Mom and cubs walking along the shoreline at Seal River Heritage Lodge. Phil Davis photo.
August ran hot, then cool, then wild in every direction. Between Seal River Heritage Lodge and Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge, guests logged polar bears in double digits, thousands of belugas, wolf tracks, caribou in full velvet, black bears fattening up on berries and, on more nights than usual, the northern lights.
Three Birds, Bears & Belugas departures ran back-to-back at Seal River, from August 6 through August 21. The belugas were reliable all month. Bears came and went, which is how it goes on the Hudson Bay coast in summer, and the guests who got them got them well.
Beluga whale surfacing next to Zodiac at Seal River Heritage Lodge. Phil Davis photo.
The August 6-11 group worked through a stretch of wind, rain and cloud and still came away with good bears, good belugas and lots of birds, with the last of the fireweed hanging on. The August 11-16 departure caught better weather, a night of northern lights, and what the lodge team simply called amazing whales. The August 16-21 group had a slow first day for bears, then found single bears and a mom with cubs on their last full day, with belugas throughout and the sik siks putting on a show around the lodge.
Guests who filled out surveys after their stay echoed what the guides were seeing.
“It was amazing! Very well organized, great staff, we saw so many animals and flora,” said Joanne Schalk, who signed up through the Shedd Aquarium and Classic Escapes travel agency. “One of the best trips I have been on. A bucket list experience.”
Mom and cubs in the rock at Seal River Heritage Lodge. Scott Sugarbaker photo.
Katie Grogan was on the same safari. “Fantastic guides, incredible, personalized attention throughout the stay,” said Grogan. “Not an insignificant cost and worth every single penny and more.” She had gone in braced for the usual overselling on the food. “I knew the food was supposed to be ‘great’ but plenty of people claim that and do not deliver so spectacularly,” said Grogan.
John Hesselmann kept it short. “The team was outstanding. The experience awe inspiring!” said Hesselmann. “No other humans or motorized vehicles for many, many miles. Not many places on earth like that today.”
Ida Jonsen went out on the water in a kayak. “The kayak with belugas and experience at the lodge was beyond my expectation,” said Jonsen. “Everybody that worked for Churchill Wild was extremely helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly.”
Guests observing beluga whales at Seal River Heritage Lodge. Scott Sugarbaker photo.
Queenie Prabakanti Sudarmono wrote back to the lodge after her stay to say she would recommend the trip to anyone. “Very comfortable, really made me feel like home,” said Sudarmono, who singled out guides Boomer Jerritt, Johnny Berg and Shayna Plett. “It was truly memorable, especially getting to know an experienced guide like Boomer, who really shared so much about everything, especially about photography.”
Mike Friedman put the credit in the same place. “Absolutely amazing. The experience we had would not have been possible without the great staff,” said Friedman.
A guest from Houston who reviewed the trip on TripAdvisor on August 20 counted mothers with cubs on three separate occasions, single bears of various sizes many times over, a full day with belugas and one night of northern lights. She named guides Shayna Plett, Johnny Berg and Luke Kolla, and had one piece of practical advice for August: pack layers and thick socks.
Marla Davidson arrived with high expectations after staying at Dymond Lake Ecolodge in November of 2024, and said Seal River met them. “The Churchill Wild attention to detail is exceptional, service is extraordinary, and the facilities are great,” said Davidson. “Picking our favourite trip is like picking a favourite child. You love each in a special way. Can’t wait to add Nanuk to our list sometime in the future!”
Nanuk: double-digit days
Polar bear cub napping on mom at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Marc Weinberg photo.
Some 310 km down the coast at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge, the season has been busy from the start.
“We’ve got tons of bears all up and down the coast, east and west,” said guide Brandon Stuebing. “We’re seeing double-digit bears some days, so lots of activity.”
The story of the month at Nanuk was cubs. “We’ve seen a lot of sows and cubs and COYs,” said Stuebing, using the shorthand for cubs of the year. “We’ve seen multiple females nursing their cubs. Pretty much every group so far has seen nursing cubs.”
They looked good, too. “Some of the cubs are massive. Really healthy. Lots of healthy bears,” said Stuebing.
The weather has been unusual. “A little bit of both. Pretty hot for this time of year, lots of really sunny warm days, but it’s finally starting to cool down,” said Stuebing.
Black bear in the willows at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Marc Weinberg photo.
Other tracks turned up. “We’ve seen lots of fresh wolf tracks, which is exciting,” said Stuebing, who has found groups of three, mostly to the east. The caribou have stuck around as well, which has not been a given in recent years. “We’ve been seeing lots of big bull caribou, full velvet, and getting pretty close,” said Stuebing. “That’s been a pretty neat experience for the guests.”
The Hudson Bay Odyssey departures on August 13-17 and August 17-21 both logged 10 or more bears with sightings every day, along with black bears, foxes and northern lights. Wolves turned up twice on the second departure, briefly enough that not everyone in the group got on them.
Jenifer Bunis was on the Odyssey. “We felt so privileged to experience the world of the polar bears, and other wildlife, in such a pristine and wild environment while still feeling safe with all the comforts of home,” said Bunis. “Churchill Wild has fine tuned the experience so that it all feels seamless without feeling canned or formulaic.”
Fat bear competitor at Nanuk. Jesus Martinez photo.
The Arctic Discovery season wrapped up at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge with a departure that had a bit of everything. Guests approached a mom and cub on their first full day and turned up a male bear as well. Black bears wandered the lodge grounds working over the berries, and a red fox made an almost nightly appearance at dinnertime, racing down the runway with food for her cubs. Several pelicans dropped in, which is not something we see often at Nanuk.
The last full day was the highlight. A large male lay resting in the sand ridges. A mother and cub came along the tidal flats toward the group. And at one point a caribou ran past a second mom and cub, sleeping nearby, entirely unimpressed.
Earlier in the month, the August 1-5 Arctic Discovery group had polar bear approaches every single day.
Alice Dowie had never seen a bear in the wild before. “It was exhilarating,” said Dowie. “Taking a Zodiac with the belugas was more than I imagined. Didn’t expect to see so many.”
Big polar bear on the move at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Marc Weinberg photo.
Carol Tetrault added a day in Winnipeg before her Arctic Discovery trip and two days in Churchill after it, and came away with three nights of aurora. “Top tier all the way,” said Tetrault. “Loved seeing and watching the polar bears in natural environment. The beluga whales were fun to see all around the Zodiacs and kayaks.”
It was the small things that stuck with her. After she mentioned in passing that she does not eat cheese, every meal that followed came with a dish made without it, including the packed lunch for a full day on the tundra. When the staff found out it was her birthday, a cake turned up at dessert.
Michael Merbeck did both Birds, Bears & Belugas and the Arctic Discovery. “Fantastic experience if you want to see Hudson Bay habitat. Loved it all,” said Merbeck.
Polar bear cub standing to observe guests at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Jesus Martinez photo.
On the Cloud Wolves of the Kaska Coast safari, the wolves stayed out of sight, though not out of earshot. Fenella Cochrane is already booked to return in March of 2027. “Churchill Wild went above and beyond in their endeavours to get us in front of wolves, and although we didn’t see the wolves we did hear them,” said Cochrane. She had a word for the guiding as well. “The guides’ knowledge of polar bear behaviour and their management and guidance of our walking in to the bears was ethical, with total consideration given to not disturbing the bears,” said Cochrane.
Thank you to Marc Weinberg for sharing photos and videos from the final Arctic Discovery departure of the season. Thanks also to Jesus Martinez of Dream Destinations Mexico, a guest on the August 1-5 Arctic Discovery trip, who spent his week handing his shots around and helping other guests get more out of their cameras.
Silent conversation. Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Marc Weinberg photo.
Brandon Stuebing was asked what advice he would give future guests. He didn’t reach for anything about gear or lenses.
“Come in with an open mind and a positive attitude, and you’re going to have a wonderful experience,” said Stuebing.
