Itinerary

Day 1 - Friday
First Air, Canadian North and Air Canada offer daily jet service from Edmonton and Calgary to Yellowknife, the capital of NWT, one of Canada’s northern territories. Visitors to Arctic Watch meet in Yellowknife where everyone boards a private plane for the 1000 mile (1500 km) flight to Arctic Watch. The plane is new modern comfortable aircraft. Food will be served during the four and a half-hour flight north. There is one stop for refueling in the community of Cambridge Bay. In late afternoon, you land on our private airstrip next to Arctic Watch on Somerset Island.

Everyone receives a tour of the facilities, puts their luggage in their cabin, and then meets in the Great Room for a welcome and to meet our staff. Dinner is served in our cozy dining room.

Day 2 - Saturday
Breakfast is served at 8:30.

There is a hands-on introduction to driving All Terrain Vehicles (ATV). These practical vehicles are easy and fun to drive. Then we hike a short distance to the Cunningham river estuary for whale watching. Beluga whales frolic in the shallow water only a few yards off shore amongst the ice floes. Buffet lunch typically includes: nutritious soups, such as French Canadian Pea, leek, potato, and cream of corn; freshly baked sourdough and rye breads; specialty meats and cheeses; fresh vegetables; and homemade desserts.

In the afternoon we hike to Triple Waterfalls, a five-story torrent of free-falling water. There we will see nesting peregrine falcons and other birds such as loons, snow buntings, sandpipers, and rough-legged hawks. We explore the canyon and see wild arctic flowers. Encounters with muskox are common.

Evening meals typically include a main course of baked arctic char, grilled muskox, barbequed pork tenderloin, or other meat. Side dishes of oven-roasted vegetables, red and white wine, fresh bread and homemade desserts round out the meal.

Evening activities include free time for local exploration. The library has a broad selection of arctic and polar titles. Our Interpretive Centre contains collections of local fossils, skeletal remains of arctic fauna, and collection of traditional Inuit skin clothing from Canada, Greenland and Siberia.

Day 3 - Sunday
Breakfast, served at 8:30, typically includes fresh coffee, home-baked pastries, muffins, cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit, yoghurt, muesli, French toast or pancakes with Quebec maple syrup, eggs, double-smoked bacon, sausages and various other snacks.

We travel by ATV, crossing the Cunningham River delta, then along the Muskox Ridge trail. This affords a scenic overview of the whole area. To date, every excursion has encountered muskox. We pass an impressive arctic fox den, frequently watching fox cubs at play.

A picnic lunch at our own Canadian Arctic Holidays (CAH) shelter at Inukshuk Lake is followed by the opportunity to fish for arctic char. Fishing gear is supplied. Returning on ATVs we take an alternate route via the River Trail, viewing hoodoos (sculptured sand pillars), and local coal deposits.

The evening begins with fresh arctic char sushi made from the day’s catch. Another fabulous dinner follows.

That evening, Richard Weber, internationally recognized polar explorer, offers an informal lecture on his North Pole adventures. His historic 1995 unassisted journey to the North Pole and back, a feat that has never been repeated, will be highlighted.

Day 4
Another hearty breakfast is served at 8:30.

Today’s focus is on sea kayaking in Cunningham Inlet. All equipment and basic instruction are provided. We paddle amongst icebergs, ring seals and bearded seals, watching for beluga whales. Frequent sightings of sea birds, including arctic terns and eider ducks, can be expected.

Buffet lunch at Arctic Watch (please see Day 2 description).

This afternoon we are back at the Cunningham River estuary to watch the beluga whales. This site is unique in the world because of the density of the whale population and their proximity to the guests. Frequently we are within a couple of yards of the animals. We can clearly hear their communication calls. To appreciate the underwater calls, we use a hydrophone (underwater microphone).

Evening meal and free time are the same as described in Day 2.

Day 5
Please see Day 3 for outline of today’s hearty breakfast. Following breakfast we depart, crossing the Cunningham River delta, with the ultimate goal of Flatrock Falls. Guests have the option of hiking, or traveling by Mercedes Unimog truck, mountain bike, or ATV. Somerset Island canyons are as yet un-named. They were formed as the result of a shifting fault lines and their walls, mostly vertical, vary from 200 to 1000 feet. Millions of fossils of prehistoric plants and animals litter the ground. Today’s trip also offers opportunities to observe nesting sites of local birds including terns, plovers, and snow geese. See Day 3 for outline of today’s hearty breakfast.

A picnic lunch is served directly on the flat rocks that surround this canyon.

After lunch, everyone hikes to Gull Canyon, named by us for the striking biological contrasts between barren canyon and lush gull rookery. This spot was recently visited by the Canadian Wildlife Service, not only to view the gull rookery but also to see the presence of peregrine falcons.

Their comments were that this spot is a unique and special micro-ecosystem.

Today’s eventful trek is followed by another exceptional dinner at Arctic Watch.

This evening, guests have the opportunity to watch, or for the more adventurous, participate in, demonstrations of traditional Inuit games and throat singing. Throat singing is unique to the indigenous peoples of the polar regions of the world and is unlike any other vocal music in western culture.

Day 6
Eight-thirty breakfast starts another day at Arctic Watch.

Today’s excursion is by ATV to Cape Anne. We visit five Thule sites along coast. The ride includes scenic vistas, icebergs, ancient Inuit campsites and prehistoric giant whalebones. The Thule culture was a bowhead whale hunting culture, ancestors of today’s modern Inuit. The Cape Anne Thule site is the largest in the area and includes the remains of 15 stone and bone houses. Return trip is overland via the Red Valley and guests can expect to be inspired by the magnitude of the landscape.

At the end of a long day, we enjoy another delicious dinner at Arctic Watch.

This evening guests can relax with a lecture by Richard Weber. His presentation includes stunning images and fascinating stories of Arctic expeditions to Baffin, Ellesmere and other High Arctic islands.

Day 7
Begin this final day with one of Josee’s wonderful breakfasts.

The first leg of today’s journey is covered by Mercedes Unimog truck. Our goal is to reach our raft and kayak put-in on the Cunningham River, 20 kilometers from Arctic Watch. Typically, we hike the final six kilometers through badlands, passing the skeletal remains of two bowhead whales dated at four to five thousand years old. Not uncommonly we encounter muskox, snow geese, jaegers, arctic foxes, sand pipers, and rough-legged hawks.

Our picnic lunch is eaten on the beach beside the river, while the staff prepares the rafts and kayaks.

On the return to Arctic Watch, guests have the choice of paddling their own kayaks, or traveling by raft. The river is swift flowing crystal clear water with no difficult sections or rapids. The views are amazing and include steep canyon walls and at one point, a 180 degree turn. Guests can expect to be on the water for two to three hours.

Guests enjoy their final dinner and evening at Arctic Watch.

Day 8
Today is your last day in the High Arctic. By now you are familiar with our corner of Somerset Island. There may be an activity that you missed during the week (bad weather) or an activity that you particularly enjoyed and want to repeat, such as a final visit to the whales, or see the muskox head for the final time. Today, we do the activity that you want.

In the late afternoon the plane will arrive to take you back to Yellowknife. You are free to spend some time to visit Yellowknife or to catch a flight south.

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