Dave Allcorn, FNA’s summer Tundra Buggy driver and resident amateur botanist sent in a collection of some of the incredible plant life that can be found out on the tundra in the summer months. Many people don’t realize the variety of plant life that grows out on the tundra so we thought we would take a moment to share this collection of images that Dave has captured. Anyone who has ever gone out on a summer Tundra Buggy tour with Dave can attest to his infectious enthusiasm and passion for plant life and the beauty of the North.
Did you know that many of the berries found on the tundra can be eaten? Several of the shops in Churchill carry jams and preserves made from berries found on the tundra during the summer months. As we showed you in an earlier blog, the berries are also a favourite of the polar bears. Some of the plants out on the tundra can also be eaten and some are even used to make tea.
For the entire album and some commentary about the various plants by Dave himself, click here.
A quick Churchill report from staffer Dave Allcorn aka our resident (amateur) botonist/naturalist.
The recent 20 degree temperatures had people in Churchill wearing shorts and kids were playing down by the beach. The ice has started to break up and many birds are arriving in the area. I also spotted three flowering plants: purple saxifrage, arrow-leafed colts-foot and the bearberry. It won’t be long now before the belugas take over the Churchill River, the polar bears migrate onto the land for the summer months and the tundra becomes a blanket of colour.
Dave captured this image of a ‘Fata Morgana’, a type of mirage on the horizon, which is quite common for this time of the year as the ice breaks up. Learn more about the ‘Fata Morgana‘.
Finally for all the bird lovers out there, Dave sent along this picture of ruddy turnstones on the railway line in Churchill. Signs of summer are all around!
A group of our Frontiers North Adventurers had a chance to visit Nunalla. And the trip did not disappoint!
Nunalla is an old Hudson’s Bay Company trading post, lying on the Manitoba/Nunavut border. Frontiers North Adventures offers a unique helicopter tour to Nunalla. Guests often spot moose, caribou, and of course, polar bears on the journey up to Nunalla. Nunalla’s two weathered Hudson’s Bay Company buildings give visitors a glimpse of life in an arctic trading post. The trip also includes a stop on the 60th Parallel where guests can grab a snapshot marking their visit and adding to their Authentic Arctic Experience.
Check out some of our guests visiting Nunalla. It’s definitely a remote post!
We cannot say it enough – we love when we receive images and video from our guests from their adventures with us!
FNA guest Gary Lehman travelled with us in 2006 and sent us two videos that he created of his photographs while up in Churchill viewing polar bears. Great work Gary!
Every quarter, we feature a specific Frontiers North adventure to educate our future guests and our network of travel agents and wholesalers that we work with. This quarter we are featuring our Belugas, Birds & Blooms adventure. During July and August over 3,000 beluga whales summer in the Churchill River. This is truly Manitoba’s best kept secret!
We package a unique program based out of Winnipeg that allows our guests to get up close and personal to the whales, as well as learn about the culture and history of Churchill. Churchill in the summer months is a very different place than what most people see during polar bear season. The tundra comes alive with brilliant colours of flora, with various species of birds and other wildlife migrate to the area. Our summer half- and full-day Tundra Buggy adventures are the perfect way to witness the tundra come alive.
And then, of course, there are the belugas! Our adventure includes two boat expeditions – one on a larger Transport Canada approved vessel, and a second on a Zodiac. Pair this with snorkeling and kayaking opportunities, this truly is an amazing adventure.
Here are some videos we found from individuals who have travelled to Churchill in the summer to experience the beluga whales.
Manitoba Voyageur is an industry magazine published quarterly by Travel Manitoba designed to keep members of the tourism industry up-to-date on currents issues, initiatives and events. In the Spring 2010 issue, we were featured on page 4 for hosting Mary Carillo and NBC in Churchill last autumn alongside the Canadian Tourism Commission and Travel Manitoba. The results of our efforts were extremely successful, as NBC aired two Churchill vignettes during their coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics to over 20 million viewers.
Our 2010 Northern Lights & Winter Nights adventure has officially come to an end. We first would like to extend a big thank you to Travel Manitoba and the Canadian Tourism Commission for supporting and helping coordinate our fantastic media guests on our adventure. The trip was definitely a huge success!
We had a great week. We made many new friends and had a blast. The stars aligned for our evening Tundra Buggy excursions across the frozen Churchill River, where we experienced amazing northern lights viewing. Also, our snowshoeing adventure with our friend Mike Macri, our experience at the start line of the Hudson Bay Quest and dogsledding excursion with Blue Sky Mush were all excellent.
A key message we sent home with our Northern Lights & Winter Nights guests is that the community of Churchill and tour operators know tourism and are successful at delivering world-class service when thousands of guests visit during October and November for polar bears. The cool part about visiting Churchill in March for northern lights, dog-sledding and snow shoeing — essentially the “off-season” — is that our group alone were able to benefit from the knowledge and experience of Churchill’s tourism professionals on a more intimate level.
Here are some images that we took of the adventure!
This past Autumn we had the pleasure of hosting some of our Winnipeg industry partners up in Churchill to experience a full-day Tundra Buggy Adventure, and to also help us honour Debby the Polar Bear by Gordon Point. Justin Gagnon and Carly Thompson of Anvil Digital (the agency that created our amazing 3D rendering of Tundra Buggy One featured on our Tundra Buggy website) joined us and put together this great video blog of their experience with us. Check it out!
Most people know Churchill for its amazing polar bear viewing and Tundra Buggy adventures in October and November. But what a lot of people don’t know is that in July and August not only are there 3,000 beluga whales in the Churchill River, but there is still an opportunity to see polar bears on our summer Tundra Buggy adventures – just not in the numbers that you would see in autumn. Pair all this with witnessing brilliant colours of flora on the tundra, unique birding and wildlife viewing, Churchill is a very inspiring place to be in the summer months.
Take a look at some images that our summer Tundra Buggy Driver and Tundra Buggy Lodge Maintenance guru, Dave Allcorn, took during his summer months in Churchill in 2009:
We have an update from a story we posted on our blog in January about MTS rolling out cellular services to customers in Churchill. MTS Allstream has confirmed in an emailer sent out to its current clients that it will indeed be expanding its wireless network to eight new rural Manitoba communities in 2010 – including Churchill. New coverage to this area is slated to begin by mid-2010.
We have received a number of comments both on our blog and on our Facebook Fan Page stating both praise and criticism with this new services in the area. What are your thoughts now that cellular services in Churchill is pretty much a done deal?
The ice has started to break up in Churchill
