Northern lights reflecting over Schmok Lake at Tundra Camp. Eric Wichems photo.
When the northern lights spilled across the sky, mirrored in the black surface of Schmok Lake, Eric Wichems stepped outside his canvas tent and onto the barren tundra. His daughter Anna joined him, and both stood hushed by the spectacle above. The air was cold and still, the only sound the gentle lap of water against the shore, as ribbons of green and violet danced overhead.
“It was the best northern lights I’ve seen in my whole life,” said Eric. “They were so bright they were reflecting off the lake. We had two nights of that at Tundra Camp, and it was absolutely spectacular.”
The trip had been years in the making, a return for Eric and Anna’s second father-daughter adventure. This time they decided to go all in: first the Arctic Safari, which took them through Seal River Heritage Lodge and the remote Tundra Camp at Schmok Lake, and then on the Hudson Bay Odyssey at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. From September 11th through the 24th, 2024, they lived a northern trifecta on three vastly different subarctic landscapes.
Polar bear close up. Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Eric Wichems photo.
The Decision to Return
Three years earlier, Eric had asked his daughter what she wanted for her high school graduation gift. Her answer surprised him.
“She said she wanted to see polar bears,” said Eric. “That was her dream. And for me, I really wanted to see wolves. So we picked Nanuk in 2022, and it was an amazing trip.”
They were lucky. Wolves appeared every day on that first trip. “They came onto the runway, hung out at the lodge,” said Eric. “That sealed it for both of us.”
Wolf at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Eric Wichems photo.
That first trip, Anna’s graduation present, created something neither of them expected: a shared passion for the North. “We absolutely loved it,” said Eric. Staff members told them they should try Seal River because it offered a completely different experience.
When Eric sold his medical device company in late 2024, he suddenly had the time and freedom to travel extensively. Three years after that first trip, he asked Anna what she wanted to do. “She said, ‘I want to go back to Canada. Maybe we’ll try Seal River.'”
Eric found the Arctic Safari in September, which included both Seal River and Tundra Camp. Then he realized the schedules would allow him to add Nanuk. “I realized when I booked it that I could potentially do back-to-back trips. Because we both really love Nanuk.”
Eric and Anna Wichems at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge.
A Businessman Between Worlds
At 53, Eric was in transition. Until October 2024, he had been running a small medical device startup in Orange County. Then came the sale, a successful exit that gave him the freedom to decide what came next.
“When I took my first trip with you guys, I was still running the company,” said Eric. “Having Wi-Fi at the lodge was actually really helpful back then. Last October I sold the company, and since then I’ve been happily unemployed. I’ve been travelling a lot, spending more time with my family, and asking myself what I really want to do next.”
The timing made this trip more than just another wildlife adventure. “When you’re in a place like this, remote, no distractions, no city noise, it puts your mind in a different place,” said Eric. “You become very relaxed and introspective. You start asking yourself questions like, what do I want out of life? How do I want to spend my time?”
Guests observing a polar bear from the dining room at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Eric Wichems photo.
For someone who no longer needed to work for money, the question becomes different. “If you don’t need the money per se, then you should look at work in terms of, would I do this for free?” said Eric. “Would I do this if I didn’t get paid to this level? Work is great as a way to keep you engaged and how you want to spend time. But if it’s not for that purpose, then maybe you should do something else.”
Between selling his company and this trip north, Eric had been searching for those passions. He’d spent seven weeks on safari in Africa with his family, done gorilla treks, scuba dived in Indonesia, French Polynesia, Mexico, and Palau, and backpacked through Albania with his older sister. “Nature is definitely my thing,” he said. “I have the good fortune and the joy of being able to do above water and below water. I spend about equal time doing both.”
Tundra Camp: The Unexpected Favourite
Of the three stops, Seal River Heritage Lodge, Tundra Camp, and Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge, one stood out above the rest.
“By far, our favourite was Tundra Camp,” said Eric. “It is as close to an immersive experience as you can get. The barren lands are absolutely beautiful that time of year because of the fall colours. The area itself is fantastic for hiking. You got the caribou migrating on top of that. And actually sleeping in the tents brings you a lot closer to the nature.”
The tent camp offered something Eric hadn’t experienced in years: genuine camping nostalgia. “I haven’t been camping in a long time. And I was there with my daughter. It was nostalgic, but it was also something entirely new.”
Arctic Safari Tundra Camp at Schmok Lake. Eric Wichems photo.
One afternoon, they spent over an hour with a herd of caribou. “We were able to get really close to a group of caribou and we spent probably an hour or plus with them. They came very close to check us out.”
The northern lights were equally spectacular. “We had fantastic northern lights both nights. The location of the campsite was right on the edge of the lake, and the northern lights were reflecting off the lake surface.”
Northern lights over Tundra Camp. Eric Wichems photo.
