inspiringholidays.com: polar

Thursday, 18 February 2010

Canadian Polar Bear Adventure Holiday

Polar Bear Adventure in Canada. Seven days from GBP3102. See these majestic animals in their natural habitat.

Winnipeg is the geographical centre of Canada. Originally a frontier post for the Hudson Bay Company, this bustling city (now the fourth largest city in Canada) grew to prominence firstly through fur trading and then as a key grain processing centre.

In the far north of the Canadian province of Manitoba lies the remote town and port of Churchill, on the edge of Hudson Bay. Churchill has been named ‘Polar Bear Capital of the World’ lying as it does on a key migration route along the Hudson Bay coast between the Nelson River and Cape Churchill.

Each year in the autumn along the west shore of Hudson Bay, male and nonpregnant female polar bears congregate, waiting for the moment when the bay freezes and they can venture out on the sea ice to hunt seals. Pregnant females move to the denning areas, located around 40 miles south of the town area.

As with all natural events of this kind, no guarantees can be given on the number of polar bears that may be seen, but the chance to see these awesome creatures in their natural habitat is certainly an experience to be cherished.

Telephone Travelsphere now on 0845 358 2368

Highlights Include
- Tundra buggy tours
- The amazing bears

What's Included
- Services of a local representative
- Return scheduled flights to Winnipeg
- Internal flights – Winnipeg/Churchill/ Winnipeg
- Transfers between airport and hotel
- All other transportation as detailed
- Five nights’ accommodation including breakfast
- Welcome dinner on Day 2, Farewell dinner on Day 5, Lunch on Days 3 & 5
- All hotel baggage handling for one piece of luggage per person
- All State and local taxes
- All UK and overseas airport taxes and security charges

Excursions as follows:
- Tour of Churchill
- Two full day Tundra Buggy tours

Accommodation
Accommodation throughout your holiday will be in comfortable, medium grade hotels. You will stay in hotels such as the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg and the Lazy Bear Lodge or Churchill Motel in Churchill. All rooms feature private facilities, TV and telephone.

Itinerary

DAY 1 - Winnipeg
Depart on your scheduled flight to Winnipeg. On arrival transfer to your hotel for an overnight stay.

DAY 2 - Winnipeg/Churchill
Morning free in Winnipeg. It is an easy city to walk around, with many areas of original turn-of-the-century architecture, rich testament to Winnipeg’s boom years. Midday transfer to the airport for your flight to Churchill. Upon arrival transfer to your hotel for a three night stay. A welcome dinner has been arranged tonight.

DAY 3 - Tundra Buggy Tour
Join our Tundra Buggy (a heated, specially designed viewing vehicle travelling on enormous tyres) which offers a safe but unobstructed view of the bears. Your first view of a polar bear in the wild will be unforgettable – they are simply huge and actually not white at all, but pale yellow. This is a full day tour with lunch included.

DAY 4 - Churchill
This morning join our included cultural and historical tour of the town and surrounding area. The afternoon is free to explore and visit places such as the Eskimo Museum and the Parks Canada Display.

DAY 5 - Tundra Buggy Tour/Winnipeg
A second full day out on the Tundra observing the behaviour of the polar bears in their natural surroundings. Lunch is included. Following a farewell dinner you will transfer to the airport for your return flight to Winnipeg. Upon arrival transfer to your hotel for an overnight stay.

DAY 6 - Winnipeg/UK
After breakfast transfer to the airport for your return flight to the UK.

DAY 7 - UK
Arrival in the UK.

Dates, Prices & Departure
holiday ref: UPBA
08/10/2010 £3102
22/10/2010 £3102

Deposit £150 per person
All prices are per person based on two people sharing a twin or double-bedded room with private facilities

This Travelsphere escorted tour will take you to the ‘Polar Bear Capital of the World’.

Telephone Travelsphere now on 0845 358 2368

Thursday, 24 July 2008

Antarctic Cruises - Visit the Big Freezer!

If you're looking for the holiday experience of a lifetime then an Antarctic cruise should be at the top of your list.

Antarctica is a continent of extremes. It is the coldest, windiest, driest, iciest and highest of all the major landmasses in the world. It is the continent with the longest nights and the longest days and it plays host to the greatest concentration of wildlife in the world. It is also one of the last true wilderness areas left on earth and remains largely unchanged since the early explorers and whalers first landed on its inhospitable shores less than two centuries ago.

The lowest temperature ever recorded anywhere on earth (-89.2°C) was recorded on July 21 1983, at Vostok Station. Winds have been recorded at 200 mph in the interior of the continent and the average annual water precipitation in the interior is only about 50 mm.

The continent itself is roughly circular with a spindly arm, called the Antarctic Peninsula, reaching northwards towards Tierra del Fuego in South America, the nearest landmass, some 600 miles away. Considerably larger than either the United States or Europe, and twice the size of Australia, the continent is surrounded by a frozen sea that varies in area from one million square miles in summer to 7.3 million square miles in winter.

Ninety-five percent of the continent of Antarctica is ice covered and contains the freshest water on earth - about 70 percent of all fresh water on earth in fact. The highest point in Antarctica is Vinson Massif, with an altitude of 16,864 feet above sea level; the lowest point is the Bentley Subglacial Trench at 8,200 feet below sea level, located in West Antarctica. Antarctica has the highest average elevation of all the continents at about 7,500 feet about sea level.

The Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands abound with wildlife activity. Penguins gather with their fast-growing chicks, whales are seen in great numbers, seals haul out onto ice floes and beaches, and numerous albatross and other seabirds trail in our wake.

If you would like to visit this land of extremes then you'll need to book well in advance. Only a limited number of expeditions head to Antarctica each year and they book up fast.

Visit inspiringholidays.com for a selection of Antarctic Cruises from top cruise expedition companies like GAP Adventures, Kuoni, Page & Moy, The Adventure Company & Travelsphere: