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Daily excursions are led by the team - limited to 9-guests, this adventure focuses on photographing and observing muskoxen, polar bears and other high Arctic animals in August on the Northwest Passage.
Arrival Instructions
All adventures to Arctic Watch include accommodation in Yellowknife the nights before and after at the Explorer Hotel. Guests arrive into Yellowknife the day before the private charter departs for Arctic Watch.
Day 1
Fly to Yellowknife, the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories and spend the night at the Explorer Hotel.
Day 2
After breakfast, depart Yellowknife on a private charter for the 3-hour flight to Arctic Watch. Guests will land in the Arctic later that afternoon. After an introduction to the lodge and the surrounding landscape by the Arctic Watch team, guests will have time to settle into their cabins. Before dinner is served, a short hike up to the local mountain is offered; breathtaking views of the Northwest Passage and ice formations on the Arctic ocean. Spend time with your guide that evening, as you prepare your camera gear for the adventure.
Day 3
ATVs are our most practical form of transportation to cover long distances on the tundra. Attend a hands-on introduction to all-terrain vehicles followed by a short drive to the badlands of Somerset. The area is a distinctive grazing around for muskoxen denoted by salt deposits. The flora, combined with the natural salt deposits attract muskoxen herds. Spend the afternoon following and photographing muskoxen. In August bull muskoxen will battle for breeding rights in the herd. These fights can often be heard from big distances - males colliding heads at 60km/h. Female muskoxen (and young) will often nearly stand in observation. The area is also home to foxes and snowy owls.
Day 4
A short ATV drive from the lodge, we head inland into Somerset Island's tundra to an area we call muskox ridge. Deep peat moss and sedge grasses will attract residential muskoxen to spend most of the summer feeding in this area. Herds will wander between feeding sites - looking for the best foliage to graze on. Spending the day hiking the ridge and surrounding area, our goal is to follow and photograph the local herds. An arctic fox den in the vicinity can often have denning kits and snowy owls are known to hunt lemmings in this area.
Day 5
Today, we head onto the Northwest Passage to track polar bears. Climbing aboard our helicopter, we'll spend the day travelling and stopping to hike areas along the coast where autumn pack ice begins to collect. These areas are often inhabited by polar bears, who are actively hunting seals. Beautiful floating pack ice, the scree slopes of Somerset and the open waters of the Northwest passage are in themselves jaw-dropping. It's also the time of year that narwhal are migrating through. These quiet and gentle marine creatures are often best observed from hill sides on the Northwest Passage or from the air.
Day 5 - 8
Daily excursions at Arctic Watch focus on observing, photographing and encountering the animals of Somerset and the Northwest Passage. Guests are provided the best opportunities to photograph unique moments and are welcome to bring handheld and drone based photographic equipment (under the guidance of our team to ensure we don't disturb any Arctic animals).
Day 9
The flight departs in the late afternoon. Upon arriving in Yellowknife you will spend the night at the Explorer Hotel before your return flight home.
Day 10
Depart Yellowknife for the return flight home.
In the wild and unpredictable Arctic the weather patterns and wildlife can disrupt even the best-laid plans. Therefore all of our itineraries are marked as ‘suggested’. Daily excursions are planned based on guest desires, abilities and interests as well as daily wildlife and weather conditions.