The camp’s intimacy made a difference too. “You only have 12 people, and Jad is a fantastic guy,” said Eric, referring to National Geographic photographer Jad Davenport, who leads the Arctic Safari.
What struck Eric most was the logistics. “When I originally booked the tour, they were only going to do two nights in the Tundra Camp. Somebody who’s absolutely a genius and intelligent at Churchill Wild made the determination that that wasn’t enough. So they extended it to three nights. Best decision ever.”
Caribou at Schmok Lake. Eric Wichems photo.
Seal River: The Stark Edge of the Bay
Seal River Heritage Lodge, perched on the rocky coast of Hudson Bay, delivered what it has become famous for: close encounters with polar bears.
“We had a mom and a cub come right up to the fence and the cub was really curious and playful, tried to get in,” said Eric. “That was a fantastic experience.”
Curious polar bear cub at the fence. Seal River Heritage Lodge. Eric Wichems photo.
Seal felt different from the tundra. “Seal is quite stark. You’re right on the edge of the ocean, it’s very rocky, it’s breezy, it’s cold. But you see a ton of polar bears. Not many birds at that time of year.”
For Eric, each location offered its own character. “All three of them are so different. You get tundra camp, you get the barren lands, you get the lakes, you get the caribou. Then you go to Seal River and its rocky shoreline directly on the bay. Then you go to Nanuk, and you’re back in the fall colours and sweeping landscapes. You’re back with the black bears with their cubs going around. You get moose, potentially, and you get a ton of birds.”
Snow geese over Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Eric Wichems photo.
Nanuk: A Soulful Place
For all the excitement of Tundra Camp and Seal, Nanuk remained Eric’s touchstone.
“It’s a really special place,” he said. “Even when you are leaving the lodge and you drive around in the rhinos or the ATVs, and the wildlife is kind of quiet, it is just such a magical place that your mind just drifts and gets settled.”
This time, wolves were scarce. They had denned farther away near the Nelson River. “Three years ago, we caught them every day,” said Eric. “This time they were denning farther away. They were coming back, but we were just a little too early. We saw the prints, but we didn’t see them. But that’s the beauty of Nanuk. You never know what you’re going to get, but you’re going to get something special.”
Curious red fox approaches guests at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Eric Wichems photo.
The magic showed up in other forms. “We had a stop in an area where there was an extremely curious young fox that popped out of the woods and started running around us, playing, rolling around, all kinds of stuff. It was so fun,” said Eric. “And then the last morning we were there, it was a beautiful day and we had a male polar bear come right to the lodge and start sniffing
The Consistency That Impresses
What stood out as much as the wildlife was the consistency across all three locations.
“The food was amazing,” said Eric. “I’m absolutely amazed that the high standards and quality Churchill Wild has for the food, for the hosting and everything else, that they’re equally high and consistent no matter where you are. So even in the Tundra camp, you’re getting a very similar, high-level experience on the food, and on the lodging.”
Guides glassing for polar bears at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Eric Wichems photo.
Eric was particularly impressed by the guides. “The lead guides at all three locations were absolutely top shelf fantastic. Terry Elliott at Nanuk was amazing. Luke Kolla at Seal was amazing. And then Jad Davenport at Tundra Camp was amazing. Deeply knowledgeable, great patience, good storytelling. Really get the guests where they need to. Don’t disturb wildlife. Just top notch, all three of them.”
When Eric’s carefully planned back-to-back itinerary was threatened by a schedule change, the logistics team found a solution. “You guys decided to start the trip one day later to the Arctic Safari. And now the overlap didn’t work,” said Eric. “You could have just as easily said, ‘Sorry, this is not going to work. Do you still want to do these trips?’ But instead what you did is you basically said, ‘Okay, here are two options for you, which is we can fly you directly from Seal to Nanuk. And it’s just a question of whether you want to leave Seal early or start Nanuk late.'”
The solution was elegant. “You guys are logistical geniuses,” said Eric. “There’s constant flights going between Churchill, Seal and Nanuk. So I basically got to jump on the flight. The pilot would have had to go fly up supplies to Seal anyway. I mean, think about the Arctic Safari and the tundra camp. You run that camp for only nine days. But if you go there, you’re looking around and saying, holy cow, how can they run this for only nine days? It’s a logistical feat that almost nobody can pull off.”
Family as the Thread
Eric and Anna in the fall colours at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge.
At the heart of it all was Anna. Now 21 and studying marine biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, this was her second trip north with her father.
“The first one was her graduation gift, and this one came three years later,” said Eric. “Travelling together like this, just father and daughter, has been incredible. These are experiences we’ll talk about for the rest of our lives.”
Eric Wichems and family in Namibia.
Eric’s wife and 17-year-old son often join on other family trips, but the father-daughter and father-son traditions are something he treasures. “I do family trips where it’s all four of us, and then I do trips where it is father-daughter or father-son,” he said. “Many times they get to pick. And so that’s how my daughter picked Nanuk back in 2022. It was a father-daughter trip, but it was also her graduation present.”
