Lynne's Travels : 2025

Tundra Buggy Lodge

After 2 days in Churchill, it was finally time for my long-awaited trip into Churchill Wildlife Management area, an immense lowland area known as the Tundra, next to Wapusk National Park. Wapusk is the Cree word for white bear, and this area is one of the world’s largest-known polar bear denning sites. It is also a perfect habitat for hundreds of thousands of waterfowl and shorebirds which nest along the Hudson Bay coast in summer and gather to feed during spring and fall migrations. We travelled by coach for about an hour before reaching the Tundra Buggy docking station – this was going to be the last time our feet would be on Terra Firma for the next few days (it was too dangerous to be on land from now on).

There were several vehicles there, either bringing people back from day trips, loading up with provisions to take to the Tundra Buggy Lodge, or waiting for the next group of people heading out to spend a few days on this incredible hotel on wheels - a white train that looks like it should be on the moon or in Antarctica. The sleeping accommodation looked very basic on the photographs I had seen, 20 bunk beds in each of the 2 sleeping carriages, (named Hearne and La Perouse after 2 important figures in Churchill’s history) – but you did have a curtain for privacy, a plug socket and a window!

It was the window that I was most excited about – falling to sleep or waking up and seeing a polar bear right outside my window, or the Northern Lights if I was really lucky. The hour-long journey from the docking station to the Tundra Lodge was full of wonder – such interesting scenery, I have never seen so many lakes, as well as numerous birds and even a few foxes.

The Tundra was captivating – not at all like I had imagined! I expected it to be a dry, arid, dull landscape but it was the complete opposite. There was so much water, it felt as if we were travelling through or across the ocean at times.

We arrived at Polar Bear Point just after sunset and what a fabulous sunset it was – the most electric flaming burnt orange sky imaginable.

We boarded the Tundra Lodge and were shown to our quarters – our bunk bed - but there was no time to unpack. We all went to the next carriage known as the Thanadelthur Lounge, a place to relax, read, check your photographs, connect to Wi-Fi or to just look out of the wall to ceiling windows at the expansive tundra. You never know what might appear!

This is also where presentations are held at the end of each day. We were given a safety briefing and told what to expect the next day - before going into the only other carriage - the dining room known as Dan’s Diner. The food served here was first class, the chef prepared us a delectable dinner which we enjoyed with a glass of wine, whilst getting to know the other group members - but never taking our eyes off the landscape. Even though it was dark, we spotted a couple of polar bears ambling around outside the Lodge – they looked like huge grey boulders - until they moved!

It wasn’t long before everyone started heading off to their bunks. I made sure I had everything ready for the morning, as well as leaving clothes out if there was a shout in the middle of the night that the Northern Lights were out. I had only been asleep for a couple of hours when I stirred; and when I looked out of my window the clouds appeared to be different. I took a quick photo with my phone, and the screen went green – it really was the Aurora!

I quickly threw my clothes on and headed to the outdoor viewing platform on top of the Lounge carriage. Situated so far from the town and any other light pollution, the Northern Lights are prevalent in this area; but I still felt lucky to have seen them. The roof-top observation deck gave us a 360-degree unobstructed view of one of the most marvellous spectacles in the world.

It was hard to go back to bed, the lights were changing all the time and minutes turned into hours. How do you sleep after a night like that! It wasn’t long before people started getting up, having a shower (there were a couple in each carriage) and breakfast – ready to start our first full day out in the Tundra Buggy. It was before 8am, hardly light, and as we stepped from the Lodge to the Buggy, we were told to look down first – just in case there was Polar Bear below, that would try to grab us. What a thought! We were to be out for about 10 hours searching the tundra for anything of interest, so had to take everything we might need. The Buggy had a toilet and provisions for our lunch, and plenty of room for each passenger – there was only 20 of us and double that many seats.

There were windows all the way around – but the opening sections were high up and only opened about 6 inches (for safety reasons) and a viewing platform at the back. The sea ice broke up on 15^th June this year, and the bears had desperately been trying to keep themselves alive ever since (it was early October when I was there) and I was worried how emaciated they might look. As I had learnt at Polar Bears International in Churchill, the bears hadn’t eaten for about 140 days now and were only capable of surviving about one more month.

We headed away from the Lodge along one of the dirt tracks towards the shore of the Hudson Bay – and I could see why the Buggy's had such enormous wheels. It wasn’t just to keep us safe from the bears – it was to navigate the seriously deep ruts and holes along these tracks – let alone some of the large ponds we drove through.

It was quite foggy that first morning and hard to see any wildlife at all, but as the morning progressed, it cleared slightly. Travelling along the riverbank we were all excited to see wolf footprints, but try as we might, we didn’t spot any wolves. There were many birds though – ptarmigan, ducks, ravens, plovers, swans, snow bunting and Canada geese. After a delicious lunch we continued journeying around the region; and were lucky enough to see a polar bear, then a second appeared behind with a third following.

They looked dirty, but this was only from rolling about in the soil; that made me feel so much better – I was worried that they might not be in the best condition. We were all pleased that we had seen some bears today even if the weather hadn’t allowed us the best shots – we had our memories. When we arrived back at the Lodge, the sun was almost setting – another spectacular sight.

Before our evening meal, we had a presentation by members of Polar Bear International and were allowed to go inside their special vehicle “Tundra Buggy One” containing all sorts of equipment, including webcams (that can be seen worldwide) to track polar bears. It was a fascinating insight to the work they do, and we all subscribed to follow their work. After dinner everyone was desperate to get to bed, it had been a fabulous first full day, but after hardly any sleep the previous night and scouring the landscape all day – none of us could keep our eyes open. After only a few hours in bed, I heard a noise, and realised there were some people up and about – I threw my coat and boots on top of my pyjamas and headed outside.

