Arctic Narwhal Adventure
In
August, 2005 we were
the first tourist group ever to visit Koluctoo Bay with
the main purpose to observe narwhal. Only scientists had done
anything like this before our first trip. It was a very successful
outing. 7 of us braved the elements to fulfill our dreams of
seeing narwhal in the wild. All of us saw many narwhal, some of
them fairly close to us.
Since then we have done this expedition in 2007, 2009, 2010 & 2012. Next up is 2017.
Since then we have done this expedition in 2007, 2009, 2010 & 2012. Next up is 2017.
This
trip begins in and departs from Pond Inlet, on the northwest corner of
Baffin Island. We motor by boat to Milne Inlet and Koluctoo Bay
or to nearby Trembly Sound just depending on the narwhal
migration.
This
exciting adventure is the ultimate small whale adventure. We will
search out Narwhals, which are for me the most interesting small
toothed whales to be found anywhere in the world.
Narwhal of Baffin Island
Interested in a for a trip in August 2017?
Approximate trip price $10,500.00 US$. Not including air fare to Pond Inlet.
A unique Arctic Adventure intended
for those who want to experience exceptional Arctic narwhal
encounters. This trip is designed for people of all ages.
No heavy backpacking or trekking is necessary.
EMAIL US
The trip
leader is scheduled to be Keith Jones our founder and head naturalist.
We don't believe there is another trip offering comparable to
ours. If Keith cannot make it for some reason, our expedition
outfitter will assume the role of head guide and trip leader. A member
of every one of our Arctic expeditions Namen is well equipped to care
for you and to talk to you about the local Arctic environment.
office
phone 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM Mountain time zone (Arizona) 562-889-4016
Skype ID
= bajajones
The red
shading indicates the locations where the Narwhal congregate following
the breaking up of the pack ice. The Narwhal enter the relatively
shallow bays and inlets to escape the ravaging Orcas who hound them
mercilessly. As the channels and leads open in the ice, normally
in June, the Narwhal are there to follow the first clear channels
inland. The Orcas, not comfortable in shallow water, generally
don't follow the Narwhal close in.
Our
Narwhal adventure will take place on Baffin Island. This is in
Nunavut, the Canadian far north, and is an extremely remote and
isolated area. This adventure will not be a quick 2 hour tour off
of a small cruise ship.
Ten
action packed days exploring an arctic wilderness that is home to an
assortment of birds and mammals. This is an adventure that you
will never forget!
Facts about the Narwhal
The
Narwhal is a small toothed whale weighing about a ton up to 3000
pounds. This is the approximate size of a gray whale baby who is
a month old. The characteristic horn is actually a tooth (usually
located on the left side) that continues to grow, until it reaches a
maximum length of 10 feet. Stories of the magical unicorn probably
originated from the discovery of the narwhal tooth by European
explorers and traders. Only one in four females have this tusk.
The females generally display a shorter 3 to 4 foot long
tusk. These whales normally swim in small pods of 2 to 12.
Sometimes a Narwhal will have two tusks. They are found in the
most northern Arctic waters.
Baffin Island has an extremely small population of
just over 20,000 people and covers an area of almost 200,000 square
miles. That is larger than California, but a bit smaller than
Texas. Pond Inlet has a population of about 1,500 and excluding
the 4 cruise boats receives only about 150 tourist visits each
year. Koluctoo Bay where we will camp and whale watch only
receives visits from a dozen or two dozen tourist adventurers each
year. This is a really remote place.
Most of the Arctic
adventure trips available give you less than the intimate up close
contact with the Arctic that our trip will provide.
The small cruise ship offerings give you a few hours each day
ashore. Much of the nature watching takes place from the deck of
the ship. That type of experience is better than a walk in the
park back home, but it is not the best Arctic Nature Adventure you can
have. Your chances of seeing a narwhal, even in the distance are
very low.
Many other land tours take you to
locations closer to developed area, where the wildlife and the
surrounding countryside is less pristine. Other Arctic tours take
you in the winter or spring when travel is over rugged ice, using
sleds. The sled trips will put you close to wild animals and
nature, but at an extremely cold time of the year. The weather
for the floe edge trips can be really intense dropping to -20 degrees
or lower and with 20 to 40 mile an hour winds not unusual.
The third
type of Arctic trip, closest to our trip, but vastly
different, is the Arctic trek. Usually done in July, August
or September these trips require you to hike to the destination.
That puts you in close contact with the countryside. Sometimes
too close. In the summer there are many streams and patches of
flowing water to cross. When traveling on foot you will be
splashing or wading through this ice cold water. Plus hiking
limits just where you can get to in the time available. By
traveling to our base camp over the water using a motor boat we can
reach the best location for our nature viewing in a very short
time. You cannot hike to our location from any regular airfield.
Last year the researchers whose camp is just a half kilometer from our campsite were weather bound for about 4 days, because of low cloud cover. We were able to safely travel by our boat back to Pond Inlet, but the researchers ended up missing their flights. I'm pretty well convinced the boat is the very best transportation for our purposes on this trip.
Last year the researchers whose camp is just a half kilometer from our campsite were weather bound for about 4 days, because of low cloud cover. We were able to safely travel by our boat back to Pond Inlet, but the researchers ended up missing their flights. I'm pretty well convinced the boat is the very best transportation for our purposes on this trip.
Curious why Baja Jones is going to Canada? The truth is
Baja Jones Adventures was founded by Keith Jones who has always been an
adventurer obsessed by his interest in marine wildlife. This
obsession led him first to Baja, Mexico and to the operation of an
adventure travel service designed to bring people up close and personal
with marine mammals. Our Gray Whale trips are non-stop from
January through the end of March. Keith is on the water with the
gray whales and tour groups nearly every day during this time.
Once the Gray whales leave Baja, Keith goes off in search of other "up
close and personal" marine mammal encounters. This is his life
and this is why you will find Baja Jones in Canada, South America, Asia
and wherever there are whales.