Arctic Kingdom :: Arctic Expeditions, Arctic Animals - Blog » Current Trips

The Quest to Swim in all 5 Oceans is almost Complete!

Kristyn Thoburn — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:57:23 +0000

I just returned from a truly amazing trip to Qikiqtarjuaq, NU, a small community located on the east coast of Baffin Island. One of favourite moments was shared with one of our youngest clients, a 12-year old who is on a mission swim in all five of the world’s oceans. At the beginning of the trip, he had already swum in the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Southern Oceans, no small feat for a person his age. So here we are camped mere feet from the Arctic Ocean at high tide and on our last day, the sun has come out and it is a scorching hot Arctic summer day – at least 18 degrees Celsius – while the water temperature still hovers around 0 degrees. Today is the day to bring the total oceans to four. Check out the video…

Latest Apple Technology on an AK Expedition

Kristyn Thoburn — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:11:27 +0000

We recently led an adventure trip to Hall Beach in Nunavut to see the walrus and whales during the summer break up. One of our clients brought his recently purchased iPhone 4 and took this stunning photograph of walrus hauled out on the ice pack. Its better than some pictures taken with a real camera!!

If you are interested in this trip (Bowhead Whales, Walrus, & Inuit Culture in the Foxe Basin) for next year, please visit our website: http://arctickingdom.com/trips/walbow01-2/

Narwhals Courting in Pond Inlet

Nora Sawyer — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:24:36 +0000

According to Thomas’s latest tweet, the current expedition observed some Narwhal mating behaviour. He writes,

NARWAHLS AT THE FLOE EDGE. MALES COURTING FEMALES. TUSKS DISPLAYED. BEAUTIFUL!

This photo is from a 2002 expedition. Here's hoping they're getting some good shots!

New on Facebook: Diving Against an Iceberg

Nora Sawyer — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 09:41:21 +0000

Thomas uploaded some great photos to our Facebook page today, with a narrative describing a single dive along a crack in the sea ice near Pond Inlet. Facebook is perfect for this sort of small update, providing a real-time glimpse into one of our expeditions in progress.

If you’re not a fan of Facebook, you can get a peek at the latest posts without ever leaving our site by clicking on the Facebook link on the toolbar at the bottom of this page. It’s a great way to keep track of our latest updates to Twitter and YouTube as well!

Facebook | Arctic Kingdom’s Photos – Diving against an iceberg.

This Week on Flickr: George River Expedition

Nora Sawyer — Thu, 20 May 2010 04:55:35 +0000

There’s nothing cozier than a warm campsite on a cold night. Here are some shots from our base camp along the George River:

Of course, it’s not all sitting cozy inside a tent — there are bears out there (and, if Thomas’s tweets are any indication, a lot of ‘em!)

Check out our Flickr page for more great shots, updated (almost) every week! And visit the Expedition Twitter Feed for updates from Arctic Kingdom expeditions currently in the field.

Polar Bears of Devon Islands Bear Bay Exploratory Trip Photo Summary

Thomas Lennartz — Mon, 03 May 2010 21:25:27 +0000

The first exploratory snowmobile expedition from Grise Fiord – Canada’s most northerly community, to Resolute Bay was just completed a couple of days ago with polar bears seen on every day of the trip. For a total distance of 550km across Jones Sound, over Devon Island, across the Wellington Channel and finally down Cornwallis Island the trip allowed us to visit Bear Bay in Jones Sound where as the name suggests, many polar bears were seen. From young juvenile bears to even a 12’ giant we were able to witness bears in their natural element. An added bonus were the herd of muskoxen seen on Devon Island as we made the traverse to the Wellington Channel.

Below is a photo summary of the trip, from icebergs, to mother and cubs to the fiord we travelled down on inaugural trip.

Our Inuit guides calmly talked to the bear while it approached. As the polar bears approach, one raises your arms to appear bigger and make noise to make yourself appear bigger than them. After a while the bear lost interest and wandered away.

Travelling Across Jones Sound via snowmobile with all gear and fuel

One of at countless icebergs that were passed. Icebergs are calved from the glaciers off of Ellesmere and Devon Island.

