To hunt a Polar bear in the high Arctic is generally accepted amongst the hunting fraternity as being the ultimate test of one's ability, mental as well as physical, to endure the harshest conditions that could be encountered on any hunt. Hunting a Polar bear is so much more than just a hunt; it is an Arctic expedition. Hunting takes place from mid-March with the onset of daylight as well as the moderating of the harsh winter temperatures, during which time the old boars hibernate and are dormant, and ends in mid-May when the ice starts to melt and moving about on the pack ice becomes risky. Nanook which in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit, means "wanderer" or "roamer" is very appropriate as these bears are always on the move, covering up to 60 km per day in search of their preferred food - the seal.

The largest of all the carnivores, Nanook also has the distinction of being the only predator that regularly stalks and kills man. The Inuit in the Canadian Arctic annually kill between 10 & 15 Polar bears in self defence.

Let me go back at this point, to October 2005, while I was hunting for lion and buffalo in the Zambezi Valley in Zimbabwe. Around the breakfast table one morning the discussion turned to the ultimate hunt. When asked by one of the P.H.'s (professional hunters) what my ultimate hunt would be, I, without hesitation, stated that it would be a Polar bear hunt in the Arctic. That very same evening I phoned home to chat with my wife Bernice and she was bubbling with excitement; she had to clear something with me before she went ahead and paid a deposit. My birthday was coming up the next week and she had decided that she was going to give me one of my life long dreams - a chance to hunt a Polar bear. Isn't that incredible, the very same day!

Bernice and my middle son Justin had researched the hunt on the Internet and came up with an outfitter, Alaska Hunting Safari's run by Rick Herscher. He is a long time S.C.I. (Safari Club International) exhibitor as well as a Cabela's approved outfitter. I was ecstatic and so the arrangements went ahead. By the time I arrived home from my Zimbabwe hunt the arrangements had been made, dates set and deposits paid. I just needed to equip myself and be in Arctic Bay Nunavut on the 16th of March 2006. After numerous discussions with Rick as well as closely studying the equipment lists that he had supplied I went about researching the various suppliers of Arctic clothing. The success of your hunt is determined by your ability to endure the extreme weather conditions for weeks on end. You dress up in numerous layers, in my case five, and each of these layers has to be compatible with the rest. Your sleeping bag and footwear are equally important.

I left home on the 14th March and my routing was as follows: Johannesburg-Frankfort-Toronto-Ottawa-Iqaluit and finally on to Nanisivik which is a disused mine and connected to my final destination Arctic Bay by the longest road in Nunavut - 27 km. All in all, a total of 27 hours flying with an elapsed time of 48 hours. Waiting to meet me in Nanisivik was Ikie Naqitarvik the local outfitter that Rick Herscher represents. Ikie booked me into the local hotel/boarding house with clear instructions to have a good nights rest as our adventure would begin on the morrow.

Nunavut, Canada's newest territory, covers all of the eastern Arctic (roughly following the tree line) and all of the Islands. It covers 1,994,000 square kilometers and has a total population of 28,000 of which 85% are Inuit. Arctic Bay is situated on the North Western tip of Baffin Island and is located at 73º north and 86º west. It is the third most northern community in Nunavut. The capital of Nunavut, Iqaluit, is home to 6,200 people.

Some interesting information. Nunavut is nearly twice the size of South Africa and three times the size of Texas. Population density in Nunavut is 71 square km per person or 0.014 persons per square km. South Africa has 36 people per square km and the world average is 43 people per square km.

March 17th Day 1:

During the morning Ikie and I visited the Dept of Wildlife office where we purchased my hunting license and we had the opportunity to study a large wall mounted map of the area. Our plan was to cross Admiralty Inlet and to then cross the Uluksan Peninsula by following a frozen river bed. This would bring us into the Prince Regent Inlet where we would be hunting.

All Polar bear hunts have to be conducted in the traditional Inuit way, by dog team and sled, and is according to International Law agreed upon by all of the countries that are inhabited by Polar bear populations. These are Canada, U.S.A., Russia, Norway and Denmark on behalf of Greenland. The total bear population is somewhere between 26,000 and 30,000 animals with approx 60% of these being in Nunavut. My only requests to Ikie at this time were that I did not want to shoot a bear on our first day out as I wanted to get a feel for the area and experience the harsh environment and secondly I did not want us to track any animals that had a footprint of less than 10" across the rear paw.

Later that morning I was introduced to the other members of our party - Ikie's dad Olayuk who was the hunter/dog master and Lennon Kalluk who would drive the third snow machine as well as assist with general camp duties. Behind each skidoo (snow machine) was a 7 metre Qamotik / sled. Mounted on Olayuk's sled was a wooden box which was divided into numerous compartments housing the thirteen dogs that made up our sled team. His sled also carried all the harnesses and traces that were needed for the dogs, as well as fuel. Lennon's sled carried the camping equipment, fuel stock as well as food supplies. Also pulled behind his sled was a smaller dog-drawn sled which would be used for the hunt. The sled behind Ikie's skidoo was fitted with a rectangular box with an opening on the back side covered by a canvas flap. The front of the box had a Plexiglass window. These boxes are traditionally used for hauling the family around in the winter time and one was to be my domain for the coming days whenever we were on the move. Behind the compartment was a low box in which I could stand facing forwards while we were on the move. On our sled we also carried a large drum of fuel as well as a supply of food.

By the time we had finished our last minute packing it was 13:00 and we bade farewell to the community of Arctic Bay.

Sitting on a rigid sled being pulled across the pack ice by a snow machine takes some getting used to. The sensation is similar to being in a high speed ski boat heading into a steep sea while slamming into every wave. The jolting is continuous and jaw breaking; I truly appreciated the kidney belt that I had taken along. Next time I will also take a gum guard! After a while you get into the rhythm of it and your body relaxes which tends to improve the ride. An occasional five minute stop and the odd tea break accompanied by Bannock bread and a chunk of frozen raw Arctic char became routine.

We covered 66 km that first afternoon before making camp in the frozen river bed. Our tent, which was 2.4m x 3m or 8' x 10'and consisted of a canvas outer skin and a quilted inner liner, was pitched between two sleds. There is no built in ground sheet as this leads to too much condensation building up on the inside of the tent. A thin plastic tarpaulin is spread under the area where you sleep and this is covered by Caribou skins and then by a foam sleeping mat. The area in front of this is for cooking and storage and here the ice is not covered. The tent is really snug with 2' per person across the shoulders. The cooking stoves are placed on top of a piece of plywood and keep the tent nice and warm while they are burning. By the time everyone has fallen asleep the stoves go out and the temperature plummets close to outside temperatures.

A compact SW/SSB radio is used to keep continuous contact with Arctic Bay as well as the various communities within a few hundred mile radius. This was a great tool and also kept us informed as to how it was going with the various hunting parties that were out on the ice.

I learned a few things that first night. Absolutely everything freezes up solid. My video camera was a solid block of ice and so was my toothpaste, liquid soap and the rest. I quickly learned to share my sleeping bag with my camera, toothpaste etc.

In the evenings a long chain of some 50 metres is spanned, during which the dogs are individually tethered. These dogs are far removed from your domesticated pooch; they are a large framed Husky type working dog, are wild and undisciplined and their sole purpose, as far as their owner is concerned, is to pull a sled as fast and for as long as possible.

March 18th & 19th Days 2, 3:

Breakfast in bed takes on a whole new meaning; it is cooked, consumed and dishes washed while still in your sleeping bag. After breaking camp and packing the sleds we got under way.

That second day was bitterly cold with a brisk wind blowing. On one of our tea breaks I measured the temperature at -36º C and a wind chill factor of -54º C. Within a few minutes of standing in the wind, with my face exposed so that I could drink my tea, Ikie noticed that I had developed a bit of frost bite on the side of my nose and on my cheek. The frozen area actually forms below the skin. He instructed me to take off my glove and to hold my hand on the effected part in order to defrost it; this did not help much as my hands were just as cold as my face. Ikie held his hand there and the frozen patch melted within a few moments. I held his hand and found it to be as warm as toast. The Inuit have definitely evolved to live in these conditions. Within a few days all the skin on my nose and cheek had peeled off, similar to a case of severe sunburn. I made sure that this unpleasant experience did not happen again.

Our haul across the peninsula totaled 87 km and by early afternoon we were on the beach overlooking Prince Regent Inlet. What we saw did not please my guides - very rough ice with a lot of open water. This was a great concern and they explained to me that we were the first hunt of the year and thus the first people to come to this area since the beginning of winter. We moved a few km north and set up camp.

In the late afternoon we scouted the area and low and behold we found tracks of a solitary bear measuring 10". The ice was very rough and remembering my request not to hunt on the first day we went in search of seals to feed the dogs. Once a fault line in the thick ice is found you move along this until you find a seal breathing hole. It was not long before Olayuk was successful and we headed for camp with a seal in tow. Back at camp the seal was slaughtered and the delicacy of the day was enjoyed by my guides - a slice of liver with a chunk of fat - raw. I declined the offer but did agree to try the meat once cooked.

