Manitoba

It was 7:30 am and still dark outside when our group of 16 entered the polar bear rover, a massive bus on monster truck sized wheels built specifically for driving atop the arctic tundra. Then the yellowish-red sun started to rise on the horizon and we stopped to get our first of many majestic photos that day. Within an hour we would spot our first polar bear strutting along in the distance and as everyone scurried to grab their long lenses, I was regretting my decision of solely bringing along my iPhone 16 Pro. Yet, all it took was another hour of anticipation before my trusty smart phone zoomed in on a polar bear sleeping blissfully on a bed of kelp. We stayed on him for a long while, until he woke from his nap and walked directly to our vehicle. If I could bottle the enthusiasm in that rover as this huge mammal waddled over to us, it would be like uncorking champagne. People were snapping photos like paparazzi chasing Princess Di. And yes, my iPhone performed brilliantly in that situation creating both photos and video that I’ll always cherish.

We were on Day Two of the 6-Day Polar Bear Adventure offered by Natural Habitat Adventures. Upon our arrival, we dropped our bags off in the Churchill Motel and soon were on a 4-hour night ride with dinner on the tundra. We would spot the rare gyrfalcon, only found in the Nordic locales, zipping by us along with a northern harrier hawk. But we only had faint sightings of polar bears long in the distance. The next day, that would change dramatically as we not only encountered our sleepy bear up close and personal, but mothers and their cubs walking and playing in the marshy terrain, dotted with the occasion black and white spruce tree.

Our guide, Giulia, taught us everything we ever wanted to know about the polar bear, including the latest number in these parts, around 600 to 700 polar bears. We were also blessed with a wonderful driver, Derek, a 5th-generation Chuchillian, who could spot a polar bear long before anyone else. I have to admit that it was a rather sedentary trip for me, spending a good deal of time in the polar bear rover. So when Giulia walked around with pen and paper asking people to write something about their experience, I penned this poem:

My Bum is Numb
I shift my weight around from left side to right
Uncomfortably squirming, shifting and fidgeting to try to make it right.
Every bump shakes my bladder, makes me want to pee, try not to drink more coffee to increase the agony.
I’d be counting steps if I were home or biking with some Peloton babe, instead I sit here and bide my time, try not to go insane.
But once I see that glimpse of fur, my body jumps to stare, no longer obsessing about petty inaction or my increasingly rotund rear.
As the white bear takes shape, my heart accelerates and my mind finally becomes still, a magical encounter that might be gone in an instant, but will take years to distill.
Then I sit back down, ready to endure another bump, knowing full well that the best things in life comes with the occasional thump.

It’s been so much fun to relive my travels of 2025 with you! Look forward to sharing more of my adventures with ActiveTravels in 2026, starting with a flight to Kenya to go on safari with the family a week from today.