The Encounters That Stay
Big male polar bear at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Eric Wichems photo.
Asked to name highlights, Eric organized them by place.
Tundra Camp: “The first night, the northern lights. It was the absolute best of the whole trip and probably my whole life. Then the second one was when we were able to get really close to a group of caribou, and we spent probably an hour or more with them.”
Seal River Heritage Lodge: “We had a mom and a cub come right up to the fence and the cub was really curious and playful, tried to get in. That was a fantastic experience.”
Mom and cub at the lodge fence. Seal River Heritage Lodge. Eric Wichems photo.
Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge: “We had that extremely curious young fox that popped out of the woods and started playing, rolling around, all kinds of stuff. It was so fun. And then the second one was the last morning we were there. We had that male polar bear come right to the lodge. He stayed for a really long time.”
“I can’t narrow it to one,” he said. “So there was two at Tundra Camp, one at Seal and two at Nanuk.”
A Place for Reflection
A place to think about what matters. Eric and Anna relaxing on a beach ridge at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge.
More than anything, the trip gave Eric space to think about what matters.
“When you’re in a startup, it’s intense,” he said. “You’re working nonstop. Then suddenly it’s gone, you sell the company, and you’re free. That’s exhilarating, but also disorienting.”
The environment itself facilitates that reflection. “You’re in the middle of nowhere, you’re in nature,” said Eric. “It immediately takes your mind and heart to a different place, where you become very relaxed and introspective and you start asking yourself questions like, what do I want out of life? You start assessing work through that lens, which is, what does work add to my life?”
A soulful place. Tundra Camp at Schmok Lake. Eric Wichems photo.
For guests in similar positions, retired or between chapters, the experience offers something money can’t buy elsewhere. “When you find yourself in a position where you don’t have to work anymore, be it you’re retired or you’ve sold your company or whatever the case is, then it really becomes about how do I want to spend my time?” said Eric.
Advice for Future Guests
For anyone considering a Churchill Wild safari, Eric offers perspective shaped by his experience across multiple properties and years of wildlife travel worldwide.
“First off, anybody that goes and says you guys are doing false advertising basically hasn’t done nature tours,” said Eric, addressing the reality of wildlife viewing. “This is wildlife. You’re going to feature your best wildlife photos. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, whether you’re on tiger safari, whether you’re on whatever the case may be. It’s not unique to you guys.”
Mom and cub on the rocky coastline at Seal River Heritage Lodge. Eric Wichems photo.
But beyond managing expectations about wildlife encounters, Eric emphasized what makes the experience genuinely special. “You go to Nanuk and it’s an absolutely beautiful area in and of itself. And conveying how beautiful the area is, I think should be emphasized more because you have such different ecosystems. You have the forest, you have the tidal flats. You have a lot of different areas.”
Caribou on the Arctic Safari at Schmok Lake. Eric Wichems photo.
Eric’s advice is simple: don’t focus solely on the close-up bear encounters. “The encounters should not just be about the close ones that come into the lodge,” he said. “It isn’t about seeing a polar bear through the dining window. It just isn’t. It is the quiet moments, it’s the beauty of the scenery. It’s the northern lights, both when they’re great and when they’re a little softer. It is the moody, wet clouds. It’s the little sik-sik that you see when you’re in Seal. It’s the beautiful lodge at night, playing card games with a bottle of wine with people that you just met. That’s really what the trip is.”
And if time and budget allow? “Don’t just do one lodge if you have the time,” said Eric. “They’re so remarkably different, even if you hadn’t seen polar bears at either Seal or Nanuk, they would still be completely different locations. The ability to string them together is what makes it truly special.”
Looking Ahead
Lone wolf relaxing on the coast at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Eric Wichems photo.
Eric isn’t done with the North. His next idea: return in summer, add a stay at Churchill Wild’s Blueberry Inn in Churchill, and include beluga encounters. “I want to maybe do a summer tour, see the belugas, and then just stay in Churchill one night, just tack it onto one of the itineraries that you run.”
He’s also thinking about bringing his sister-in-law and brother, who love these types of trips. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they sign up for one of your trips in the next year or two,” he said.
But more than future itineraries, it’s the memories that matter. “I just love the fact that I was able to do all three experiences, Tundra Camp, Seal and then Nanuk. It was really, really special.”
Polar bear daydreaming on a boulder at Seal River Heritage Lodge. Eric Wichems photo.
For Eric, two weeks across two lodges and a remote tent camp wasn’t just a vacation, it was a passage through three distinct worlds, each offering its own form of magic, each demanding its own kind of attention.
And in that attention, that presence, he found something more valuable than any business deal: time itself, stretched wide under the northern lights, shared with his daughter in one of the wildest places on Earth.
Northern Lights over Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Eric Wichems photo.
Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge
