Somerset Island lies 800km above the Arctic Circle in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The population of Nunavut is approximately 40k people, the vast majority of them Inuit, the rest are sent there for a sprinkling of mining projects, research stations and a few hardy individuals that want to get as far away from it all as possible.
The Canadian Arctic is spectacular but is mostly visited by tourists on ships. The window to visit is small: six to seven weeks in July and August (although this may change, sadly, with climate warming). And getting there is logistically tough. The distances are very long to cover making planes the most efficient way of getting there. But runways are few. All food has to be flown in and all refuse flown out. The weather is unpredictable and the cost is high. Very high. But if you can overcome any and or all of these hurdles, it has the potential to be a trip of a lifetime.
The crew at Weber Arctic know this and have spent decades building up a business to cater to tourists at the top of the world. So when I was looking for options to explore one of the most remote places on earth, these were the people I called. With over 30 years experience working in the Canadian Arctic, they offered pretty much everything I was looking forward to and I spent 10 days at their Arctic Watch camp, exploring the west and north coasts of Somerset Island and the Northwest Passage and a bit of the inland. It didn’t disappoint. Although I was too late in the season for the beluga breeding, I was able to photograph muskoxen and polar bears as much as I wanted making the trip worth every hard-earned penny.