The Northern Lights were visible again – and what a show they put on. It was even more impressive than the night before – the curtains of light swirled around the sky for hours.

Sleep was not an option whilst this was occurring……………..there would be plenty of time for that on the journey home. The next morning started just before 6am again, everyone was buzzing from the previous evening and excited for our upcoming day out in the Tundra Buggy.

It was a completely different day; the fog had lifted, and the sun was shining. We didn’t have to go far before we had our first encounter, one that lasted a few hours. A bear approached our Buggy, encircling it and looking up at the windows - it could smell humans / meat / food from a great distance.

Some of us went outside onto the viewing platform for a closer look. The floor is a steel grill, and after a few minutes the bear ambled underneath the grill and was sniffing at our boots.

No one dare breathe let alone speak. We weren’t in any danger, but the closeness of this encounter was intense. When we thought the bear had, had enough and started walking away, we could not have ever imagined what would happen next.

Another bear appeared and circled our vehicle for a few minutes, before heading over to the other bear and they started fighting with each other. There wasn’t much noise or anger; and our guide told us they must have been siblings and were only sparring to burn off energy – although to us it still looked as if they were fighting.

This went on for well over an hour and everyone was mesmerised with what was taking place – even the guide and driver had never encountered anything like it before. When talking to our driver, I flippantly said that all I wanted now was to see a polar bear reflection in a mirror-like pond or ocean! We continued travelling around the Luna landscape for the rest of the day, and the only way you knew you weren’t on the moon - was how much water was about – most of the tracks were water filled and full of boulders.

With the sun out, some of the bushes gave off a crimson or purple glow; that with the yellow and orange kelp – really brightened up the landscape.

We saw several more bears, along the shoreline, behind rocks or lying in bushes; a wolf and a couple of foxes, a red one and a snow or arctic fox; but the highlight of the afternoon was a real National Geographic moment.

We were watching a bear lazing on a rock in the sun, when a fox came tottering around the corner of a hedgerow and was right there in front of the bear – we thought he was going to be the bear’s lunch.

But no! The bear just jumped up to scare the fox away – and we could all breathe again! When we arrived back at the Lodge, there was a maintenance worker up a ladder fixing some wiring on the side of one of the carriages – and he had his very own bodyguard complete with a rifle! Safety is paramount here. We disembarked from the Buggy and went to the lounge to discuss our day. No-one, not even the staff or guides could believe what we had encountered – we had been really lucky. As for photographs, we were all now talking about how many thousand we had taken – not how many hundred. After dinner there was a talk on marine animals that inhabit this area and more information on polar bears, before we all headed to our bunks to get ready for tomorrow. When passing from the lounge to the sleeping carriage, I saw a bear on its hind legs standing up at the kitchen door – trying to get in!

It did make you feel sad thinking how hungry and desperate they must be for food. I got my case ready to leave the next morning, left my coat and boots close by and switched my reading light off. Glancing out of the window before I put my head on my pillow and guess what! There was a bear right outside – the Lodge is equipped with exterior field lights, and they enabled us to watch him in the dark of night.

I was only asleep an hour or so, before I got up again – it was my last night in this magical place, and I wasn’t missing my final chance to see the Northern Lights one last time. They weren’t as vibrant as the previous night but still a memorable sight.

Next morning, after breakfast, our suitcases went on a separate Buggy back to the docking station, whilst we started our final day travelling around the Tundra. It was sunny but frosty when we left, and it gave the landscape a different feel. I took a lovely shot of the Tundra Buggy Lodge – something different to a Polar Bear.

I decided to try and take more photos of the landscape – I needed to remember how serene, picturesque and colourful the shore of the Hudson Bay was – as well as its smooth blue water.

We didn’t feel as though anything could top the previous day, but after only a short time, 2 inquisitive bears appeared and stayed close by for quite a while, circling the Buggy. They stood up underneath the grill of the observation deck sniffing our boots – that really was close! They had no fear of the vehicle or its occupants – they were just searching for food. We continued on our way, and after watching a couple of bears playing in the kelp on the shoreline – my wish came true. They ambled into the calm water and there was my shot – the most incredible reflection. I was beaming, and so was everyone else.

The water here is tidal and not very deep – this would be the first place to freeze when the temperature dropped, and ice started forming. It was late this year; the weather was far too warm for October – hopefully it would change soon. But if it had frozen earlier, the bears would have left, and we might not have seen them.

We were more than lucky, and we knew it! We saw bears in many different positions and places, several were lying on bushes, whilst others seemed to enjoy just being on top of the kelp by the seashore – and nibbling it at the same time.

One even had hiccups – that wasn’t something I ever thought I would see. Our guide Nick told us it was a good sign that they were urinating etc and it meant they were still quite healthy. We had spent so much time scouring the land for bears that by the end of the trip, every large grey boulder appeared to be an animal! One of the hardest creatures to spot was a tiny arctic fox cub – it was curled up on the grey cobbles and almost invisible – until it moved. I do love them – they are such delightful, engaging creatures.

Our driver let us all have a go at driving the Tundra Buggy, that felt quite terrifying – but there wasn’t really anything that we could crash into – we were still in the middle of nowhere – and we were all given a certificate confirming our achievement.

We continued travelling around the area, looking for one more bear, another fox, a wolf, or anything else prowling around until mid-afternoon; when it was time to head back to the docking station.

After group photos, it was time to say a fond farewell to our driver and head to the airport.

What an adventure it had been. I had waited a long time for this trip, due to various factors – but it had been well worth it. This one really was a trip of a lifetime, and I was so lucky to have shared it with some wonderful people. Thank you Frontiers North – your organisation is amazing.

https://frontiersnorth.com/tundra-buggy-lodge