South Baffin Art, Culture & Wildlife Special

Having arrived independently to the Canadian capital city of Ottawa, this morning you will join your scheduled flight to Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, to begin your thrilling Canadian Arctic adventure. Upon arrival at this historic settlement on the southeast coast of Baffin Island we can enjoy a walking tour before making our way to the ship for embarkation. After you have settled in to your comfortable cabin and explored your new surroundings, you will be invited to join your expedition team and fellow passengers to enjoy a welcome cocktail as we cast off to begin our exploration of some of the world’s most remote and intriguing regions.

Note: there is a flight package covering flights to and from Ottawa to Iqaluit at a cost of US$1995pp.

The first stop on our Baffin Island adventure will be Monumental Island. Situated in the Davis Strait, Monumental Island is a well-known location for walrus and we will explore by zodiac boat along the shoreline looking for these fascinating creatures and hoping especially to see smaller pups within the masses. We sometimes encounter polar bears in this vicinity and during their hunting forays, they have been known to chase walrus off their haul out and into the water.

Here we also expect to see the first of many large icebergs and as with throughout your voyage your expert expedition team will offer informative and entertaining talks and presentations on the area’s geology, wildlife and history.

Day 3 will bring us to Kimmirut, a former Hudson Bay Company trading post and home to 400 residents. Here we will board our Zodiacs to cruise through the narrow channel on to shore to be warmly greeted by the friendly locals who are eager to share the highlights of their local art scene. Kimmirut is renowned for its arts and crafts including stone carvings, sealskin clothing, jewellery and fine beadwork amongst much more, and a walk around this small town will give us an insight into the methods behind these fascinating activities.

Although our focus over the next few days will mostly be on the traditional artistry and crafts, there will still be some excellent opportunities for wildlife sightings as Arctic wolves, caribou, seals, walruses, Arctic hares and whales are among the many animals that are native to the area. There are also excellent bird watching opportunities with expected observations of snow buntings, snowy owls, ptarmigans and peregrine falcons amongst much more.

On day 4 we will make our way to Cape Dorset to spend two days exploring this beautiful hamlet and its surrounding areas. Referred to as the ‘Capital of Inuit Art’, Cape Dorset is Baffin Island’s best-known art centre and two days here will allow us to fully engage with the hamlet’s residents, almost a quarter of whom are actively engaged in the visual arts field. Much of their artwork reflects the wilderness and environment of Baffin Island, with the local wildlife providing a focus for artistic expression. These artworks reflect the deep connection the Inuit people have to one another, past generations, the land and nature, as well as a spiritual connection to the Earth. The celebrated Art Co-operative is the best place to view these striking works and observe the artists at work.

As well as interacting with the thriving arts scene, there will also be ample photo opportunities here as Cape Dorset’s fabulous landscapes and wildlife activity offers up its wares to us. There are also some excellent hiking opportunities through rolling hills to secluded waterfalls and lakes, providing great views and chances to observe the local wildlife or watch ice floes drift slowly by, as well as great chances to partake in the optional kayaking activities.

Overnight we will have sailed into the western reaches of Hudson Strait where we will have reached walrus island, which faithful to its name will offer up some great walrus encounters to us as we spend time exploring on our Zodiac boats.

In the afternoon we will get back on board to sail to the small hamlet of Coral Harbour on Southampton Island where we will go ashore to discover the area’s fascinating history and important migratory bird flyway. Keen birdwatchers will be hoping for sightings of ptarmigans, peregrine falcons, snowy owls, gyrfalcons and common eider and lesser snow geese, with other wildlife likely to be spotted including caribou, Arctic foxes and red foxes.

At the juncture of the Hudson Strait and north-eastern Hudson Bay, we will reach the Digges Island, and area of soaring rocky cliffs on the north-western tip of the Ungava Peninsula that is home to an abundance of seabirds, large colonies of walrus and, most excitingly, good numbers of polar bears. We will spend some time here exploring by Zodiac hoping for some good observations of these iconic “Kings of the Arctic” before we move on to visit the remote Erik Cove to enjoy an afternoon excursion.

On the morning of day 8 we will have sailed north-east across the Hudson Strait and back to the southern shores of Baffin Island. Today’s adventures will bring us to the narrow and strikingly beautiful fjord of Shaftesbury Inlet where we will go ashore to enjoy a gentle hike up the river valley to a beautiful lake.

The morning of day 9 will bring us to the steep cliffs of the uninhabited Akpatok Island where a staggering abundance of birdlife and good numbers of walruses and polar bears will delight the wildlife enthusiasts amongst us. The plan for today and tomorrow will be to enjoy some thrilling Zodiac cruises along the shoreline in search of these bountiful wildlife populations before sailing north to the remarkable Lower Savage Islands to enjoy more cruising through the spectacular narrow channels that abound here. This will be a fantastic way to spend the last full days of our voyage, and on the evening of day 10 you will be invited to join the captain for a special farewell dinner. This will be the perfect time to relax and reflect on what will surely have been an unforgettable journey.

Our journey ends back where it began as you awake back along the shores of Iqaluit. After breakfast it will be time to disembark and bid a fond farewell to the expedition team before making our way to the airport for our return flight to Ottawa. Upon arrival in Ottawa, if you are planning to spend more time here a transfer will be provided to a downtown location.