Guest Post and Photos by Joanne Weeks
I had the great fortune of visiting Seal River Heritage Lodge in August 2013 for the Birds, Bears and Belugas adventure. It is too difficult to narrow it down to one favourite moment, so I would like to share my three favourites.
1. Swimming with belugas
It was a beautiful sunny day. The winds were cooperating so we headed out in the Zodiac for our ride to the river. There were so many belugas! I put on the dry suit, mask and snorkel and went into the water. A rope was hooked around my ankles and I was towed slowly behind the boat. Once in the water it is was time to sing. I sang songs from the Sound of Music. The high pitch of my singing attracted some curious belugas that came over to investigate. At one point there were seven belugas swimming around me. Some were swimming underneath and turning upside down and looking at me. I never felt threatened. It was such a magical experience. Take an underwater camera with you!
Beluga whale responds to the Sound of Music!
2. Northern lights at night
I had never seen northern lights before my trip to Seal River Heritage Lodge. One evening after we had all gone to bed, one of our guides walked down the hall announcing that there were northern lights.  We jumped out of bed, grabbed our cameras and tripods and headed outside. Wow! What a show. So many colours! It was breathtaking. The next night before we went to bed, we mounted our cameras on the tripods so that we would be ready, just in case we had the opportunity to see the northern lights again…. and we did. It was more spectacular than the previous night. We were outside for about an hour enjoying the incredible display.
3. Sunset walk with a polar bear
On our last evening at Seal River Heritage Lodge our guide Andy asked if anyone wanted to go out for an evening walk, as a polar bear had been spotted coming out of the water not too far from the lodge. About six of us headed out with Andy for a walk. We spotted the bear sitting in the grass just down the driveway. We watched him for some time as he rolled around in the grass. As the sun began to set he got up and started to walk. He then stood up on his back legs and put his nose up in the air before wandering into the sunset. It was a beautiful peaceful moment.
Best trip ever!
What were your favourite Churchill Wild moments? Please share!
Do you have cherished moments or memories from your trip with Churchill Wild? We would love to share them with friends, followers and fellow guests on our blog! Please e-mail us at info@churchillwild.com with the Subject Line: Favourite Moments and we’ll post it on our blog and share it on our social media properties. Please include a few of your favourite photos if you have them. We’ll give you full credit for your photographic prowess! Thank You!
