VIA RAIL CANADA HUDSON BAY/POLAR BEAR EXPLORER TOUR
October 6-13, 2001
Land tour from $2199.00
One of the most unique travel destinations is the desolate Hudson Bay frontier of Manitoba, Canada. At Churchill, the VIA RAIL/Canadian National/Hudson Bay Railway joint line reaches the arctic tundra, terminating on the shores of Hudson Bay. Here, tour participants have a unique experience in the Arctic. Churchill lies astride the migration path of the "great white bears" (polar bears). In the autumn, as the ice reforms on Hudson Bay, polar bears migrate back to their dens using their accustomed path through the town and its environs. Since the 1600's, Churchill has been a vital post in the North. Here the "Company of Adventurers" (the Hudson Bay Company) completed the "invincible" Fort Prince of Wales. It took the Bay Company 40 years to erect the fort, but the parsimonious company refused to adequately arm it. As a result, during the French and Indian Wars, Samuel Hearne the "Factor" at Churchill, surrendered the fort to the French in 40 minutes!
We ride VIA RAIL to the literal "end of the line". The NORTHERN SPIRIT is a first-class train with newly rebuilt former Amtrak sleeping cars and a diner-lounge car. Churchill is the most northern point reached by regularly scheduled passenger train service on the North American continent, excluding the isolated railroads of Alaska. The railway was constructed because of the steep shipping rates charged to wheat farmers by the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River ports. Viewed on a globe, Churchill actually is closer to northern Europe than Montreal! The CN sold the route north of The Pas to a U.S. short-line group operating under the name of the Hudson Bay Railway. This preserved service on a branch the CN wanted to abandon. The many trestles keep speeds well under 40 MPH north of The Pas, but the slow pace and absolute isolation combine to produce a uniquely serene trip.
Rail Travel Center is a pioneer in group travel to Churchill. We offered our first programs here in 1985, long before Churchill was "rediscovered". We think our tours are best not only because of our fine program in Churchill, but also because we use VIA RAIL's wilderness route north. Churchill unquestionably is a "soft adventure" destination and, on this tour, you truly will experience the remote beauty of the Canadian arctic frontier. Only 35 places are available for our Churchill tour this year, escorted by our own Bill Watson, Tour & Operations Manager at Rail Travel Center. Astounding wildlife and a vast wilderness await you. ALL ABOARD!
Your Itinerary
Day 1:
Day One, Saturday, October 6 (D)
Arrive Winnipeg, city tour, Welcome Dinner and Folkloric Show. Independent arrivals into Winnipeg MB, the metropolis of the Canadian prairies. We enjoy a city tour this afternoon. Winnipeg has a fascinating heritage of French Metis settlement, further development by the English fur trading companies, and then large-scale growth with the arrival of English and other European "colonists" in the late 19th century. Many ethnic groups enriched Manitoba. This evening we celebrate the diversity of Winnipeg with a special "Welcome Dinner" and folkloric show. Our accommodations are at the Sheraton Winnipeg.
(D)
Day 2:
Day Two, Sunday, October 7 (L)
Visit Oak Hammock Wildlife Centre and Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature. Depart this evening on VIA Rail for Churchill. We begin our wildlife explorations with a short drive to Oak Hammock Wildlife Conservation Centre, where we should see migratory birds in great numbers. Lunch is included at the Old Spaghetti Factory before we visit the remarkable Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature. Exhibits here chronicle the natural and human history of the vast Canadian North. The most spectacular exhibit is a full-scale reproduction of the sailing ship "Nonesuch". This vessel carried the first explorers of the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) to the waters of the Hudson Bay in the late 17th century, and much of our tour concentrates on lands first opened by these traders. Churchill Fort was the largest HBC post. Later we'll visit the "Forks", a wonderful shopping complex developed from the former Canadian National RY shops complex at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. There is free time here to explore and enjoy an optional dinner. This evening we board VIA RAIL Canada's NORTHERN SPIRIT. The next two nights are enjoyed in Pullman sleepers.
(L)
Day 3:
Day Three, Monday, October 8
On VIA Rail's Northern Spirit en route to Churchill. All day the train rolls north as the scenery changes from wheat fields to boreal taiga forest. There will be an extended stop at The Pas to detrain for a few minutes to stretch our legs. Delicious full meals can be purchased in the dining car, as well as drinks and snacks. This evening you can step off again at Thompson while the train is serviced. Extra cars are added here, but they are not coaches. North of Thompson the train carries "piggy-back" cars loaded with refrigerated trucks bringing meat and produce to the arctic frontier. We see our final paved road at Thompson as the wilderness closes around us. We cross an endless series of low trestles and pass a myriad of small lakes and fast-flowing rivers as we roll north through this road-less land.
