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Must Do Canada

The Best Things to Do in Canada

Nunavut

Whale Watching Canada

By Matthew G. Bailey 2 Comments

whale watching Canada
Killer whales off the coast of Vancouver Island. Photo by Matthew G. Bailey

With more coastlines than any other country on Earth, it’s no surprise that Canada is one of the best countries in the world for a whale watching tour. Bordered by three oceans – the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans – whale watching occurs all across Canada in places such as British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Nunavut.

Whale watching is very popular with both tourists and locals, with the possibility of viewing up to 33 whale species from shorelines, ships, sailing boats, zodiacs, kayaks, and more. Depending on where you are, there’s lots of other sea life as well, including seals, dolphins, walruses, and a variety of birds.

In this guide, we’re going to fill you in on where to go whale watching in Canada, the most common whales you’ll likely see, and the best times to go. [Read more…] about Whale Watching Canada

Exploring the Arctic From Canada to Greenland

By Matthew G. Bailey 2 Comments

Greenland Iceberg

Iceberg, straight ahead!

Unlike for the Titanic, however, this was actually good news. After all, we all wanted to see icebergs and now we had one cruising right by our ship. I took a long, admiring look at it and then whipped out my camera to get some photos. After it went by, another one cruised by on the other side of the ship. I ran over to see that one as well. It was a little bigger and had some interesting crevices that had such a deep blue colour. This time, I whipped out my binoculars as well to get an up-close look at it. Then I noticed another one right behind it. Then two more were coming on the other side. Suddenly, there were hundreds of icebergs. Some were cruising by, quite close to the ship. Others were in the far distance, dotting the seascape like giant ice cubes. I couldn’t believe my eyes. No matter where I looked out at sea, there were dozens of icebergs. I thought back to some of the trips I had taken to Newfoundland in hopes of seeing icebergs and feeling so lucky to see one or two. Now, I had hundreds of icebergs surrounding me, flowing by under a clear, blue sky. It was incredibly gorgeous. [Read more…] about Exploring the Arctic From Canada to Greenland

Exploring Canada’s High Arctic in Nunavut

By Matthew G. Bailey 6 Comments

Pond Inlet Inuit Sod House

We had just gone to bed. It was after midnight and the sunlight was still shining through the tiny portion of our window that wasn’t covered by our curtain. It didn’t even feel like we were on a ship. There was no motion. No swaying left to right or right to left. Just stillness. It had been a long day of both adventure and education. We had learned from experts about the history and biology of the area we were visiting. We had met a handful of the 150+ people we’d be sharing the experience with over 12 days. We had seen a variety of incredible landscapes and bird colonies. But now it was time to rest. After all, we’d be going on another adventure tomorrow.

It seemed like I had just closed my eyes when the PA-system came on.”Ladies and gentlemen, sorry to wake you, but we’ve spotted a mother walrus and her calf on a piece of flow-ice.” Just like that, we were putting back on our pants, socks, shoes, and jackets. We grabbed our binoculars, and our camera and made our way to the deck to see what all the fuss was about. [Read more…] about Exploring Canada’s High Arctic in Nunavut