Polar Bear Experience 2019

FOR ADVANCED WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHERS !!

Oct 3rd- Oct 8th 2019 ( FULL)

Spend 4 days living in the furthest reaches of Alaska! Learn about the culture, see how the people live so isolated from the rest of the civilization. But most of all, come and experience the realm of the polar bears. I only have 5people at a time on this tour!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This tour is for hardy wildlife photographers! You will need to have a good familiarity with your camera and gear. You will need to know where your settings are how to change them. I will give you the tools to work with, and help you to apply them to achieve the quality of image you hoped for! And an experience to match!

This tour is a bit different, as permits are required. Polar bear viewing is done mostly via boat, sometimes on land. You get 4 days of 6 hours a day out with the polar bears! There are only 6 of us on boat.

 

Due to Kaktovik's isolation, the village has maintained its Inupiat Eskimo traditions. Subsistence is highly dependent upon the hunting of caribou and whale. The bears know that the villagers will drag the whale carcass out to the bone pile, and that is where their feast will begin. After feasting, the polar bears head out on the icy fingers of islands, away from the mainland. And there they wait for the ice to freeze so they can hunt their favorite food, seal. That is where we head the boat out to. We go out in the early morning and in the mid to late afternoon. Since the bears can sometimes roam the village, no one is allowed outside late at night without supervision.

You will have a couple of hours during the day to go through your images before heading back out on the water. Please note: at no time are you allowed out with the bears.

 

There is no single supplement at this time for the polar bears. The house I rent out has 3 bedrooms, for 6 people and one bath. So everyone shares a room. The house comes equipped with a kitchen. There are some foods already stocked in the fridge and cabinets. We now have an inn keeper that helps with the cooking but you will need to provide the food . Please note, food is very expensive out in the remote village and the shop has limited groceries.

Our boat captain will take us along the sand bars early in the morning while the bears are still active. The polar bears are active in and around the water. Group play is common amongst the younger bears. Or we may cruise the "bone pile" where at any time, multiple bears may be feeding.

On occasion, if northern lights appear earlier in the evening, IF we can find someone to take us out, as we have to supervised. Polar bears do walk around at all times of the day and night.

 

 

 

This could be your view by boat.

PRICE $5,995.00 PER PERSON IN 2019

( DOUBLE OCCUPANCY)

Please note: There is no smoking allowed in the truck or boat during the bear viewing!

Please note, The weather can be cold, windy, and the boat can rock.

Terms & Conditions About Wild Compass Tours

PRICE INCLUDES

All lodging and breakfast

• Morning and afternoon viewing of the bears via boat/truck
• Lodging in Fairbanks 1 night and 4 nights Kaktovik
• Transportation around Kaktovik

We do suggest Travel Insurance

Price does not include

• Airfare to and from Fairbanks
• Airfare from Fairbanks to Barter Island/and back
• We will help you book your flight to/from Barter
• Meals in Fairbanks/and in Barter
• Extra nights in Fairbanks

 

Terms & Conditions About Wild Compass Tours