“What’s your name again?”
James, 3, has slipped his mittened hand in mine and is looking up at me with earnest curiosity. It’s been about 24 hours since we met, and he has asked me this question at least a dozen times. It would be frustrating if he wasn’t so cute.
“Heather,” I tell him – again. And he nods, secures his grip on my hand and pulls me forward to keep up with our group.
I don’t typically travel with preschoolers I’m not related to, especially without any kids of my own along for the ride. But this particular trip – a Family Learning Adventure in Churchill, Manitoba in search of polar bears – was one I needed to see to believe.
The author (left) and her brother and niece, in front of the Frontiers North Tundra buggy. Photo: Heather Greenwood Davis
The idea, on its face, is a bad one: Let’s gather the smallest humans possible and take them into the Arctic wilds so they can come nose-to-glass-to-nose with the world’s largest land-roving carnivore! I was intrigued to join the trip, partly out of my own curiosity. The other part was grateful for an opportunity to bond with the newest little person in my own life.
Audrey, then 8 years old, is my brother Andre’s only child and the last “little” in our family. They live in Toronto, but in an age where video chats and text messages are viewed as “connecting,” and her activity schedule rivals mine, I don’t see her nearly as much as I’d like. This trip is an opportunity to have a real adventure together.
Having travelled with my own two sons when they were her age, I know the benefits that come from taking a kid away from home. Trips with my sons, now 22 and 20, are less frequent these days. But my brother and Audrey are just getting started. And I get more joy than I could’ve anticipated watching them fall in love with the very things that kept my family travelling for so many years – shared sightings of wild animals, late-night giggles over cups of hot chocolate, and impromptu squeezes when words aren’t enough. Across our group, which includes a total of three families, those moments are tripled.
A polar bear lounging on the tundra. Photo: Heather Greenwood Davis
The adventure marks the first trip to Churchill for all but me. Both other families have an adult in them who has dreamed of the adventure we are taking, and instead of putting it off until the kids were grown, they seized the newest opportunity from Arctic tour operator, Frontiers North Adventures, to make it a family affair.
Operation owners John Gunter and his wife Lisa Joy have kids of their own, so encouraging their traditionally older audience to bring the kids felt right. “We want Frontiers North Adventures to be a company that is welcoming to all travellers, including families with young children,” he says.
Instead of forcing families to fit the original model, which was aimed at adults-only, with any children who came having to entertain themselves, the new adventure stretches to create opportunities the kids can relate to. Case in point: Instead of rushing north to Churchill after arriving in Winnipeg, we overnight and spend a day at the Assiniboine Zoo where a Churchill exhibit offers a sneak peek at the furry friends to come, and a chance to go behind the scenes with scientists to learn about conservation projects ranging from butterflies to belugas. The full day of activity also helps the children burn off some energy. “Kids have this incredible ability not to be daunted by new people and places,” says John, who has accompanied two of the family trips so far. “And on these trips, that ability just to let curiosity and fun takeover spreads to adults and kids alike.”
A family of belugas in Churchill, Manitoba. Photo: Tourism Manitoba
Almost all our days and nights are spent together as a group of 18, including two outings in 14-foot-tall Tundra Buggies – a proprietary ATV meant to get us close enough to see the animals, but just out of a paw’s reach. And it doesn’t take long before parents, once clung to for security, are being asked to change seats so that kids can sit together. When, at our first bear sighting, two males wander next to our six-feet-tall tires and under the grated floors at the rear, kids grab their pals – not their moms, dads or aunts. Wide-eyed, they cover their mouths to mute screams of joy as they peek out the windows.
A polar bear getting up close and personal with one of Frontiers North Adventure’s giant tundra buggies. Photo: Heather Greenwood Davis
Even my usually reserved niece seems to have forgotten to be shy, instead heading off at every opportunity to hang with new friends. And I soon learn that when a little one needs help wiggling into a mitten or unwrapping a sandwich, any parent will do. Parents also bond over the good (opportunities to sip cold beers uninterrupted) and the nerve-wracking (when kids as young as three are offered a chance at the wheel of the Tundra Buggy).
The experts who visit with us on the buggy are able to explain Arctic life in a way that keeps listeners of all ages engaged. And when we visit the Polar Bears International House research and interpretation facility, there’s a learning centre set out with furs and bones to touch; a just-the-right-height colouring station; and juice boxes at the ready. With the smaller kids occupied, the teens in the group can dig into the science a bit more with resident experts.
A table at Polar Bears International House learning centre set out with furs and bones to touch, Churchill, Manitoba. Photo: Manitoba Tourism
This trip on Treaty Five Indigenous lands also includes Canada’s first people throughout. We spend an afternoon riding on dog sleds through the boreal forest at Wapusk Adventures’ dog yard before kids begin offering belly rubs and kid-sized cuddles to the friendly pups. And the fun continues after dark when, in the warmth of a yurt, we sit with Katie deMeulles, daughter of celebrated Metis artist Myrtle deMeulles. The gregarious storyteller helps us make small polar bear pins using the Indigenous art of caribou hair sculpting. And though my niece opts to sit with her new friends during the craft, when she’s done, she wanders over, places her bear alongside ours, climbs into her dad’s lap and buries him in a hug.
The author enjoying an exhilarating dog sled ride with her brother and niece: Daniel Raiti Photography
When our weeklong trip comes to an end, hugs, emails and Instagram handles are hastily exchanged. There are tears in my eyes as we say our final goodbyes, and a familiar little hand slips into mine. When I turn to James, he asks the only question he could.
“What’s your name again?”
