Churchill Family Adventure with Frontiers North

July 23 – Prince of Wales Fort and Tundra Buggy Tours

After breakfast at the Ptarmigan restaurant, we hiked over to see the Town Centre Complex.




Tim shuttled us over to the Sea North Tours dock for a Beluga & Prince of Wales Fort boat tour. This is a regular boat, so there were no concerns about splashing. There are several thousand Belugas in the estuary, so sightings were guaranteed. We landed at the other side of the point where staff patrolled the area for nuisance Polar Bears while we toured the partially restored fort. The fort was originally built as a log structure in 1717 by the Hudson’s Bay Company, then rebuilt as a stone fort. It is a National Historic Site and is managed by Parks Canada. We enjoyed the tales of fort life and history.




Back in the boat, we concentrated on viewing Beluga whales, until our second Polar Bear was spotted out near the point. We were thrilled to see this one was lazing around enjoying the sunshine.





We finally tore ourselves away to look at the Belugas. The captain lowered a hydrophone into the water to allow us to hear their constant chatter. Some came right up to and under the boat. There were lots of young ones which are grey, unlike the white adults.




After this amazing adventure, we stopped for a photo op at the town entrance, then had lunch at the Seaport Restaurant.

Tim shuttled us to the Tundra Buggy Dock. On the way we passed an immature Bald Eagle on a hydro pole. We were welcomed by Jim, the Tundra Buggy driver/guide to his buggy, #14. Jim actually lives in Jasper!




We were amazed at the ability of the tundra buggy to drive through deep water and over rocks on a seemingly impossible terrain.




Jim regaled us with tales as we all spotted wildlife – lots of it! A caribou was first up, and he put on a good show. Then came Pacific Loons, Tundra Swans, Trumpeter Swans Northern Shovelers, Whimbrels, White-crowned Sparrows, Common Goldeneyes, Greater Yellowlegs, Long-tailed Ducks, an Arctic Tern with newborn chicks, Red-necked Phalaropes, Spotted Sandpipers, Pectoral Sandpipers, Semi-palmated Plovers, Snow Geese, Sandhill Cranes, Ruddy Turnstones, Bald Eagles, Common Eiders, a Northern Harrier, and last, but not least, a Willow Ptarmigan.




Everyone was surprised when Jim stood up and motioned for Samuel, age 13, to take over driving. Sam had a big grin on his face as he piloted the huge machine, which Jim called a giant Kleenex box on wheels. Then, 10-year-old David took a turn and was equally pleased. Several of the women on our tour also took a shot, including 82-year-old Betty!




At the end of the day, we were treated to beautiful rainbows and an amazing sunset and a repeat visit with the friendly Caribou. What a tour we had on the Tundra Buggy!