Are you an explorer at heart? Have you always wanted to visit the Arctic?
Narwhal and Polar Bear, a Floe Edge Safari is a one-of-a-kind experience for the truly adventurous, where you can experience the 24-hour daylight of the Midnight Sun during the early Arctic summer.
It is the perfect adventure for first-time visitors to the Arctic as well as seasoned Arctic travellers, and it is suitable for adults, families, and amateur or professional naturalists and photographers.
The trip, which leaves from Ottawa and lands in Pond Inlet, Nunavut, will have visitors travelling via plane and qamutik—a traditional Inuit wooden sled with suspension or foam padded seats that is pulled behind a snowmobile.
The tour offers an array of opportunities to view narwhal and other Arctic wildlife, including polar bears, seals and a variety of bird species. You’ll experience spectacular landscapes as well, of course, such as the towering granite cliffs, glaciers and icebergs of Sirmilik National Park.
Visitors are invited to discover the beauty and wonder of the Arctic’s floe edge at their leisure in this small-group program that allows for a serene and unhurried experience. They will have the freedom to photograph, observe or simply linger around the magnificent Arctic scenes that surround them. They will also get to experience the vast expanses of the Arctic, the seemingly endless skies and tranquility.
Adventurers will travel to the northern reaches of Baffin Island, a magical spot where the sea ice meets the open water; it’s where marine mammals and other wildlife congregate—at the floe edge, also known as the “line of life”.
With a classic spring floe edge experience, you have the opportunity to view wildlife and icebergs under the Midnight Sun. Visitors will stay in a tented safari camp that offers stunning views of Bylot Island and access to both the national park and Eclipse Sound, a world-renowned floe edge.
Explorers travel in small groups, guided by Inuit. They spend days of discovery by the floe edge and, when conditions are good, they’ll see narwhals, seabirds, polar bears, seals, walrus and an abundance of migratory birds; it’s also possible to view bowhead and beluga whales.
This, of course, is one of the greatest highlights of the safari: the opportunity to observe a variety of Arctic wildlife in their natural habitat. For a sneak-peek at what you can expect to find, check out their Instagram.
Guests will also get the chance to snorkel and kayak among sea ice—and even enjoy tea made of meltwater from centuries-old icebergs.
Accommodations include two nights in a hotel in Pond Inlet and five nights in a tented safari camp on ice at Eclipse Sound. The large and spacious tents were specially designed for cold weather, are roomy and warm, and include mattresses, duvets, comforters and full-size pillows.
This experience from Arctic Kingdom Expeditions is truly an adventure of a lifetime, one that won’t be soon forgotten.
Expeditions run every spring in early May and will cost $20,569 per person (including tax), based on double occupancy. However, flight pricing is subject to change.