Setting up Camp in Devon Islands Viks Fiord

Base camp in Viks Fiord (spec in middle right side of photo on ice is the camp).

Mother and yearling cubs in the Wellington Channel

A curious polar bear checking out our camp out one evening. From binocular distance, this 6 footer came to within 30 feet of us before wandering off again.

Polar Bear on iceberg

On a separate polar bear encounter, this bear approached us out of curiosity then put on a show and walked away.

There were a few muskoxen encounters on Devon Island as well

Checking in With Thomas on the Way to Grise Ford

Nora Sawyer — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:22:40 +0000

Over on the Arctic Kingdom Field Twitter feed, Thomas has been making his way up Cornwallis Island on his way to Grise Ford. This afternoon saw the expedition hunkered down to wait out the extreme weather:

CORNWALLIS ISLAND – WEATHERED IN WITH 70KM WINDS AND BLOWING SNOW. WAITING FOR WIND TO ABATE BEFORE CONTINUING TO GRISE FIORD. TOM

You can keep tabs on the expedition’s progress by following akexpeditions on Twitter. We’ve also got updates feeding into our Facebook fan page!

Hello from Nunavik near the Torngat mountains!

Thomas Lennartz — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 04:17:56 +0000

I’m sending this update from the field using a BGAN inmarsat satellite internet modem. We are currently in the middle of an exploratory expedition to the north east side of Ungava Bay of Nunavik, Quebec in search of polar bears via snowmobiles and helicopter. Below are pictures of our new camp design – rigid dome polar bear proof structures as well as some of the wildlife we have seen. It has been nothing short of spectacular with over 28 polar bears seen in 2 days – some cubs as young as only a few months old, and some yearling cubs. In addition, we also flew over 14 or so Torngat Caribou – one of the only caribou herds that do not migrate;. Finally, we witnessed a stunning display of the shimmering northern lights for hours on end last night. It’s been a great few days with still a few more to go. Stay tuned… but in the meantime, enjoy the pictures!

Photos: Jean Pierre et Nelli Degraeve

Checking in With the Torngat Expedition

Nora Sawyer — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:57:23 +0000

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This morning, I got an email from Graham with the current location of the Torngat expedition party. And sure enough, when Thomas checked in via the AK Expedition Twitter feed, he noted that the group was at base camp:

AT TORNGAT BASECAMP WITH FIRST GROUP OF FOUR. A RAINY DAY BUT SPIRITS ARE HIGH. TOMORROW A DAY OF LOOKING FOR POLAR BEAR!

This expedition is new for this year, timed to coincide with polar bear mothers leaving their dens. The group is also hoping for some fantastic northern light displays, and sure of some amazing scenery among Eastern Canada’s highest mountain peaks!

We hope to get some field photos soon, and expect to hear more from Thomas via Twitter in the coming days!

(Edited to add: that image above is from Google Maps, and shows the area during the summer. Right now, a more current aerial image would look a lot whiter!)

On the Map: Where’s Arctic Kingdom Today?

Nora Sawyer — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:50:07 +0000

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This week, Expedition Manager Tom Lennartz is exploring the area around Kangiqsualujjuaq, a village 1,688 km (that’s over a thousand miles) north of Quebec. Located on Ungava Bay, the village is an access point for viewing all sorts of wildlife, including caribou, seal and beluga.

On this week’s trip, Tom is working with a film crew to capture footage of the polar bears in the surrounding wilderness as mothers and cubs emerge from their dens, shot against some of Canada’s most stunning scenery.

Now, keep in mind that the satellite image up top was taken in the summer. This time of year, the wilderness surrounding Kangiqsualujjuaq is cold, with long nights lit by the rippling green light of the aurora borealis. With the Torngat mountains creating a stunning backdrop, this is a breathtaking landscape, full of amazing wildlife.

I’m hoping Tom will be able to access the blog this weekend and give us some updates. And I wouldn’t mind a few photos, either!

One of my favorite polar bear photos, taken on a 2007 expedition by Louise Murray