Tundra North Tours

29/10/2024

🏠🐕 Looks like Kiyuk cut a deal with Taglu for a cozy sublet!He’s definitely making himself at home. It’s always good to have a roof over your paws and a little corner to call your own.

14/10/2024

🎉 Big News! 🎉

Featuring Kylik’s interview in Igloo Overnights, National Geographic’s upcoming book 100 Nights of a Lifetime: The World’s Ultimate Adventures After Dark is now available for pre-order! 🌌❄️

100 Nights of a Lifetime delves into 100 incredible nighttime adventures from all over the world, including our corner of the Arctic! From glowing mushrooms in Australia to chasing the aurora borealis in Canada.

Mark your calendar for Dec. 3, 2024, so you don’t miss out!

You can pre-order here: https://books.disney.com/book/100-nights-of-a-lifetime/

And maybe tag us when you grab a copy 👉👈

09/09/2024

Sip on some spruce bough tea with us at Okpik Village! 🍃

Experience the flavors and traditions of the Arctic. From sampling muktuk to dining on Indigenous fare and learning Arctic games, it's all bundled up into moments filled with adventure and culture. We promise, it's steeped with love!

06/09/2024

If you missed the big news, our documentary: Okpic: Little Village In The Arctic is out! You can watch both in English and Inuvialuktun at CBC Gem. It's just one click away, literally! 👇

Okpik: Little Village in the Arctic follows Inuit/Gwich’in hunter gatherer Kylik Kisoun, as he discovers the lost art of building traditional Inuvialu…

04/09/2024

🌿🍓 Ready for a taste adventure in the Northwest Territories? Discover the flavors of Arctic Cranberries, Gooseberries, Soapberries, Cloudberries, and Bearberries. It's berrylicious fun! 🌟 Check out our berry-log in the link for juicy and mouthwatering details.

Many of us spend the summer months collecting berries to make jam and other preserves. Well due to the 24 hours of Sunlight in the Northern summers, the berry picking season lasts all the way through the fall and sometimes through the winter! Although vegetation is scarce in the Arctic Tundra of Can...

03/09/2024

For centuries, the Inuvialuit have crafted ‘Mukluks’ to conquer the challenges of the Arctic and navigate through the biting cold. ❄️ Don’t mistake them for just cozy, protective boots, they are so much more! They carry the tales of countless adventures across the wide tundra.

🏔️ With every stitch, they embody the changing seasons, from sunlit summer days ☀️ to the enchanting darkness of winter nights. 🌙 Passed down through generations, Mukluks connect us to the past, preserving the wisdom and heritage of the Inuvialuit people.

So, when you stumble upon a pair of Mukluks at our tepee, take a moment to appreciate their silent storytelling. They are the unsung heroes of Inuvik’s history, a reminder of the strength and spirit of our ancestors. Let their legacy guide your footsteps as you embark on your own Arctic adventures! ⛺️🚶‍♀️

12/08/2024

🚧 Flood Update: New Willow Arc on the Way! 🚧

Our original Willow Arc was destroyed by the flood. The good news is we're already building a new one!

02/08/2024

Some say counting sheep helps you sleep… but whispering the names of our sled dogs, from the youngest pup to the oldest, does the trick. By the time we reach Ulu, we’re already drifting off! 🐶💤 Something worth remembering when visiting us. ✨

01/08/2024

Memories still smolder within the embers of the past. 🔥🍞☕ Gathering around the fire in our tepee last year with friends, pups, and some bannock with spruce bough tea. It’s the little things.

30/07/2024

🐾 Dog of the Week: PIPSI 🐾📢

🎂 Birthday: Jan. 29th, 2023

Hi, I’m Pipsi! My name means ‘Dried Fish’ in Inuvialuktun, and guess what? Fish is all I eat in the summer! 🐟 Come winter, I lead the race team with my sister Siku. I can run in front of the sled all day and look forward to longer dog sled adventures. Until I grow old, I’ll enjoy the Arctic, running with my pack and waiting to be called Pudding Grams one day! 👵🏼🐕

26/07/2024

Beware of the teeth, they said! That grin isn’t just for show, they said! Pikes can have 300 to 700 teeth, both needle and fang-like, up to 1 inch long. It’s one of the first things we remind our visitors of when they arrive.

Something to keep that in mind when reeling the next one in, and be careful! 🎣

26/07/2024

🪵 Ever seen a traditional sod house before? If not, this is how they look! Built by the Inuvialuit people for the long winter months, using driftwood and sod to shelter their families from the cold and dark winters.

