Rappin' Up Day #8

Wednesday August 11th 2010


Tips of the day (TOTD)

#1. The zodiacs have handholds for a reason (bumpy!)

#2.The tidal line is cool in more than one way (brrrrrrrr!)

#3. Staying awake during a lecture is key (zzzzzzzzzzz!)

#4. Sugar makes everything taste better (mmmmmmmmm!)

#5. Don’t eat it if you don’t know what it is (mystery berries!)

After breakfast we trekked back into Churchill to go on our second zodiac trip! Yay, more Belugas! And more Belugas was right. We went out in 2 boats, one guided by our Doug and the other steered by Dan. It was a fair bit windier today than during our kayaking adventure so our ride was a bit on the wild side! Refer to TOTD #1.

Pods of these beautiful whales were curious of the new visitors (us) and came over to check us out. We couldn’t believe how close these whales got to us and at times you felt like you could reach down and touch them! After exploring in the heart of the Churchill River we went farther down it until we reached mosquito point. This area is very shallow and many female Belugas nurse their young in this area. Many young, gray Belugas were seen. It was a blast but unfortunately we had to head back. Along the way we passed a couple of tide lines which are borders between different water temperatures. Dan had us put our hands in the water as we passed over these divides and the temperature change was very abrupt. See TOTD #2.

After our very exciting visit with the Beluga whales we headed over to the Churchill community centre to eat lunch down by the shore of the Hudson Bay. Some explored the shoreline, others the community centre all while a game of ultimate Frisbee went on. Our next stop was the train station to visit the Wapusk National Park Interpretation Centre. We were given a small assignment to do regarding the species of the park and the changing environment of it. Following this was a presentation on Wapusk National Park. Regard TOTD #3. Paying attention to a lecture is key to gaining knowledge and the key to understanding a lecture is actually staying awake. Half of our group succumbed to our growing tiredness and hibernated during the presentation. Thank goodness the lecture is not going on our final exam..... hopefully.

Today we had 2 dinners. One was a lot more conventional than the other. Our first was served by our lovely kitchen staff here at the CNSC while our second was given to us by the tundra itself!!!What we mean by this is that Heather from Parks Canada collected us a variety of edible (well sort of) plants for us to try. We had Labrador tea, red bear berries, crowberries [only edible with sugar (view TOTD #4)], fireweed jelly, fireweed, sandwort and soap berry ice-cream. Quite the feast if you’re into trying new things. Anyways one of the most important things we learned about was how do not eat anything if you don’t know what it is. Refer to TOTD #5.

Hopefully today’s tips help you to stay alert and stay safe up here in Churchill!


Brennan and Bethany oooouuuut!



Rap of the Day (ROTD) by: B-dog and Bethillionaire


We came here by plane,

and also by train,

but we won’t refrain,

from this flat terrain.

Ate a wild berry,

from the cape of Merry,

mosquitoes make us weary,

we smack them without care......y

Belugas in the river,

tide line make us shiver,

flora and their fauna,

makes me really wanna..... stay in Churchill!!!

Seen some polar bears,

even in some pairs,

scared them using flares,

and pooped our underwears.

Saw a big black seal,

Good it made us feel,

Listened to Doug’s spiel,

Climate change is real......ly bad

Belugas in the river,

tide line make us shiver,

flora and their fauna,

makes me really wanna..... stay in Churchill!!!