Day 4:
Day Four, Tuesday, October 9 (L,D)
Arrive Churchill; area tour, Arctic Museum. Dawn finds us in a new world, as the forest vanishes and we enter the vast expanse of the arctic. The tundra recedes to an apparently limitless horizon. Shortly after breakfast, we arrive in Churchill, the true end of the line. The activities which follow occur during the next three days, weather permitting. We reserve the right to alter the sequence or change the program if weather/safety requires. Polar bear sightings cannot be guaranteed, but no Rail Travel Center group to Churchill has ever failed to see bears. Today we have an orientation tour of Churchill. We see the Hudson Bay Company battery, grain elevators and port facilities, then visit the superb Arctic Museum and the Parks Canada Visitors' Center. Our home for the next two nights is the Tundra Inn. This evening, after an included dinner, we enjoy a lecture on the Hudson Bay region with an emphasis on the unique wildlife.
(L) (D)
Day 5:
Day Five, Wednesday, October 10 (L,D)
Day-long photo safari in search of the polar bears. We take our camera-safari in search of the great white polar bears. The "bear machines" (large, heated vehicles with restroom facilities and eight-foot in diameter tires) take us miles beyond any roads onto the trackless tundra. The polar bears migrate through this area enroute to their winter dens. Our expedition should see not only polar bears, but possibly ptarmigan, arctic hares, and even caribou. BRING FILM today! We have a second lecture on the Churchill area following our included dinner this evening.
(L) (D)
Day 6:
Day Six, Thursday, October 11 (B,L)
Sled dog kennel visit and ride; visit Rocket Range; free time before re-boarding VIA Rail. We join our local guide to visit a training kennel for sled-dog teams. Until after World War II, this was the most reliable interior transportation during the long arctic winters. Not only did the native Inuit (Eskimo) people use teams, but so did the traders of the HBC. This skill is by no means lost. We have an opportunity for a short ride during our stop. We also will visit the Rocket Range to learn about the unique research conducted into the phenomenon of the "Northern Lights". The afternoon is at leisure. Weather permitting, you might wish to purchase a helicopter flight out over the Bay to seek out bears still on the ice flows. This evening we re-board VIA RAIL and return south. Our accommodations for the next two nights are again in Pullman sleepers.
(B) (L)
Day 7:
Day Seven, Friday, October 12 (L).
Arrive in Thompson; luncheon at Paint Lake Lodge; visit Pisew Falls and re-board VIA Rail. We have time to enjoy optional breakfasts in the diner before arrival at the northern mining center of Thompson. Temporarily we leave VIA, taking a drive through the vast boreal forest wilderness. We'll enjoy an included luncheon at remote Paint Lake Lodge and marvel at thundering Pisew Falls. We reboard VIA at Wabowden this afternoon. The train rolls south, emerging from the forest into the range lands of southern Manitoba. After The Pas, speeds increase as we roll into the prairie wheat fields.
(L)
Day 8:
Day Eight, Saturday, October 13
Arrive in Winnipeg; tour ends. On the CN mainline west of Winnipeg we can enjoy a final optional breakfast in the diner before arrival at Winnipeg. Same-day flights are available to all points, or we can book your return on VIA's CANADIAN domeliner. Ask us for connecting travel options.
TOUR PRICES include all rail, bus, cruise and "Bear Machine" fares; all sightseeing and meals noted as included above; luggage handling; hotels; escort services; transfers; and sleeping car space on VIA. Two types of sleepers are available at the rates noted. Single Bedrooms on VIA have a sink, but no private toilet. Two bathrooms serve the six Single Bedrooms in each car. Double Bedrooms have a sink and private toilet. All hotel rooms are comparable regardless of the sleeping car space selected on VIA.
Please note that hotels in Churchill are not fancy, but they will be clean and have private bath. You need to be able to walk up to a quarter-mile on level ground and be able to climb one flight of stairs to board the "Bear Machine" in order to fully participate in this trip. All activities in Churchill are subject to weather/safety concerns, so you must accept itinerary modifications if required. This is a "soft adventure" tour.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Also see tour packages in:
North America
Canada
Local Culture
Railway Trips
Wildlife Viewing
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