We then had a round of Arctic Sports. From time to time one of the dogs breaks the tether to the chain and takes off at high speed in the direction of the closest bit of rough ice. One, two and sometimes all three of the Inuit then make a Le Mans type dash for their skidoo and chase the dog with the seemingly clear intent of hitting it with one of the ski's. Not so easily achieved, as the well rehearsed dogs have this game down to a fine art. The game continues until the defeated dog eventually runs back and either jumps into its box or hides amongst the other dogs. The final round is usually a crack over the head with the butt of Olayuk's old 303 rifle.

At dinner that night, being true to my word, I tried a piece of the boiled seal meat. It was way too fishy for me and would take some getting used to. A T-bone steak and veggies made up the rest of our dinner. Meals throughout the trip were top class and servings were plentiful. After dinner we turned in for an early night.

The next morning we decided to leave our camp intact and to spend that day scouting the area in search of tracks and hopefully to find our bear. We travelled quite some distance in all directions which unfortunately confirmed earlier concerns about the state of the pack ice. Our plan for the following day was to move southwards in search of better conditions.

March 20th Day 4:

By day four I was getting used to the low temperatures as well as the routine of the hunt, i.e. wake up at 07:30, breakfast, dress and pack up. By 09:30 the sleds were packed and off we would go in search of Nanook. Soon after starting out we came across a Polar bear sow and her cub.

During the day we moved quite far off shore and by the late afternoon we had returned to within two miles of the shore line. The wind was picking up and we found this huge outcrop of broken ice which we decided would make a great wind break from the strengthening South Easterly. We set up camp next to these enormous blocks of ice. Ikie pointed out to me how the two packs of ice had merged and that one was connected to the land and the one that we were on was floating on the sea. Between these two packs was a clear fracture line and it was interesting to note how the pack ice that we were on was rising and falling with the tide, compared to the other piece that was so thick that the tide could rise and fall under it whilst it was still connected to the shore. These enormous expanses of ice weigh millions of tons and are many square km in size. Whilst on the pack ice you can continuously hear the moaning, groaning and cracking of the ice as it moves. After the usual radio communications and a good dinner of boiled chicken and veggies we settled in for a good nights rest. We had moved 27 km south of our last camp.

March 21st, 22nd and 23rd Days 5, 6, 7:

We awoke to a raging storm with gale force winds blowing at 55km/h which resulted in a complete white out. We received radio communications from a hunting party that were operating out of Resolute, a community 200 km north of us; they were experiencing the same conditions that had started earlier the previous evening. Ikie gloomily mentioned that this type of blizzard could last anywhere from two to five days. His advice: roll over and go back to sleep! I know an old saying which goes: "Don't worry about anything that you have no control over" so I followed his advice.

Somewhere around 12:00 Ikie went outside to fetch some ice to make tea. A few moments later he dived into the tent with a frantic look on his face whilst babbling in Inuktitut. He blurted in English, "Moving ice". I stuck my head out of the tent and the blocks of ice that we had sheltered behind were now moving away from us at a rapid rate. The fracture which Ikie had shown me the previous evening with such interest had broken away from the solid land ice and we were now floating away into the open sea. You could not see beyond 50 m due to the white out.

It was a most eerie and scary feeling. The fracture was literally within ten metres of the tent and I felt so terribly vulnerable. We were dressed, camp struck and sleds packed in an all time record. We hitched the skidoos but could not move very far as we were not sure how big the piece of ice was on which we were floating. We did not even have time to load the dogs; they were left tethered to their chains, to be recovered later. We moved about 50 m and waited to see what would happen. There I was crouched in my little box on the back of the sled. Olayuk seemingly spent hours at the waters edge trying to see if we would drift into a piece of fixed ice, whilst Ikie and Lennon crouched beside the sleds draped in caribou skin garments to shelter themselves from the icy winds.

Those hours spent in the box were difficult for me; there was no communication and everyone seemed to be in survival mode. In a situation like this your mind tends to rush off on a tangent. My fear was that the piece of ice that we were on was really small and would either break up or capsize. Once in the water you would not survive much beyond five to eight minutes. I was surprisingly calm and spent a lot of time thinking of my family back home and wondering if I would ever see them again; would they ever know what had actually happened to us?

By late afternoon conditions had not improved and we made camp exactly where we were. By then we had all gathered ourselves and settled down to some rational thinking. Once the tent was pitched and the stoves were going we made contact with Olayuk's wife and explained the situation to her. She was totally distraught and wanted to get a full scale rescue going. It took a phone call on my satellite phone to convince her that we were not in any imminent danger and that we would monitor the situation during the night. The blizzard was still raging and no rescue would be possible until it had subsided.

Ikie told me that this was the first time that this had ever happened to them; neither he nor his Dad were aware of this ever having happened to a sport hunting party before. In July of 1998 a group of local hunters from Arctic Bay were caught in a similar situation and the ice pack that they were on started to break up necessitating a helicopter rescue which fortunately did not result in any loss of life although sixteen skidoos as well as all of the sleds and equipment were lost!

