Red River Outfitters' eight-day paddling trips on Manitoba's Bloodvein Canadian Heritage River are suitable for all levels of canoeists. Participants see pictographs and other cultural sites. Photographers can take photos of moose and eagles.
Scenery varies from ancient granite cliffs to tranquil marshlands and exciting rapids for river-runners.
Walleye fishing
Participants can fish for northern pike and walleye (pickerel). After the trip, the Native community of Bloodvein First Nation invites paddlers to a traditional native feast and a sweat lodge ceremony. North Knife Lake Lodge, in Northern Manitoba, features northern pike, lake trout and Arctic grayling fishing in summer. Couples can enjoy fly-casting classes, cooking lessons and spa treatments during five-day packages.
Bird watching holidays
At Manitoba's Seal River Heritage Lodge, visitors can see bears, and more than 100 bird species, including ptarmigan, Ross's and Bonaparte gulls, Smith's Longspur and jaegers. During seven-day summer packages, guests can snorkel with the beluga whales that swim into the river's estuary.
In winter, Manitoba visitors can snowmobile from Churchill, the Polar Bear Capital of the World, to Nunavut, land of the Inuit. On six-day packages with Gyrfalcon Expeditions, they will view the aurora borealis (northern lights), caribou, wolves, bears and seals. Participants stay in lodges and motels.
Polar bear tours
Heartland International Travel offers four-day summer and fall Polar Bear Safaris at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Participants can view the summer behavior of polar bears on the beach in Cape Tatnum Wildlife Management Area on the southern tip of Manitoba's Wapusk National Park.
Interpretive walks and evening presentations teach visitors about sub-arctic wildlife, geology, environment and traditional lifestyles. On clear nights, they can view northern lights dancing in the black sky.
