would come right up to the lodge fence to check out all the critters in the human zoo.
Lodge Life
The excellent lodge staff took great care of us and the meals were awesome. Looking out onto the tundra and watching polar bears walk past our guest room window was an amazing experience. Situated right on the Hudson ay coastline we were frequently treated to the most beautiful sunrises. The last morning there was the most spectacular sunrise and then just before breakfast the bears showed up - almost as if to see us off.
Overall, this was the trip of a lifetime, with some absolutely amazing wildlife encounters.
Our outfitter was Churchill Wild and we stayed at their Seal River Heritage Lodge. While we highly recommend Churchill Wild, there are several outfitters with many options or packages for viewing polar bears in the Churchill area.
See the trip gallery below for more photos. Additional photos from this trip can be found in the Bears and Wildlife galleries.
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