Their fears were slightly different to mine. March is still mid winter and they were not concerned of the ice breaking up. Our saviour turned out to be the fact that the water was still freezing and forming new ice. Their concern was that if the wind turned either north or south then as we came alongside a piece of stationary ice we would be moving fairly fast which would cause us to grind along the fixed ice which would result in the thinner piece of ice, which we were on, breaking up. This could end with our piece of ice self destructing. Prince Regent Sound lies in a north south plane and our best hope was for the wind to blow from the west which would pin us firmly against the fixed ice until it froze together. There was nothing else we could do but to sit it out; at this time the wind was from the south/east at 60 km/h blowing us offshore and northwards. We monitored our movement on a G.P.S. throughout that night; we were moving at the rate of a half a km/h and in that first night we moved 3.6 km to the north/east.

The whole of the next day, day six, was spent in the tent, sleeping, reading and talking. Inuit men are not very talkative but I kept them talking. I wanted to learn as much as I could about their lives. During that day we became good friends and we had a stimulating exchange of ideas. Ikie taunted me by asking if I still wanted a 10' bear or if an 8 footer would now do. "Ten foot or I happily go home empty handed" was my answer. I boldly declared that I would not change my mind on this point. The idea of collecting a large trophy animal is strange to the Inuit as they quite correctly state that a smaller, say 8', bear has more fat and better meat, and are of course more plentiful.

I learned from them that in every community there is a volunteer rescue team and that there is a fixed wing aircraft as well as a helicopter based in Resolute some 200 km to the North. They also reassured me that the Arctic Bay rescue co-ordinator had placed Resolute on standby at the time of our first radio communications. Although Resolute is a small community of 200 people it is the point of departure for all expeditions to the North Pole and therefore has an advanced rescue team on standby throughout the year. This is a harsh environment inhabited by tough people who live their lives to the fullest. It is unfortunately also a recipe for mishaps and when one of their brethren is in danger they take his rescue very seriously.

On the evening of the sixth day we heard from the Resolute hunters that the wind had subsided and conditions had returned to normal. They told us that one of their sport hunters had bagged his polar bear on the fist day on the ice and that one of the other sport hunters who had sat through the blizzard had called it a day and wanted to return to Resolute the next morning. This is the mental challenge that I refer to in the beginning of this journal. Suddenly the quest for a Polar bear was not that important to him; he wanted home. I also wanted home but not before I had finished what I came to do. I probably spoke to Bernice on the satellite phone three or four times that day; she kept asking what was wrong as she could hear from my voice that there was something that I was not telling her. I told her that there was a blizzard blowing and that we were stuck in the tent with nothing to do. I don't think I fooled her.

Some time during that afternoon our rate of drift slowed right down and Olayuk predicted that we had connected with a much larger piece of floating ice which would hopefully join up with other pieces until we eventually joined with the fixed ice. By 20:00 that evening the wind died down and we noted that we were no longer moving, just as Olayuk had predicted earlier that day.

We woke up on the 7th day to sunshine and clear skies. What a contrast to the previous few days! Between us and the fixed ice was a kilometre of thin ice which had frozen during the night when we had stopped drifting. We got dressed and decided to go and explore the ice that we were on. On exiting the tent Lennon noticed two polar bear boars walking towards us, approximately 300 m away. What excitement! I grabbed the rifle and binoculars and we got into position behind a piece of rough ice. They kept coming towards us and it seemed as if our luck had eventually changed for the better. By the time they were 100 m away from us the reality struck home; neither of them would make the 10' that I was looking for. We savoured the moment and they eventually got to within 40 m of us before changing direction. Olayuk estimated them to be between 8 and 9'.

We spent the rest of the day searching for a point where we could find solid ice smooth enough for us to join with the mainland. We did not manage to find a way off but we felt confident that the thin ice would be thick enough to travel over by the next day. There was no wind and things were looking good.

March 24th Day 8:

We awoke to clear skies and sunny weather but on checking our G.P.S. position we were horrified to note that we had drifted 200 metres south during the night. Everything that we had hoped for had seemingly fallen apart.

Olayuk tested the thin ice with a harpoon and slowly ventured onto the ice with his skidoo. He moved towards the land checking the ice every few metres. By the time he got back to us his instructions were to pack up quickly as we had to move immediately if we were going to get off the ice that day. Once packed we slowly ventured onto the new ice which was only 4" thick and headed for the land. As we approached the line joining the new ice to the solid land ice I noticed that there was a band of five metres wide where the ice had been broken during the previous nights drift. I fully expected us to halt and return to our camp site for another day of waiting. To my horror Olayuk accelerated and hit the slushy ice at high speed; his skidoo and sled literally floated over the broken ice without sinking. We were next to go with Lennon close on our heels. As I looked back towards Lennon the first thing that I noticed was the size of his eyes which were as large as saucers. I also noticed that as his skidoo and sled floated across the ice it made waves which seemed to roll in slow motion.

