A Once-In-A-Lifetime Experience: Manitoba, Canada

I love Canada and have had the pleasure over the years as a Canadian specialist of visiting every Province, some many times. For skiing, golf, and fishing, this is an unbeatable destination.   

My heli-hiking holidays staying at remote wilderness lodges have been out of this world, and it has several great train journeys which are exceptional.

I’ve done a couple of dog sledding expeditions and this is a country which has lots of adventure opportunities. Most Americans visit Vancouver, British Columbia or Banff Alberta, Quebec and Montreal, but few go off the beaten track to places like Manitoba.

If you want to think outside the box, here are some suggestions for you.

Two-and-a-half hour flight from Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba lies Churchill, known as the polar bear capital of the world.   

It is one of the few human settlements where polar bears can be observed in the wild. Prime viewing times are in October and November when hundreds of bears move from their summer habitat on the tundra to the shores of Hudson Bay waiting for the ice packs to form. The ice packs provide access to the seals that sustain these huge creatures.

Dubbed “Lords of the Arctic” polar bears are the worlds largest land carnivores. They have no natural enemies and consequently, no fear.  This means the bears come very close to viewing vehicles giving you the best look at these giant creatures that can stand up to 6 ft tall. The vehicles are unique, huge, designed to move slowly over the snow and ice, provide protection while getting you in prime position to watch and photograph these often curious bears.

Another must-see while staying in a wilderness lodge built on the bear’s migration route is to take a nighttime drive on the tundra vehicle to see another of Churchill’s attractions, the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.  

You can also see this spectacular light show in the comfort of a heated glass covered viewing dome. There is a high intensity of aurora activity over the Churchill region making it one of the top places on the planet to see the northern lights. Scientists from around the world have gone to Churchill to study this natural phenomenon caused by the interaction of charged particles from the sun with atoms in the upper atmosphere. 

These dancing curtains of light shine their brightest in January thru March.    Glowing green, red, yellow, pink, purple, and blue. One of my prized possessions  is a 4-foot-by-3-foot photo of the night sky. I never get tired of looking at it.

In the summer, Hudson Bay becomes a great spot to watch thousands of beluga whales. Some 25,000 of them enter the Churchill River estuary between mid-June to mid-August.

These whales are called sea canaries since they emit strange high pitched whistles, clicks and chirps. There are over 250 different species of birds to be seen and many people kayak amongst the singing whales.

Maureen Jones is President of All Horizons Travel at 160 Main Street in Los Altos.  Members of her staff are experts in business travel, cruises and all types of leisure.