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A new territory says: Come on up; tundras of fun await
By DAVID CRARY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
IQALUIT, Northwest Territories -- You won't find Nunavut in your atlas. It didn't officially exist until today. But its new leaders already have the welcome mat out, hoping to make it a hot destination for tourists undeterred by the cold.
Nunavut has become Canada's third territory, made up of the eastern 60 percent of the Northwest Territories. Its government will be dominated by the Inuit -- still called Eskimos by many Americans. And the fledging tourist industry will try to promote Inuit culture and traditions.
There aren't a lot of people -- 27,000 in a region bigger than Alaska and California combined. But for outdoors-loving visitors, there is plenty to see and do: North America's northernmost national park on Ellsmere Island; breathtaking, sheer cliffs on Baffin Island; kayak expeditions into arctic fjords; wildlife ranging from polar bears to musk ox to narwhal -- a walruslike creature with a unicorn-like tusk.
There is a summer of sorts in Nunavut, in July and August. That's the prime season for hiking across the open tundra, kayaking on rivers or at sea, and visiting historic sites.
Winter lasts from September through May in much of Nunavut, so there is an understandable effort to promote snow-related activities. Outfitters offer expeditions on dog-sled, snowmobile or cross-country skis. There even are lessons in igloo-building.
At the end of April, Nunavut's biggest town -- Iqaluit -- will celebrate the coming of spring with its weeklong Toonik Tyme festival, featuring community feasts, games and dog-sled races, igloo-building contests and entertainment.
Visitors are apt to feel welcome at community suppers, perhaps even invited to join in the raucous games that might follow. A recent supper at Iqaluit's St. Jude Anglican Church was a festive mingling of children and elders, Inuit and non-Inuit, including a performance by drumming dancers, and a roughhouse version of musical chairs that had friends and strangers toppling over one another on the parish hall floor.
Winter or summer, most adventure-style trips to the Nunavut wilderness are arranged with a tour operator or outfitter, some based in the region and others in more southern cities. Nunavut's new government will have responsibility for licensing these entrepreneurs.
Hunting is a major attraction, although wildlife-protection groups are not happy that the legal prey, on a strict quota basis, includes polar bears and grizzly bears.
There are a couple of major obstacles in the way of a rapid tourist boom in Nunavut.
One is the high cost of getting there. Its towns are accessible only by air, except for a few cruise-ship stops, and air fares are high because of the lack of competition in the region. Many towns have air service only once or twice a week, and bad weather can play havoc with flight schedules.
The other problem, readily acknowledged by the Nunavut Tourism Office, is that the hotel and restaurant availability is limited and unsophisticated.
Iqaluit, the brand-new capital, has about 175 hotel rooms and some quality dining choices. Most of the other towns -- although less influenced by "southern" modernization -- offer only one lodging place, with a prospect of shared bedrooms and bathrooms.
"Our short-term goal is not to raise the number of tourists, but to raise the quality of what we offer to match the expectations of those who do come," says the tourism office's executive director, Madeleine Redfern.
She noted that many of Nunavut's hotels and motels were built in an era when most visitors were construction workers or government employees.
"Tourists have different priorities," she says.
Even when tourists come with the best of intentions -- hoping for a glimpse of authentic Inuit lifestyles -- there can be embarrassing moments. Many visitors are surprised to find that today's Inuit live in houses, not igloos, wear factory made winter gear rather than seal skin coats, and favor snowmobiles over dog sleds.
"That in itself is a conflict. We haven't met the expectation of the tourist," Redfern says. "It gives us the opportunity to educate them about how we're changing, about how we got to where we are today and how we're trying to reconcile our traditional life with contemporary life."
"The majority of tourists don't want to be rude," she says. "But they often don't have the information to know exactly what Inuit culture is like, and how to not be intrusive."
If you go ...Getting there: Flights to Iqaluit originate in Montreal and Ottawa. The town of Rankin Inlet can be reached from Winnipeg or Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Round-trip air fares under $1,000 are hard to come by. Within Nunavut, most smaller communities are served by twice- or thrice-weekly scheduled flights. There are no highways into Nunavut or connecting its far-flung towns.Climate: In midwinter, most of Nunavut gets only about three hours of daylight, and daytime temperatures average around minus-20. In the summer, when the sun is up nearly around the clock, daytime temperatures are usually around 50 in Iqaluit and around freezing in the farthest-north areas. Most of Nunavut receives relatively little precipitation, but frequent high winds can create blizzard conditions in the winter. Accommodations: Iqaluit has four full-service hotels, with good dining options and rooms costing roughly $100 per night. Accommodations are more scarce, more spartan and often more costly in the smaller towns, and guests may be required to share bedrooms or bathrooms. Food: Most of Nunavut's restaurants are in the hotels and offer straightforward meals based on a mix of flown-in food and local specialities such as caribou, musk ox and arctic char (a fish tasting somewhat like salmon). A community feast might also include raw seal meat or whale blubber, known as maktaaq. Most Nunavut communities either restrict or prohibit alcohol. Activities: Nunavut offers a wide range of outdoor activities, particularly for adventure-seekers: dog-sledding, snowmobiling, river and sea kayaking, hunting and fishing, an array of wildlife-watching trips. Expedition costs can be high -- a 16-day trip led by Iqaluit-based Northwinds Arctic Adventures to Ellsmere Island costs $4,220 per person. There are colorful festivals in April to mark the coming of spring, and a variety of Inuit art and crafts are available, especially carvings. Information: The Nunavut Tourism Office can provide brochures, travel and accommodation details, and information on outfitters and tour guides: Telephone: 867-979-6551. E-mail: nunatour nunanet.com. The "Nunavut Handbook," published by Nortext Multimedia, has a wealth of travel information and can be obtained by calling 800-263-1452. The handbook has a Web site: www.arctic-travel.com |
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