The incredible feeling of relief that I felt as the machine hit the solid ice and the tracks took grip is something that I will not forget quickly. Slushy ice has a density greater than water; with the deep and wide tracks on the skidoo acting similarly to the paddle on an old fashioned wheel boat this is obviously how we got across. Once on solid ice we established that we had drifted north on the pack ice for 9 kilometres. I think that we were all pretty shaken up and a few decisions needed to be taken. This was the afternoon of the 8th day of a ten day hunt and it was clearly obvious that to continue hunting in this area was dangerous.

Olayuk told us of a place far to the south where a large bay tucked in below the peninsula. He felt that this area would be better protected from the rough and broken ice and that our best chance of finding a big bear would be to go there. Neither Ikie nor Lennon had ever been that far south and Olayuk continued to tell us that he was last there in the mid 1950's when he was courting his wife, whose family lived in that area. The problems that we would face would be the following. This bay was 200 km south of us and we did not have enough fuel to get there or back. Secondly it would take us a number of days to get there and I would have to change my flight plans for my return home.

During the 1980's there were a number of mining houses that were busy with aerial exploration for diamonds in that area and some of the local men were hired to transport drums of fuel to create a stockpile. Olayuk was one of those involved and was sure that he could take us to the exact spot where they had stashed the drums. Solving the second problem was easy; I was not going home without my bear.

With our minds made up we set up camp and opted for an early night with plans for an early start the next morning. It would probably take us two days to get there. Phone calls were made, flight arrangements changed and off to sleep we went.

March 25th Day 9:

We were on our way by 08:00 the next morning. By noon we found the fuel stash with unfortunately only one drum of fuel still intact. This was twenty year old high octane aviation gasoline and I was amazed that it had survived for twenty years in a 44 gallon steel drum. We carefully mixed this fuel with our remaining fuel and off we went.

During that afternoon we bumped into another 8-9' bear and spent some time watching him. Ikie took a few of the dogs and walked towards him. The dogs were not as brave as Ikie and would not even face the animal.

We continued travelling until late evening before setting up camp. We travelled 84 km that day.

March 26th Day 10:

Once again an early start and a full day of travel, stopping only for tea breaks as well as to climb ice outcrops to glass the area for bears. We were finding a lot more tracks down south and things were definitely looking better. By early afternoon we had passed through the southern end of Prince Regent Inlet and were at the entrance to the Gulf of Boothia. The bay which Olayuk had referred to was named Bernier Bay and as soon as we entered the bay his smile told me that we had made a wise decision to come this far south.

At 16:00 on that tenth day we came across a set of tracks that measured exactly 10 inches and the hunt was on. We followed the tracks for a few km as they moved around the pack ice from seal breathing hole to hole. We came upon the bear and had enough time to establish that he was a full grown old boar and that he was a good representative example of the species. By this time he had moved into some thick broken ice and we went about harnessing the dogs and assembling the team. This is quite a slow process and it was a full thirty minutes before I climbed onto the sled and with Olayuk in control we followed the tracks.

We followed the tracks for kilometres until the dogs got wind of the bear and their pace quickened. By this time we could see the bear a kilometre ahead of us and as we closed on him Olayuk cautioned me to get ready to jump off the sled as soon as it stopped. Stopping is achieved by the musher slamming a horseshoe shaped piece of iron with spikes on the bottom into the ice and as this bites into the ice it brings the sled to a halt.

As we pulled up alongside the running bear we stopped and I jumped off the sled. I lined up on him and took a perfectly executed quartering away shot from 80 metres.

I had achieved what I had come in search of and I was fortunately allowed a few minutes of quiet time alone. As my shot went off the dogs took fright and they disappeared with Olayuk jumping onto the sled just in time. Within a few minutes he returned followed by Ikie. The usual round of congratulations took place and we were then faced with having to skin the animal before it got too dark. It was already 17:00 and we did not have too many hours of daylight left. We took the decision to camp right there. We had travelled more than 8 km with the dogs and Ikie and I went back to fetch Lennon and the other skidoos and sleds. Olayuk started the skinning operation and we all helped once we got back to him.

By the time we had pitched camp and finished skinning the animal it was well after 22:00. After dinner Lennon called me outside to show me the horizon ablaze with the aurora borealis. I had watched for this phenomenon every night and now here it was. I like to think that this was the light shining on the spirit of Nanook. It was the most phenomenal sighting and one of the best that my guides had ever witnessed!

