Itinerary

DAY 1
Upon landing in Pond Inlet, you will be welcomed by our local representative and transferred to a local hotel. Meet your Expedition Leader for a trip briefing and hot dinner.
Overnight in hotel.

DAY 2
After breakfast, an orientation from Parks Canada, meet your guides on the beach in preparation for your departure to our camp on Eclipse Sound. Travelling to our Arctic Safari Camp by qamutik (a traditional Inuit wooden sled with suspension or foam padded seats pulled behind a snowmobile), you will experience the exhilaration of gliding across the ice. The journey’s time will vary depending on ice conditions but will include tea and coffee stops. Our Arctic Safari Camp will be set up a few kilometres back from the floe edge.

DAYS 3- 6
Spend the next few days revelling in some of the best diving you will ever experience. Following a program of progressive dives, you’ll enjoy new experiences every day as you become more comfortable with this unique underwater environment.

Explore the Arctic seafloor and discover urchins, starfish, and glittering jellyfish. Witness the surreal world of blue and turquoise ice juxtaposed with the black depths below. This is an underwater photographer’s paradise. Above the water and on land, you will experience other spectacular scenes and exciting adventures. Expect to see icebergs, ‘bergy- bits’, and drifting pack ice with playful seals poking their heads up out of the water to look directly at you. On the floe-edge, you will have the opportunity to see narwhals, bowhead whales, polar bears on the prowl, or seals sunning themselves, possibly walrus and beluga, and other Arctic wildlife. Migratory birds can also be seen in abundance. Pure white Ivory Gulls, gaudy King Eider, low flying Northern Fulmars, Thick-billed Murres, Kittiwakes, and Greater Snow Geese are just a few of the bird species known to frequent the area. Ice conditions permitting, you may also visit the Bylot Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary, where more than 200,000 birds choose to nest each year. Other activities include kayaking and hiking, and you may have a chance to visit the evocative ancient Thule sites, where you will see the traditional tent rings and learn about the culture and history of the ancestors of Inuit.

DAY 7
After breakfast, depart camp by qamutik and snowmobile to Pond Inlet. Enjoy your final night in Pond Inlet with a special Inuit cultural presentation. Overnight in hotel.

DAY 8
Depart for Ottawa with the spirit of the Arctic, and a full album of memories and friendships.