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Sport & Activities
Nunavut’s sparsely populated and untouched Arctic wilderness is best visited as part of a package tour or in the company of an experienced guide. Individual travellers should note that they are likely to be exposed to a number of hazards, including severe cold, reduced hours of daylight and potentially aggressive wildlife, including bears. Before setting out on individual trips, travellers should contact Nunavut Tourism for advice (see Contact Addresses section). The ‘Nunavut Handbook’, which is also available on the Internet (website: www.arctic-travel.com), contains a wealth of practical information. Nunavut Tourism also publishes ‘The Arctic Traveller’ brochure, which contains a directory of tour operators and outfitters plus a brief description of their offerings, as well as the ‘Nunavut Travel Planner’. To learn about Nunavut’s fauna, flora, culture and history, nature and cultural tours offer a good overview of the territory. Wildlife viewing plays an important part in most tours and wildlife is particularly abundant in the summer at the so-called ‘floe edge’, where the land ice meets the open sea and the blooming plankton attracts large schools of shrimp and fish as well as seals, whales and polar bears. The method of transport depends on the season: in summer, boating (in an Inuit freighter canoe, a kayak, a high-powered, motorised dinghy or a larger boat) is the most common, while, in spring, dog sledding (in the company of experienced local Inuit guides) or snowmobiling are widespread. The seasonal variations in light and temperature, and the dramatic scenery, provide rewarding conditions for photography enthusiasts. One of the best times for taking photographs is during the sunlit nights (between 2000 and 0300 in spring and summer), when shadows are long and colour and texture are particularly well defined. Inuit art tours offer visitors an opportunity to learn about native carving, tool-fashioning, jewellery-making and hat-making (out of Quivviuq wool collected from the land). Some of the best hiking destinations include the mountains of Auyuittuq National Park, the willow forest of Katannilik Park, North Ellesmere National Park (which has particularly rich wildlife), the new Sirmilik National Park (surrounding the scenic community of Pond Inlet) or the trail from Kugluktuk (Coppermine) to the Bloody Falls. Fishing enthusiasts should note that catch-and-release is practised in all areas and that possession limits are based on regular and seasonal evaluation of stock. Chief catches are Arctic char and lake trout.
For general information about sport and activities in Canada, see the main Canada section.
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