Some time in the early hours of the next morning the dogs started barking frantically. Ikie immediately jumped out of bed and made his way out of the tent. This was followed a few moments later by a rifle shot. A polar bear had come into camp and was intent on making a meal out of one of the dogs. Fortunately Ikie's shot scared him away.

We had travelled 96 km that day.

March 27th Day 11:
(The day that I was originally scheduled to leave.)

In the early morning Olayuk phoned his wife and asked her to find someone in the community who would bring fuel to us. He would have to be able to work a G.P.S. and should have a SW radio so that we could link up with each other. We suggested a point where we would meet this person the next morning. We travelled eastwards along Bernier Bay and then headed overland in a north easterly direction towards Admiralty Inlet. By late afternoon our fuel tanks were on empty and we were forced to set up camp 22 km short of our proposed meeting point. By early evening the wind was strengthening and would continue to do so throughout that night. We tried for hours to make contact with our fuel carrier but to no avail. Olayuk's wife thought that maybe Joelie Quanaq our fuel man had reached the meeting point earlier and had left the fuel there and that he might well be on his way back to Arctic Bay.

This was the point when I hit rock bottom. We had been through so much for so long and now this would happen to us. I had changed my ticket to fly out on the 30th and I would now have to change it again. I dreaded the idea of phoning Bernice and telling her that I would not be home on time. I knew that she was being so brave and was trying to hold it all together, and now this; it would totally destroy her. I phoned home to break the bad news and Bernice came out in such support of everything I was doing; she soothed me and talked me through those most unpleasant hours. This was yet another time in my life that my wife had come to my rescue! I suddenly felt so much better and was ready to face whatever came our way. At least we were on solid ground and could not go drifting away again.

At 22:30 our radio crackled with the sound of Joelie calling us. He had just arrived at the meeting point and had set up his tent alone in the now raging blizzard. What a relief; at least we knew that he would not leave without meeting up with us. We gave him our co-ordinates and agreed that we would sit the storm out before meeting up. I went to sleep that night feeling so much better.

March 28th Day 12:

By early morning the wind was howling and there was a total white out. Snuggled up in our sleeping bags we made breakfast and later tried to make contact with Joelie to find out how he was doing; no contact whatsoever! I think it was Lennon who said he wondered if Joelie had not left his camp and was trying to make his way towards us in the storm. A horrible thought, but maybe.

By 10:30 the wind had moderated somewhat and it was now a matter of waiting for contact from Joelie. At 12:00 the distinct sound of a skidoo could be heard as Joelie pulled up at our camp and in true Inuit tradition he entered our tent with an offering of fresh Bannock. He told us that the storm kept blowing his tent down in the night and once first light arrived he decided to push on. Joelie Qaunaq is a very dedicated and tough man.

We cooked up a meal, refueled the now empty skidoos and broke camp. By 13:30 we were heading for home, travelling in windy and ice blown conditions for fourteen hours solid with only the occasional break.

We arrived in Arctic Bay at 03:30 and once we had tethered the dogs to their chains we went off to wake the hotel proprietor. I can only imagine how exhausted the three skidoo drivers were! We had covered 221 km in the fourteen hours.

We had been on the ice for thirteen days, the longest time that anyone had ever spent on the ice in the history of sport hunting in Arctic Bay.

Later that day Lennon came to visit me in the hotel to introduce me to his girlfriend and young son. The subject turned to the day that we had crossed the broken slushy ice to get back onto the solid ice and I humorously reminded him of the fear that I had noticed on his face as his machine hit the ice and floated across. I distinctly noticed his jaw drop and he went on to tell me that his Dad had died while executing this exact manœuvre some fourteen years ago whilst out with a hunting party. At the time Lennon was a young boy of ten; his Mom subsequently remarried and moved on to Resolute. Lennon was raised by his Grandmother in Arctic Bay. By the end of the discussion I had a lump in my throat and I regretted having ever brought up this subject!

That afternoon Lennon showed me around the town and we visited the two stores which service the community. Wherever we went we seemed to attract a lot of attention. In one store a little old lady came up to us and was obviously very excited to see us. Lennon explained to me that she was Joelie's mother and she kept punching her fists up into the air expressing her happiness at our safe return. I gave her a big hug, literally sweeping her off her feet. This gesture of mine clearly pleased everyone and a stream of people came to shake our hands. Although the older folks do not speak English, all of the younger people do. Absolutely everyone in the town knew about our breaking away on the ice. A man in his mid thirties came to talk to us and his opening statement was; "I can imagine how alone you felt floating around on that piece of ice; you should know that the whole community of Arctic Bay was with you. We were ready to come and fetch you at a moments notice."

