From California it takes several days to get to the Camp Gellini compound. A night spent in Winnipeg, Manitoba is the first leg. The second leg goes to the Churchill airport, and then right on to the camp Gellini for a 118 mile ride in a bush plane. The only access to camp is by bush plane. Part of the adventure in some of the more remote wildlife trips is just getting there.
Bush Plane to Camp Gellini
Dr. P and his group flew 160 miles north of Churchill in a tried and true bush plane called the DeHavilland Turbo Otter. It has been fitted with extra large tires to allow it to land on the rough tundra. Bush pilots love these airplanes, and the one we flew on was built in 1961. It is a rugged plane with few amenities and is built to last. This particular one had been refurbished many times with new avionics and a new engine, so we felt like we were flying in a brand new 60 year old airplane!
The skill of the pilot navigating to camp in his DeHavilland Turbo Otter is one of the more enjoyable and adventuresome parts of the trip. Our pilot was quite talkative and had no problem expressing his strong political opinions about the Canadian government. What do you expect from a Canadian- ‘eh’.
Our turbo otter at the Churchill airport waiting to take us to Camp Gellini
Dr. P and one of the other guests flying to camp Gellini
A view of the instruments and modern avionics
The view of the terrain below with Hudson Bay on the top left (looking south)
This is the landing strip at Camp Gellini (looking north with Hudson Bay on the right). You can see the electrified fence of the camp on the left.
Unloading our luggage and camp supplies using an ATV and a sled (called a qamutik in the Inuit language)
Our landing, then the pilot taking off without us, and finally a “buzz by” before he left us for 5 days with the Northern Lights and polar bears as neighbors.
In the next post you will learn more about the camp and the people that work there.