What should you expect on a trip to the
Arctic, specifically when visiting the
Ungava Polar Eco-Camp? Great question! The first thing you should know is that no two trips are the same. Your hosts at Ungava Bay are lifelong residents of Nunavik and will use their local knowledge and experience, along with technology (in the form of wind and weather reports), to try and plan each day’s activities to be safe, fun, and full of adventure.
Each day will be different, but feel free to express your desires to your hosts; they will try and incorporate your wishes to do certain activities or find animals as best they can. Hiking in the
Gyrfalcon Islands is magnificent, and was full of color (a big surprise to me on my first visit!). Flowers and berries were everywhere, along with lakes and streams, lemmings, eagles, and rock formations.
Ungava Eco-Camp also has fat-tire biking, so you can pedal your way over the tundra and across those incredible rock formations. Going down was my favorite part. Actually, that’s not true. We found ourselves on a broad expanse of stone after biking for a bit and it was one of the most incredible and peaceful feelings I’ve ever had. I was with three other individuals, but I felt so far away from everything else. Silence was all around. It was mesmerizing.
Boating is a big component of your trip to Ungava Bay. Going out for a half-day or full-day outing will let you see a host of things: the incredible tides, icebergs drifting along, seals, musk-ox, caribou, and maybe even a polar bear. You can take the boat out and disembark to track musk-ox as I did, motor out into the open ocean to see icebergs, or explore the varied Gyrfalcon Islands, never knowing what you’d find around the next island.
The most important thing to remember is to be flexible. Your hosts will alert you to changes to the plan. If the winds whip up a frenzy, you don’t want to be out on the boat. If a downpour comes, hiking might not be too fun. The standard trip is six nights; we feel this gives visitors a chance to explore the area even if some weather crops up and holds them down for a bit. This is another reason to pack a good book (see my suggestions for packing), as well as a good story or two to share with the group in the main lodge. Crack open a pack of cards and invite your fellow travelers to a game while you wait for the wind to change or the rains to subside. Let your legs rest before you head out on another hiking adventure or pedaling across the tundra. As quickly as the weather can disrupt plans, it can change again to give you a new opportunity to explore this fascinating land.
