9th – Back in the buggy

Before leaving the hotel at 0800 we checked out and left our luggage which would find its own way out to the airport. With that done we headed out to the buggy deck to go on a 6-hour buggy ride in the protected area – the same area where I spent a few days on my last visit.

Starting off with clear weather we kept our eyes on the surroundings, but we soon had to realize that the majority of what we would end up seeing would be bird life and less mammals. We did get to see a few caribous and at one point when taking a break our driver spotted a bear 1+ km away. Else we saw plenty of geese, tundra swans, ptarmigans, bald eagles, various types of ducks and numerous other more or less recognizable small birds.

Caribou.

Sandhill cranes.

Being on flat terrain the starting clear weather gave good conditions to spot anything, and despite it being a bit chilly and with the occasional breeze it was still nice standing outside on the rear outside platform. A few hours in, though, it deteriorated with rain, wind and decreased visibility. It made it harder to see things at far distances, but despite it clearing up again we did get the rain on and off for the rest of the tour.

Tundra swans.

Willow ptarmigans.

Finishing the tour we headed towards the airport to fly back to Winnipeg. On the way there we were informed that because the Churchill airport’s weather updates are a bit slow Winnipeg hadn’t been updated on the weather changes; the bad weather we had had had been present in the entire area preventing anything from landing and taking off from Churchill. So driving towards the airport expecting the plane to almost arrive in Churchill it was still sitting in Winnipeg.

Bald eagle taking off.

This meant we had some unplanned extra time which was spent as each wanted; buying souvenirs, getting coffee, and I and a few others drove around and saw the shacks, non-permanent buildings in town (where the mayor also lives), and had a look and walk in the activity center.

As requested by the airline we showed up in the airport in good time where we sat waiting for more than an hour for the plane to arrive. It finally showed up, we boarded and flew back to Winnipeg where we arrived almost 2 hours later than planned. Luckily the hotel was only a 5 minutes’ walk from the airport. Here we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways which meant that most people checked into the hotel for the night, but others who lived nearby left right away after getting their bags.