Polar Bears at the Seal River Heritage Lodge, Churchill

Winnipeg, 04:30 wake-up call. After a quick breakfast, we head to the check-in. The thick pants (not what you're thinking) and the thick down jacket are bulky and brutally warm. Once arrived in Churchill, it's buzzing like the military, changing clothes in the waiting area before taking a Cessna Caravan about 30' northwest to the Seal River Heritage Lodge. The weather is not cooperating, so we take a small tour to the 'Polar Bear Holding Facility'. There are 28 individual cells available to 'discipline' bears that get too close to humans. People are rarely allowed inside the building, as it would contradict the purpose of the facility. The bears are supplied with water or snow through large bowls in the ground. They don't receive any food, as they wouldn't eat anything in the wild if they were roaming around Churchill. In case of repetition, the bears are marked, equipped with a transmitter, and flown out. Curiously, the local hospital also has 28 beds.

The concentration of polar bears in Churchill has three main causes: the current in Hudson Bay runs counterclockwise, and at Churchill and slightly south at York Factory, large land masses extend far into the Bay, where ice forms and large amounts of freshwater flow into the Bay around Churchill. Freshwater freezes faster than saltwater, and due to the current, the water of the Bay accumulates at this spit of land, causing Churchill to freeze first. After grass, algae, and berries, polar bears are really fond of the fat of seals or belugas in the Bay.

As soon as the weather allows departure in Churchill and landing on the airstrip of Seal River Heritage Lodge, we trudge with our bags and get on the icy airfield in front of the terminal building to board the small aircraft. The group is divided between two planes. We are 2 couples; Bob and Christine from Southern California, Jenny from LA, Vicki from NY, Nate from Seattle, Phil from Kansas, Keith from Calgary, David from Hong Kong, Olivier from Nantes in France, and Stewart from London.

We land near the lodge in beautiful sunshine, we only see ice, water, small bushes, and the lodge, it feels like we have landed on the moon.

The promise was not exaggerated, it is cold, considering the wind chill, we move between -20 to -30 degrees. But once in the lodge, our hearts warm up. The lodge is very beautiful, lots of wood, a big fire in the living room, cozy rooms, perfect! There are no locks, and the room doors are left open at night because the corridor is warmer than the rooms.

We even have running water, one of the lodge team members fetches water from the lake every day, breaking the ice each time to access the water. Depending on water consumption, he does this 3-5 times a day.

After a delicious lunch, we go out for our first hike. To acclimate ourselves, we receive the 35th briefing on how to behave in bear country, okay, up here everything feels a bit more familiar, it seems that the bears will also come closer. Bundled up, the photographers, partly equipped with giant lenses and even bigger tripods, we stroll through the barren landscape. Andy, the longest-serving guide, told us that there is an old bear, and if we see him, we should study his fur and face, as he is in his last stage of life. He stalks around the lodge, red eyes, tired, exhausted look, and yet, our first polar bear!! Wow! Sunset is at 16:17, unfortunately, a few clouds move in, but still, simply beautiful!

Before dinner, there is always a photo session, 'Chas' our photographer, Charles Glatzer, trains us in photography. The participants are all here because of Chas, his trips are usually booked a year in advance, funny enough that we ended up in this group 😃. We just wanted to go to the polar bears with Churchill Wild, and that was the only available date. We couldn't have asked for more.

We are spoiled culinary, nothing is missing, everything is freshly made for us daily, whether it's bread, cookies, or all the delicious dishes.

On the first evening, a bear sneaks around the lodge near the dining room, attracted by the delicious food 😃 exciting to observe him from inside. Then, already at 8:00 pm, we rush outside to see the Northern Lights dancing in the sky ♥️🤩. How cool is that, we don't even have to get out of bed in the middle of the night.

We go out twice a day, in the morning and in the afternoon, exploring the area and watching out for polar bears, Arctic foxes, snowshoe hares, moose, and of course, Ptarmigans. The second bear that visits us at the lodge has a green dot and wears a transmitter, ah, that guy was in bear jail. How exciting to kneel in the snow just one meter away from him, Marcel joking around with him, and it felt like everyone was having a great time. One day, all we had were Ptarmigans everywhere, they really started to annoy us... We want bears!

It was an excellent few days, seeing and experiencing a lot of beautiful things and meeting interesting new people. On Sunday, it's time to pack, the plane to Churchill departs at 10:45 am. The weather is bad in Churchill, and they have to close the airport. Oh! We should receive more news at 2:00 pm. After another delicious lunch, we go out, an Arctic Fox has been spotted, and we want to follow it. Jenny, Stewart, Marcel, and Nina are on the ice with two guides, along with the film crew from National Geographic, working on a film.

Suddenly, there is movement, a polar bear, he comes from the horizon across the ice, walking straight towards us. How exciting. Jody, one of the guides, instructs us to stand still. No one moves. The bear gets closer and closer, sniffs the air, and watches us. Is he coming to say 'hello'? Bella and the guide from the film crew stand between us and the bear. They speak to him calmly, but still, the bear wants to come even closer to us, the guides fetch the first deterrent 'weapon', two stones that they tap against each other. The bear doesn't like that and walks around us to the lodge at a distance of about 12 meters. WOW! That's exactly what makes Churchill so unique, on foot, at eye level with the bear, without a buggy. Thank you 🙏 for the bad weather in Churchill, 'the best delay ever'! At 3:30 pm, there is hustle and bustle, we will be picked up in 20 minutes, everything has to happen quickly. The group flying to a second lodge 'has' to spend another night at the Seal River, the slot is not enough for two flights. In Churchill, Koral greets us and drives us through the village to the beach, where we see a replica Inukshuk, a stone figure used by First Nations for orientation and hunting, and then to souvenir shops and further to the pub, where we make ourselves comfortable, look at photos, and befriend each other on Facebook and Instagram 😋. We can actually leave Churchill on this night, too, with a 2-hour delay, but what can you do, we had an incredibly beautiful time. At 2 am, exhausted and happy, we fall into bed in Winnipeg. The plane to Toronto departs at 10:45 am...

https://www.churchillwild.com

https://www.shootthelight.com (Chas Glatzer, our photographer)

https://www.nateluebbe.com (Nate, our youngest, born in 1987; Sony Ambassador)