Lower Savage Islands, Monumental Island, Lady Franklin Island & Pangnirtung
August 2024
Day 6 on the ship and another day of waking early and thankfully to a bright day, not quite sunny but definitely a huge improvement on the day before.
Today’s destination was the Lower Savage Islands. A group of rugged islands that sit in the mouth of Frobisher Bay and are over 2 billion years old – give or take 5,000 million years! Years of ice, water and wind have cracked two deep channels in the islands and the plan for the day was to use the zodiac’s to cruise up the channels looking for wildlife.
We have all been put into groups, to manage timings for people getting off the boat, and annoying I am in the second group today. Mostly annoying because I had already been up early and now had to wait until 10.45 to get to do something off the ship. As much as I enjoy expedition cruising to see remote places, I am not a fan of the structure and all the waiting!
I was lucky to get on the first boat of the second group off the ship but the luck ended there – we zipped through the lumpy seas in to the relative calm of the islands, only to be called back to the ship as someone had made the call that it was unsafe for passengers to get on and off the zodiacs! It was a shame we could not have stayed out, given we were already off the ship but sadly not, so our 75 minute zodiac cruise turned in to a 20 minute one that basically went nowhere! And sure it was a little lumpy getting back on the ship, but it didn’t seem that bad to me.
So it was back to the ship for the next meal 🥴.
Thankfully they adjusted the schedule so my group got to go out first in the afternoon and this time we did get to get off the ship. Unfortunately, there was not a huge amount of wildlife – one ring seal who was pretty interested in us, some gillimots and gulls and that is about it! That said there was some interesting landscapes, waterfalls, and ending with a rainbow which was pretty special.
I knew there would not be a huge amount of wildlife on this trip but I have been surprised by the almost complete lack of it, including birds. Never mind, it just means I will be planning another trip to the Artic in the not too distant future 😂.
It was a lovely sunset and tonight was the first night of possibly seeing the northern lights and bam – there they were. It was very hard to take photos on a moving ship but it was still amazingly to see them.
We sailed 6 hours over night to our next destination and the sea was a little lumpy and there was something banging in my room which I could not find – so annoying, and of course I woke early again to beautiful skies and a few clouds.
We started the morning moored just off Momumental Island with a background of dramatic skies. It is apparently one of the most wildlife rich areas in Nunavut. Sadly, the conditions were not good for going out in zodiacs so the morning trips were cancelled, but on the positive side, some had spotted a polar bear on the island and thankfully we could just see it from the ship. I got some terrible photos but at least I saw the bear and got a photo 💚.
After lunch we moved to nearby Lady Franklin’s Island. It was a beautiful spot, with dramatic skies and small icebergs in the distance. A few people spotted another polar bear but it had vanished by the time I had my camera 😢. Again, the afternoon zodiac cruises were also cancelled so we sat there trying to spot any sign of life on the island. It was stir crazy day, being so close to leaving the ship twice, but never quite making it. It felt like all I had done all day was eat, so I skipped dinner – the last thing I needed was a 3 course meal 🥴.
Next day we were still at sea during the morning and had a very interesting geology talk as we sailed through the stunning fjord, surrounded by snow capped mountains. Three of the staff are geologists so we are never short of conversations about rocks 😜 and by early afternoon, we finally got off the ship into the town of Pangnirtung in the Kuugarjuaq Fjord off Cumberland Sound. The local names are very descriptive – Kuugarjquaq meaning “Becoming a Large River” and Pangnirtung meaning “The place of the Bull Caribu”.
It is a quintessential Inuit Hamlet who did not have European contact until 100 years ago when the Husdon’s Bay Company (yes, them again) established a trading post in the town, which grew into a modern town which is now home to approximately 1,500 people. We are in peak caribou hunting season so many of the town’s population were out hunting during our visit.
What a difference the sun makes, this town, although probably no pretty than the last, almost looked quaint in the sun. Of course, it is much smaller than Iqaluit, but has the same style of houses, built on short stilts to avoid damage from permafrost.
After a few days on the ship, I was really keen to get out and stretch my legs. I was a little concerned as they had said the walking option was ‘hard’, but it was really anything but and I am glad I did it. We just walked up the hill behind the town which had beautiful views. Despite having a guide with a gun, in the unlikely event we meet a polar bear, the area was yet again devoid of wildlife. I did spot a couple of birds, way in the distance and a couple of walrus skulls adorning houses -that is about as good as it got. 🫤
The walk took us up a track and then we went off piste on the very squishy mossy hillside and before long, the squishy moss turned in to boggy moss as we found our way down the trackless hill side. It was just lovely to get out in the brisk fresh air.
Back in town I joined a cultural walk, lead by one of the young people from the town. She was a little shy but her English was good. Despite being in Canada, most children in this town are not taught French, and the first language for almost all inhabitants is the local Inuktitut which is what most of the local primary school is taught in.
The Hudson’s Bay Blubber station is one of the key sites in town. In 1926-1927, this station was used for processing fat and hides of whales and seals and the site consists of the blubber yard and the original blubber and storage shed!
Our young guide didn’t actually know much about the blubber station but she was happy to tell us about Caribou hunting. Apparently, they head out in boat, some are lucky enough to shoot from the boat, but others will hike and set up camp on land. They can catch two per family and our guide was very proud to say that her boyfriend just caught a big bull Caribou.
Our next stops were some local artists studios, including printing, carving and the making of the famous Pangnirtung hats before a quick visit to the museum. I could have spent longer there but we were due at the Community Centre for a local cultural performance. They don’t get a lot of visitors here, and no one was really sure what the performances would be!
We were welcomed by the mayor, not only a woman, but the youngest mayor they have ever had before being given a demonstration on how they make/use an ‘oil lamp’ that provides light, heat and for cooking. She commented that they reason they used this method was because if you lived in an igloo you could not have too much fire 🤣.
As many of the town’s inhabitants were out hunting, the organiser had struggled to find performers but she found two young girls who were learning the local throat singing. Known as locally as katajjaq, throat singing is a guttural style of singing (more like chanting) that produces sounds from the reverberation in the throat, normally performed by two women. This was their first time performing and they were good (I think) until they started laughing at each other 😂. The event was rounded off by some ‘bone’ games, using caribou neck and seal bones and an opportunity to sample some food.
It was a great day, so good to be off the ship, have a nice walk in nature, a little culture and of course some sun. The town was so welcoming and most people we passed wanted to say hello. To round off a good day, we had a beautiful sunset and some more northern lights. Unfortunately, this time the ship was moving just a little too much to get decent photos 😔 but of course I have the memories.
Cockneykiwi takes flight 