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Trip Report

As a guide, during the day you often wonder how the trip is going. No matter where in the world you are, no matter how amazing the experience - I ask myself are my guests really happy? Am I providing them with all of the information they require? What are their needs? Is this the amount of polar bears they expexted to see? Did they want perfect sunshine backlighting over Hudson Bay?

Although we are called upon to be Tundra Buggy drivers, lecturers, washroom attendants, marriage counselors, comedians, mechanics, lovers (of nature) and photographers, do my guests understand that I, as an Interpretive Guide, cannot control the weather? Chance of sunshine on Hudson Bay - rare, chance of seeing polar bears on my buggy - 100% (I have seen at least one bear every day I have worked on the tundra). The largest amount of polar bears I have ever seen on the tundra in one day is 62.

I often ask my guests during the day, "What brought you to Churchill? Why did you come here?" Although responses range from "my wife made me" to "it was on my checklist", 95% of our guests come to see "polar bears in the wild". Yes, they are in the wild up here, it is not a zoo, it is not a safari park, WE ARE WATCHING POLAR BEARS IN THE WILD IN THEIR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT. Every time I say that to myself I realize that I have the best job in the world. The only difference between myself and the guests is that I am being paid to make this an incredibly memorable day in the lifes of my guests.

In order to better satisfy my guests' needs, I try to take myself back to my first day on the tundra. What was it like for me? What thoughts ran through my mind? What questions did I have? My first trip ever was with Marc Hebert (another of our Interpretive Guides). Marc's Tundra Buggy training and experience with polar bears led to me getting closer to polar bears than I had ever dreamed. As a budding photographer, that day I took some of the best pictures I have ever taken in my life. We were within five feet of polar bears without disturbing them. Even though I've been working as a guide since 1995, I still finish every day with a huge smile on my face stating, "Wow, that was one of the most incredible days of my life!"

Here are a couple pictures from my first day ever on the tundra.