These kind words of friendship further reinforced the love that I have formed for this arid and harsh land. He went on to explain that Arctic Bay has a local radio station that operates for a few hours a day. During the total time that we were on the floating ice the radio station had remained open keeping the community informed. The Arctic Bay rescue team was on standby and so was the team in Resolute. We truly were not alone.

That evening I went to Olayuk's home to meet his family and to join them for dinner. You guessed right - Nanook was on the menu. Ikie is one of nine kids and all of those that were in town were there to meet us; throughout the evening various members of the community popped in to meet me and to partake in the spoils of the hunt. They told me that I was the first sports hunter to ever eat the bear that I had shot as well as the first to be entertained in their home. I seem to have been the first to do a lot of things on this trip! We had faced fear and danger together and throughout the trip I had treated my hosts with the utmost of respect. This is their environment and here they are the masters; no visitor should ever forget this.

I left Arctic Bay at 20:00 on Thursday 30th March feeling so much richer for having made new friends with these most interesting and good people. I will never forget them.

On the flight back to Iqaluit I met up with an American hunter by the name Mike Honeycutt. He had been hunting in Resolute and knew our whole story so communications in that part of the world really do work. Mike spent the full ten days of his hunt looking for a good sized bear, which he never found, and he had taken the decision, as indeed I had, that he would rather go home empty handed then to shoot an undersized animal. He had stuck to his principle and was now going home empty handed. I think that Mike Honeycutt is a true example of an ethical sports hunter. Well done!

My trip home was long; an elapsed time of 85 hours with a flying time of 25 hours.

Would I ever do this again? You bet I would. This was one of the most awesome adventures of my life and I cannot wait to get back there to see old friends!

Please feel free to contact me through Rick Herscher with any questions that you may have.

Notes on Polar Bear Hunting in the Arctic

Outfitters.

Alaska Hunting Safaris; Rick Herscher. Rick is from the old school of Alaskan guides; he is true to his word and does not try and cram through lots of hunters. He offered me various alternative polar bear hunts, I followed his advice and went with his recommendation for the best chance of getting a good size bear, and I am pleased that I did. I later met Rick at the S.C.I. Convention in Reno during January of 2006. I recommend Rick as an excellent choice and I will book future hunts with him. I have actually booked a brown bear hunt with him in the spring of 08. He delivered everything that he had promised.

Ikie Naqitarvik. Ikie operates out of Arctic Bay which is located on the north/western tip of Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. He works together with his father Olayuk who has been guiding sport hunting parties for polar bear since the mid 1970's. Their equipment is in good shape and they run an excellent outfitting operation. They rely on various outfitters/agents based mainly in the U.S.A. for their bookings. Having operated out of the same base for so many years their local knowledge is exceptional and they will go that extra mile (in my case 200 miles) to ensure that you get a good bear. I was impressed when I heard that Ikie was taking his next client to the same area that we had hunted irrespective of the fact that it was so far away, this shows me their commitment. Ikie is a compassionate person who goes out of his way to ensure the well being and comfort of his clients. I would strongly recommend Ikie as being your best possible choice for a Polar Bear hunt.

Clothing & equipment.

This is one of those hunts where you definitely must not take too much gear along; it will spoil your experience. There is not enough space on the sled or room in the tent. The outfitters are fully equipped and you need not take any equipment with, besides your personal clothing and firearm. The secret to keeping warm in such cold conditions is to wear numerous layers of clothing. Although I took along a wide variety of alternatives for the various layers I will only list those items which I finally chose as working the best for me.

Underwear:
Wool briefs By Justin Charles, a division of Mathews Inc. Made of 100% super-fine Merino wool: www.justincharles.com

1st layer:
Cold gear Apparel By Under Armour purchased from Cabelas. Top Mock Zip-T: Code HF-98-0011. Bottom HF98-0009 This armourblock product worked exceptionally well as the first layer. My skin felt cool compared to the sweaty feeling that I experienced with the other arctic grade under wear that I took with me.

2nd layer:
Wool Bottoms and top. Wool zip T neck expedition Wool pants bottom expedition Supplied by Justin Charles details as above

3rd Layer:
Polartec Classic 200 special ops series Purchased from Cabela's; code numbers: Top HF-90-2372 Bottom HF-90-2374

4th Layer:
Over pants & Jacket. Product supplied by www.wiggys.com The over pants and jacket is a lamilite insulated jacket & pants which worked extremely well between my Parka and the Polartec layer. When I felt too warm I would remove the Fossil Ridge Parka and keep the over jacket on.

