In Search of the Narwhal by Kayak in Pond Inlet | CA-BWA1501

We recommend taking the 9:15 AM flight from Ottawa to Pond Inlet via Iqaluit (not included in the price). You’ll arrive at 4:25 PM and our guide will be there to pick you up and transport you to your hotel for check in and a tasty welcome dinner. We’ll chat about the upcoming itinerary and perform a gear check, then if we have time to, explore the local community.

Pond Inlet is known in Inuit as Mittimatalik, which means “the place where Mitima is buried.” Though no one remembers any Mitima in the area, it is a hub of culture and wildlife.

Located in northeast Baffin Island 700 km north of the Arctic Circle, Pond Inlet houses more than 1500 people, and is noteworthy for its picturesque mountains. Narwhals (the unicorns of the sea), beluga and orca whales play among the icebergs and frozen sea ice. Wildlife is vibrant in the region, from ringed and harp seals, caribou, arctic foxes and wolves, seabirds, geese, gyrfalcons, ptarmigans, gulls and ravens, plus the occasional polar bear - to be viewed from a safe distance!

After a hotel breakfast and a final gear check, we’ll depart in the late morning from Pond Inlet by motorboat to our starting point. There, we’ll set up camp, organize and distribute gear and food for kayaking.

The seas around Pond Inlet are teeming with life. There are polynya (areas that are ice free, year around) in Baffin Bay, which attract marine mammals to feed in the spring. A number of different species of whales, including the killer whale, bowhead, beluga and narwhal can be seen and heard, blowing in the fjords. Various sorts of seals also live and feed off the plentiful fish - their curious nature allows us to see them as they poke their heads up to check out our kayaks!

Now it’s time for adventure! Weather and ice conditions permitting, we’ll spend many glorious days in a variety of intriguing locations, such as the waters of Milne Inlet, White Bay, Tay Sound and Oliver Sound which offer relatively protected paddling. This area is well known for the number of narwhals and seals, as well as arctic char fishing. The exact route and timing during the trip is flexible, allowing for exploration, enjoying animal sightings and the variances of wind, tides and ice conditions.

The region near Pond Inlet is inhabited by Tununirmuit, the people of the land that faces away from the sun. They are descended from Thule ancestors who followed migrations of caribou and muskox, and their elders still speak only Inuktitut.

Polar bears live primarily at the floe edge in spring, on the northeast coast of Bylot Island, although the occasional bear is spotted in the vicinity of Pond Inlet. In lowlands and wetlands you can find snow geese and snowy owl and the cliffs are nesting sites for gyrfalcons, thick-billed murres and black legged kittiwakes.

In vegetated valleys within the fjords, you can find caribou, arctic fox, ermine and lemmings. There are no forests in north Baffin, but dwarf versions of willow and birch form thickets in sheltered areas. Arctic wildflowers, mosses and lichens grow in profusion, particularly in the long summer days of June and July. In August, blueberries are ripe and cover many of the south-facing hillsides.

Sadly, it’s time to say goodbye to our kayaking adventure. In the afternoon, we pick up from the final campsite and hop on a motorboat back to Pond Inlet. You’ll have an evening to relax at the hotel, take showers and enjoy a farewell dinner.

Note that the expedition may return on Day 13, subject to weather conditions.

On our final day, after breakfast at the hotel, it’s time to catch your flight. Book the 9:45 AM flight from Pond Inlet to Ottawa, via Iqaluit (not included in the price). Arrive at 4:50 PM.

All meals are included during the tour. The menu is delicious and will ensure that you're fueled for all your day's adventures. Meals are cooked over camping stoves from a combination of fresh, dried and freeze-dried products. The light weight ovens allow us to bake breads, muffins and desserts.

Your guides are the best in their fields. Handpicked, highly experienced and scrupulously trained, they bring a wealth of knowledge and skills to each trip. They are great cooks, fun to be with and have a passion for the wilderness. Trips have a maximum of 10 participants with two guides.

Your guides take pride in their emphasis on learning and participation by all trip members. Their training and safety procedures are exemplary, and they take scrupulous care to leave every environment as pristine as it was before our encounter.

Accommodations are tent camps along the route.

Trip begins and ends in Pond Inlet, Nunavut.  Flights to and from Ottawa can be added to the package for an additional cost.