A Visitor and Prince of Wales Fort

July 14, 2019

This morning turned out to be another great way to start the day. We went downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast talked to some of the guests as they too arrived. Suddenly one of the patrons started shouting, “There is a bear at the front of the lodge! “ We all got up to look outside and saw the white polar bear saunter to the side toward the back of the resort, so we all ran to the back of the restaurant to watch. You could hear horns blaring outside and we watched as a conservation officer screeched to a halt beside the restaurant and stepped out, loaded her shotgun and fired a shot into the air over the top of the bear. There was a large blast and a flash of orange. The bear looked over its shoulder and continued to saunter away towards the tundra. Another conservation officer on the other side of the restaurant, took another shot with his flare gun and the bear continued on. Several flare shots were fired towards the bear and the officers kept on honking their horns. The bear slipped into a nearby melt pond, climbed out the other side and shook itself and continued on out of sight. About a half hour later we heard the helicopter take off and saw it fly in the direction of where the bear went.

We later learned that this was the first polar bear to arrive in Churchill for the summer. It had walked through the town, and onto a porch of one of the residences. There were unconfirmed rumors that it had been tranquilized and transported back to the ice floes.

After breakfast it was time to get ready to go kayaking with the belugas. There were six of us that had signed up and we met our new guide for this adventure, Noah, in the lobby. Noah is actually Jason’s son, and is also a qualified guide. Noah is also a student at Ottawa College. We drove to the docks and were suited into neoprene wet suits and life jackets. After a familiarization talk, we headed out into the river estuary. Noah paddled with us and there was another guide in a zodiac boat cruising near us in the event of an accident. Debbie and I are experienced kayakers but it was comforting to have this safety measure near us in these frigid waters.

You could see the belugas everywhere, swimming in different directions and could hear them blowing all around you. Within minutes a small group of four or five came towards us one surfaced about five feet from Debbie’s kayak and then did a deep dive directly beside her kayak, smacking its tail on the water as it went down. Shortly after, I watched as a beluga came behind Debbie’s kayak and pushed with its nose on the rudder. For the next three hours, we were surrounded by the Belugas. They would come under the kayak and bump the bottom. You could reach out and touch them but that is prohibited. They generally swam in small groups, and often mother and baby would swim alongside the kayak. A newborn beluga calf is a mottled brown color and as they age they turn a mottled grey color and eventually turning to white. A newborn calf is about three feet long. Belugas generally have one calf and if they have two the second one generally dies because the mother is spending its time bringing the first newborn to the surface to breathe resulting in the second one dying.

The weather was warm with sunny skies and no wind. The water was calm and it simply was an idyllic time paddling among these curious and friendly creatures. Our excursion lasted about three hours that simply flew by. It was magical!

Soon it was time to return back to the resort. We came back to the resort and had a quick dinner. This afternoon we were going to visit the Prince of Wales fort on the other bank of the river and cruise among the belugas again in a zodiac. Both tour groups were going so we were all in several groups of six. We quietly cruised in the estuary with the belugas cruising near and around us. After about an hour, we then turned towards the fort and cruised toward the docks.

We were greeted by three Parks Canada employees who proceeded to give a very informative presentation about the building of the fort and the life of the Hudson Bay Company traders that lived at Prince of Wales. Because if was late afternoon, the mosquitoes were very hungry for new fresh blood! Fashion statements aside, we donned our mosquito net hats and jackets so that we could enjoy this tour. The whole time we were at the fort we noticed about four bear sentries on ATVs on the perimeter of the fort and three others on foot. They were dressed in bright white vests with red hats and carrying shotguns and binoculars.

The Prince of Wales fort was built in 1771 and at that time was made of wood. It was later rebuilt to British specifications into a stone fort. It was never really completed. Stone was used in the four-foot thick walls, however the mortar was mixed with salt water instead of fresh water, which over many years began to disintegrate. Forty-two cannons were placed on the walls around the perimeter of the fort.

At the same time Cape Merry was also erected as a cannon battery to protect the fort across the river. In 1782 three French warships captured the fort. Samuel Hearne, the governor of the fort at the time, surrendered the fort without a single shot being fired. He was aware that his men were not trained military men and he did not want bloodshed. The fort was later turned back to the Hudson’s Bay Company after the wooden structures were burned down.

After a very interesting presentation and walk through the grounds and the walls of the fort, it was time to return to the resort. We were escorted back to the zodiacs by the polar bear sentries. As we cruised back to the other side of the river, Noah suddenly had to shut off the motor of the zodiac as we were totally surrounded by belugas. They swam around, under and in front of the zodiac. Noah radioed to the other zodiacs that we would be late arriving, as he did not want to start the motor until the belugas could give us some space. After about twenty minutes, the belugas began to disperse and Noah started the motor and we went ashore.