5th Layer:
Fossil Ridge Parka and Bib. Top class product supplied by Wiggy's, outperformed all of the other products that I tried. www.wiggys.com

Mittens:
Extreme Arctic mittens. Supplied by Wiggy's. My hands never felt cold at any time. These mittens are very bulky and you will need to remove the outer mitten if you need to do anything with your hands. It is a pity that they are so bulky, but they do keep your hands warm. I wore a thin fleece glove below the mittens which worked well, especially for shooting.

Pack Boots:
Predator Extreme Pac Boots Supplied by Cabela's. Code HF-83-0435 This was the only piece of clothing that failed me, my feet got cold while sitting in the back of the sled. I unfortunately did not have an alternative pair of Pac boots. In fairness to the boots I never felt cold during periods of activity. The problem with this type of hunt is that there are long periods of sitting on the sled while traveling. I have already placed an order for new Pac Boots from Wiggy's.

Mukluks:
Overboots. Fortunately I had ordered a pair of Mukluks from Wiggy's and they pretty much saved the day for me although my feet did still get cold.

Booties:
I ordered a pair of lamilite insulated booties from Wiggy's and slept with them as socks on the two occasions that my toes were cold in my sleeping boots. They have a thin rubber sole and work well for stepping out of the tent for a moment. I however did find that they slipped off my feet easily and I have asked Jerry Wigutow (Mr. Wiggy) to try and develop a system of fastening them around the ankle.

Socks:
Outfitter series socks. Supplied by Cabela's. Liner socks HF 81-2207 Heavy weight sock HF-81-2209

Head & eye protection:
Mad Bomber Rabbit fur hat. Supplied by Cabela's. Code HF 90-1323 Balaclava. I used a Polartec 200 hood that when pulled up and tensioned (with the toggles on either side of the face) covered my face and nose. The area around the nose and mouth freezes up during the day due to the condensation of your breath. It quickly thaws in the evening when draped over the cooker. A bit more research should yield a better solution to protecting the nose and cheeks, maybe a vented breathing area? Ski goggles and good quality sun glasses. I did not use these as much as anticipated!

Sleeping Bag:
Wiggy's is famous for his high quality sleeping bags. There are a variety of models to choose from depending on your body size. I used the Hunter FTRSS system which consists of an overbag as well as an inner bag. It is rather bulky due to its large dimensions and plenty of insulation. It is imperative to be warm while sleeping and this bag never failed me. The pillows worked well but I do suggest that you cover them with pillow slips as the material that they are made from is slippery.

Personal Hygiene:
Accept that conventional bathing is impossible on this type of hunt. I discovered a lineup of products from a company called "No Rinse Laboratories" These products were developed for the care of people who are bed ridden or convalescent. It is apparently also used in the space programs. Their products are awesome; you wash your body with this liquid soap and then dry off without rinsing. It does not leave a soapy feeling and you really do feel clean. I have a very sensitive skin and it did not affect me at all. They also have a shampoo that works equally well. I would also recommend that you take a few packs of baby wipes for your wash room visits. Remember that everything freezes so you have to keep your toothpaste and No-Rinse in your sleeping bag before use.

Rifle:
I suggest that you take a single rifle as well as a soft case. You will leave your heavy weight travel case in Arctic Bay and use the soft rifle bag for the duration of the hunt. I kept my rifle on the sled with me. Remember that you must winterize your rifle before departure for the Arctic, otherwise it may freeze up.

Binoculars & Knives:
Due to space constraints I feel that a good pair of binoculars is preferable to a spotting scope in this situation. A single folding pocket knife is more than enough. If you insist on skinning your own animal then you will obviously have to take along your own skinning and caping knives. The outfitter did a great job of skinning my animal.

Accessories:
Little John; A convenient, spill-proof portable urinal. Cap screws on tightly to prevent spills. Constructed of durable plastic and is reusable Holds 32 oz. and can be used with the Lady J Adapter. Perfect for use during a blizzard or for when you do not want to step out of the tent into -40º Remember to tighten the cap screw and to keep it in your sleeping bag otherwise it will be frozen solid the next morning. Available from Pilot Accessory stores at most smaller airports.

Kidney belt;
Available from off road motorcycle stores. Helps tremendously while bouncing around on the rough ice.I have attempted to cover the main items of clothing in this suggested list; I hope that I have not left out any major items. I am sure that you will fill up your bag with various bits & pieces but please ensure that your bag does not exceed 40" in length otherwise it will not fit into the tent.

I hope that you enjoy your Arctic experience as much as I did. Please feel free to contact me through Rick Herscher with any questions that you may have.

Ivor Karan.

PLEASE CONTACT RICK FOR AVAILABLE OPENINGS AND PERMITS
RickHerscher@aol.com (907) 373-4658

GOOD HUNTING!

Rick Herscher
Alaska Hunting Safaris

Alaska Hunting Safaris

Phone - (907) 373-4658

RickHerscher@AOL.com

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