Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk
Up North Tours |
Up here, in the north-western part of Northwest Territories, in the Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk (also referred to as "Tuk") area, mostly the Inuvialuit people live.
They have lived off the land, the Mackenzie river delta and the Beaufort sea for hundreds of years.
There are about 3800 Inuvialuit people all in all living in six hamlets. The Inuvialuit people have negotiated a treaty with the federal government. Most of them seem very happy with everything in general.
We had booked an Air/Boat tour before we left Dawson City. The company we booked with is called Up North Travel Tours out of Inuvik, and they are awesome.
At 12 noon we met at the Nova Hotel and met up with our new found acquaintances, Alan and Michele. Alan and Michele are from Ontario.
Anders and Liz at the airport in Inuvik |
North Wright Air is our airline. |
Paul our pilot and our plane. |
OK, I think I'm ready? |
A happy smile or nerves smile? |
We are cozy |
When we arrived we had a short wait, waiting for our planes to arrive from Aklavic. The airline is called North Wrigth Airways and is owned by the local people.
We were all called up to the counter where we had to be weighed with our back-packs on, including everything we were bringing along (sounds like these planes have a load limit).
Liz, myself and one family, two adults and one child, were ushered to one of the planes.
Wow, this plane has served its customers well over the years. No duct tape, this is a good sign. No worries though I have some in my back pack..... don't leave home without it! Just kidding, it all looks fine... I think.
I ask the pilot if I could sit in the co-pilot seat and he nods his head, checking me out.
Told him I promised to be good; "I will only take over the controls if you fall asleep".
As I get in the seat, he tells me to lock the door while he pushes from the outside.
I smile and nod (this all reminds me when I use to fly in to work to the oil patch), the young family in the far back of the plane, look a bit pale with a sense of fear on their faces. I smile and give them thumbs up! Hmm no response.
Taxiing down the runway in Inuvik |
Liz is enjoying the flight. |
Leaving Inuvik |
The mighty Mackenzie Delta |
Paul has been flying up here for a year and a half. He looks very confident even though he still looks like a teenager.
Paul did a very good job piloting us over the immense Mackenzie Delta and the Arctic Ocean.
The plane was very loud, and a set of ear-muffs or plugs would have been in order.
We fly along the vast Mackenzie Delta, it seems to just to go on for ever.
The Mackenzie Delta is approximately 13,500 km². Small and large islands dot the landscape and go on forever.
As we fly along, we see hills or big mounds sticking up out of the flat landscape.
These hills are called "Pingos". According to Wikipedia a Pingo is:
"A pingo, also called a hydrolaccolith, is a mound of earth-covered ice found in the Arctic and subarctic that can reach up to 70 meters (230 ft) in height and up to 600 m (2,000 ft) in diameter.
The term originated as the Inuvialuktun word for a small hill. A pingo is a periglacial landform, which is defined as a nonglacial landform or process linked to colder climates."
The way I understand it, the permafrost pushes up the earth forming these mounds.
The flight is a bit bumpy here and there, but pretty good in general.
Liz and I are amazed at the beauty of the relatively flat landscape. The tundra is a very special place.
Pingos |
They almost look man made |
Pingos, also in the distance. |
There is Tuktoyaktuk |
Hang on we are coming in for landing. |
We made it, life is good. |
This was John's first time as a tour guide. He did an excellent job. The person who usually does the tour (also called John) was away.
John answered all our questions. He told us that his daughter is coming back to Tuk to give birth.
The reason for this is so that her child will be status Inuvialuit as well. She currently lives in Edmonton.
We walked up on a hill where we overlook Tuk. At first sight it looked a bit bleak, but there are warm hearts here.
Mostly older homes surrounded by oil and gas tanks, cars, trucks, ski-doos and more. Gravel roads are the norm up here.
In Tuk everyone get their water delivered just about every day, and likewise, the sewer is picked up.
The houses are built on pylons or blocks, with no underground or above ground services.
John and Liz in Tuktoyaktuk airport. |
Anders and Liz in Tuktoyaktuk |
Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk |
Michele, Alan and Liz with the rest of the group climbing the hill. |
Panorama of Tuktoyaktuk |
Liz |
It looks all so different. |
Time to go down into the Ice House. |
These Ice Houses are like a giant freezer 30 feet down in the ground.
While visiting Tuk, we were fortunate to go down into one of the last remaining Ice Houses.
This climb down is not for the faint at heart, but is really worth doing. You know you can do it, get out of your comfort zone!
Anders on his way down |
Hey, it's cold down here. |
Watch your head. |
Tight fit |
If you have a head lamp, bring it as well. John had some head lamps and flash lights which were a big help.
Watch your steps the last 10 feet of the ladder was very slippery. It was cold down there, so have a vest or a sweater on. Nothing too bulky, space is limited.
This was such a rush climbing down and walking around down there.
There is a main "hallway" with lots of compartments off to the sides..... Kind of like a fish bone.
If you visit this part of Canada's arctic, a visit to an Ice House is a must!
The permafrost in this part of the arctic can be up to 750 meters deep. Apparently in parts of Siberia it can be up to 1400 meters deep.
Liz dipping her feet in the Arctic Ocean |
Anders in his glory |
We received a certificate confirming that we dipped our feet into the Arctic Ocean. A nice touch for the little ( and big ) kids.
