Canadian Arctic – Coolest Place on Earth!

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Canadian Arctic – Coolest Place on Earth!

Christine Boecker • November 15, 2013

My Arctic Expedition – seriously off the beaten track

When I returned from an Arctic expedition cruise from the Canadian Arctic and Greenland I brought back 1000 pictures and many wonderful memories and stories to share.

During the 5-hour flight from Ottawa to Resolute Bay, Nunavut I was astounded by the vastness of the Canada North. We arrived at this little airport on the 75th parallel and were bussed down to the shoreline, where we boarded zodiacs and headed out to sea to our expedition ship – the Akademic Ioffe, a Russian research vessel. She would be our home for the next 11 days, safely taking us 1,600 nautical miles to Kangerlussuaq on the Arctic Circle (60th parallel) in Greenland.

After my 109 fellow travellers and I had settled into our cabins, we enjoyed a hearty dinner as the ship headed across the straight to Griffin Bay. We were in the land of the midnight sun, which means that it never gets dark at night. It felt strange to be having a drink in the bar, sunlight pouring in through the windows and yet it was almost 11pm already.

The next morning we boarded the zodiacs because a Polar Bear was spotted hunting on the sea ice. I was in awe – it was the very first time I had seen this magnificent king of the north. During the expedition we would learn much about the wildlife, but also the geology, the sea ice and the history of the Artic during the fascinating program of lectures presented by the specialist guides on board.

Our first stop, and one of many ‘wet landings’ was on Beechey Island. This gave us an historical perspective on the centuries-long quest to find the Northwest Passage and a trade route across the top of the world. We hiked to the graves marking the winter camp of the ill-fated 1845 Franklin expedition. All 132 crew members perished in search of the Northwest Passage, after their ships were crushed by sea in the icy waters off King William Island in Canada's far north.

Northwest passage, map of Canadian arctic

Heading east, we stopped off at Dundas Harbour, an old RMCP outpost; our zodiacs took us up close the glacier in Croker Bay; we crossed Lancaster Sound – the ‘wildlife highway’ – and hiked up to an Inukshuk in the solitude of beautiful Navy Board Inlet on the north coast of Baffin Island. At Cape Graham Moore we cruised in our zodiacs beneath mile-high cliffs teeming with nesting birds, including thick-billed murres, northern fulmars, black-legged kittiwakes and black guillemots. This was where a polar bear gave us a thrill and swam around our zodiac!

We took the long way around to get to Pond Inlet – the sea ice had just broken up and in August, we were the first vessel to call there. I was surprised to meet a South African couple in Pond Inlet, and we have stayed in touch to this day. It was emotional to learn about the harsh living conditions in this little town, famous for its soapstone carvings.

After we left Pond, we headed south along the Baffin Island coast to Gibb’s Fjord. Here we walked on sea ice and went for a zodiac ride along the coastline, past high mountains with cascading waterfalls appearing out of the mist that had been following us for a few days. It was eerie, beautiful and really cold!

Then we sailed east across Baffin Bay towards Greenland. It took 2.5 days because there was so much sea ice. We attempted to break through 2 or 3 times and had to turn back. So eventually we sailed back up to the 75th parallel and cut across from there. It was a stunning journey!

Greenland is also fabulous. Our first stop was Ilulissat, a very picturesque town. I loved all the colourful houses and could not believe the difference in lifestyle between Pond Inlet and Ilulissat. They don’t get the sea ice in winter at all and have a thriving fishing and whaling industry year round. We took a zodiac cruise amongst the gigantic icebergs at Jacobshavn, and it felt like we were in a freezer. Created by the Jakobshavn Glacier, this fast-moving glacier is like an ice making machine! After a visit to Sisimiut the finale was a midnight cruise up the magnificent Sondre Stromfjord, the longest fjord in the world. I was sad to leave our ship – I didn’t really want to come back to civilization.

Zodiac cruises among polar bears, seals & bird colonies, tundra hikes, remote Inuit villages, 8/10th sea ice, Jacobshavn ice fjord and colourful Greenland houses – the entire expedition was unforgettable! You should go!

Muskox at Dundas Harbour

BBQ with Iceberg

Polar Bear at Cape Graham Moore

Colourful houses of Greenland

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