The water in the Arctic Ocean up here in Tuk is sweet and not salty at all as we expected.
Of course it is because of the great Mackenzie River discharging around 325 cubic kilometers of fresh water each year into this ocean.
That's 325,000,000,000,000 liters. That's a lot of water.
It was time to start our trip back to Inuvik. John guided us over to a local dock where Jerry our captain was waiting for us.
Jerry's boat is a 22 ft Hewescraft (I think) with a hard top. We were embarking on a 6 hour boat ride back to Inuvik.
Most of the time this boat ride takes about 4 hours, but on our tour the first few hours were pretty rough. No worries though, we just had to go a bit slower then planned.
The family we traveled with must have expected a cruise ship, the wife was not impressed with the small boat.
Our boat back to Inuvik |
The Arctic Ocean is a bit rough. |
Hunting camp along the Mackenzie River |
Clara's hunting camp |
Beluga whale meat. |
Liz inspecting. |
The black stuff is the whale meat and the red-white is Muktuk |
It is incredible how they cure their food |
Son in law with harpoon used for the hunt. |
Liz and Clara |
Liz and Sierra |
Grand daughter helping to serve tea. |
Make sure to use the washroom before going on the boat ride. No potty on board!
The first hour on the Arctic Ocean was pretty rough, but incredibly beautiful.
The ocean is as vast and immense as the delta. There were no Polar Bears in sight. Apparently at this time of the year they are on the ice floats far out in the Beaufort Sea.
After an hour or so we entered the Mackenzie River and its delta. We turned off into one of the arms and ended up in a local hunting camp.
We were so lucky, the day before the hunters had just harpooned and killed a Beluga whale. Yes, these wonderful people here live off the sea, the river, and the land with all it has to offer.
The whaling camp is run by an incredible Great Grandma, Clara.
She is a fantastic lady and has been teaching the kids in Inuvik the local language. She is now retired. She has lived all her life up here in the hunting camp during the summer months.
All her kids, grand kids and great grand kids live all up here with her. The husband you ask? I think she kicked him out. Clara is the kind of women that will not put up with any BS.
The camp is very primitive. The cabin is probably more like what most of us would refer to as a shed. There is an outhouse down the path.
The only modern convenience is a generator to run the fridge and freezer.
The whale meat is drying on the wood planks down by the river.
We all gathered around and had a look. There was the blubber 4-6 inches thick and the meat looked black. We are not sure if that's the blood which turned black, or if its colour is actually black.
We are warned not to step in the oil. It is apparently very difficult to remove oil stains off clothing.
We were invited up to the camp for a lunch. We gathered in a screened mosquito tent outside (the mosquitoes were pretty thick, unless the wind blew them away).
We are served Muktuk (raw whale blubber), dried caribou, bread, caribou soup and tea. I'm not sure about the Muktuk, but everything else was wonderful.
Traditionally the Muktuk is served raw in small little cubes. More recently, some people deep fry the breaded Muktuk.
Like breaded deep fried fat.... hmmm.
The little girl, Sierra, she is 2½, took to Liz right away. She sat on Liz' lap the whole time we were there.
Sierra was so sweet, just sat there and talked like little girls do, and picked out the caribou meat out of Liz' soup they ate together. Way to go girl, you know what you like. She'll be just like her Great Grandma Clara.
We must continue out tour. We felt a sense of sadness leaving these wonderful caring and loving people with such hospitality.
Jerry packed us all in the boat again and after zigzagging many different channels of the Mackenzie Delta we finally were cruising on the main channel of the river
I asked Jerry (who is a retired police officer) how he knows where he is going ( he had no chart or GPS ). He said, "as a kid I used to travel here all the time with dog sleds, so I know every bend of the river". He is an amazing man.
Out on the main channel the wind came up again and it got pretty choppy, but the sun was out and it was just wonderful.
Liz was doing very well in the boat considering she gets sea-sick in the shower.
After about an hour or so, the wind died down and it was all smooth sailing northward toward Inuvik.
We arrived back at the dock in Inuvik around 11 pm. The van was waiting for us, and we are shuttled back to the Nova Hotel.
Once we were back at our cabin, we relaxed with a drink and a snack.
Pit-stop along the way to Inuvik |
The Mackenzie is very wide and wild. |
Alan and Michele. |
Back at the dock in Inuvik. |
12:30 am, sun is up of course. Time to fire the BBQ up. |
What an incredible day! This tour was the absolute highlight of our whole Yukon and Alaska trip.
The people we met were so accommodating and friendly.
Life is really different up here in the Western Arctic. Be prepared, it is not like in the big city, this is Canada's north. Immensely beautiful and unique.
There are other tour companies up there. We really liked Up North Tours. Some young local Inuvialuit people have started this company. It is very nice to see these young entrepreneurs getting ahead.
If you go, and you must!
Take along list:
Back-pack, layers of clothing ( including sweater and rain gear), gloves, head lamp, snacks, power bar, sandwich, 2 - 500 ml of bottled water per person, bathing suit (if you plan to swim in the arctic ocean), a towel, camera, chocolate bar, mosquito spray, Kleenex, disinfectant wipes, ear plugs, binoculars.
For more pictures of this trip, have a look here.
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