Imagine snuggling up inside one of these during those long Arctic winters! It couldn’t have been easy, but at least the thick sod walls were designed to keep the cold out. 🏠

25/07/2024

Ever tried Muktuk? 🐋🍽️ It’s a special dish from the Arctic, made from raw and boiled Beluga whale skin and blubber! Whether dried, raw, or boiled. Interested? Come on down to our Okpik Arctic Village day tour, we have plenty to share!

24/07/2024

Meet 🥁🥁🥁 IKUUN! 🐕✨

Birthday: Jan. 29th, 2023

My name means ‘Skin Scraper’ in Inuvialuktun. I’m a great lead dog, especially when I have another sled to follow. I love to pull, but if I’m having a rough day, I ‘might’ start a little ruckus while pulling. When I’m not leading the pack, you’ll find me playing with my younger siblings who are still learning the ropes.

Oh, and did I mention I’m always smiling? 😄

19/07/2024

Coffee break, Up North moments ☕️ We all need one, whether gearing up for a day, or winding down from one.
📸: Spectacular NWT

What’s your favorite way to sink in and enjoy the moment in nature?

18/07/2024

Boat rides, checking the fish nets, picking berries, and feeding & petting dogs! 🚤🐟🍓🐾 That's enough to turn even the toughest ones in our village into cozy couch potatoes. But when you're officially out of juice and can fit into our 'pocket-sized' category, we're ready to scoop you up like a berry too!

17/07/2024

As the sun sets on the Mackenzie River, our red canoe sits peacefully, ready for the next adventure. 🌅🚣‍♂️ The clouds paint a beautiful canvas in the sky, adding a touch of magic to the moment. At Okpik Arctic Village, we're lucky to witness such stunning scenes daily. Where's your favorite place to go boating?

11/07/2024

🔥💡 At the Tuktoyaktuk sod house, we're getting a hands-on history lesson on how to light a qulliq. This crescent-shaped lamp, carved from stone and fueled by animal blubber oil. It also uses a wick made of moss or Arctic cotton to create a glowing liquid candle.

Traditionally, the Inuit used these for lighting, heating tents or igloos, melting snow for water, drying clothes, and cooking food. Plus it looks cool and eco-frendly! 🌿❄️

10/07/2024

Sunsets are never a letdown, especially around our village. Aren't we lucky or what?! 🌅✨

And the best part? We also get 24 hours of daylight here in the Arctic! So, we can enjoy the magic of the sun at any hour.

03/07/2024

Our first initial proto-sink from a couple of years ago. Simply Marvellous Engineering! Who needs fancy equipment when you have 🪣🏀🔩?

01/07/2024

Sometimes, even with their cozy dog houses, all our pups need is a cozy box. 🐶😴💤 Who needs a fancy bed when you can curl up in a cardboard suite and snooze for the day? Home is wherever you make it, even if it's just a box!

28/06/2024

🐻 We found those bear tracks not too long ago near the riverbank! We could ignore it, called it a day, and gone back to our village, assuming it was probably a grizzly. Size of the tracks checked out, shape checks out, so... But where's the fun in that? We took a closer look at the spaces between the digits, the curvature of the digits, and the size of the claws marked. But why!? Two reasons: first, why not! Second, by examining these details, we can tell what kind of bear we're dealing with here.

Grizzly bear claws are typically longer than those of black bears. In grizzly tracks, the first and last digits align in a parallel line, whereas black bears leave tracks with an arched print. If more than half of the digits cross the parallel line in the tracks, it means you have a grizzly on the loose! As for the spaces between the digits, black bears have more fur than grizzlies, including between their digits, so grizzlies' digits are closer and more smushed together on the tracks.

Lastly, to be sure, we also considered the depth of the tracks since grizzlies tend to apply more pressure on their forelegs due to their heavy shoulder structure. Although, we thought the bank and mud might give us the wrong idea.

Our final verdict? Yes, it is a grizzly bear track. But as they say, it's not the destination but the journey that matters most! That was our adventure; what's yours? Have you encountered any bear tracks or an actual bear? Let us know!

27/06/2024

🐟🍳 Another day in the village, another fish to fry! Here's how to clean up your catch!

•First things first, make sure your fish is kaput or ready to swim with the stars! If not, gently give it a bonk on the head with a blunt object until it's fast asleep. Then spike its brain with a sharp object or use a knife for head removal. We prefer using our Ulu knife for this... Yes, technically you can bash it until it's dead, but that would be quite cruel, wouldn't it?

•Now, onto the tricky part! Hold the fish by the tail with one hand and your knife with the other. Make a shallow cut along the belly, starting from the or***ce and moving towards the gills. You don't have to be a surgeon, but the better you are at it, the less you have to worry about accidentally damaging the organs inside the fish.

•Use your fingers or a handy gutting tool if you have one (which we do)to gently spread the cut until you can see the fish's innards. But hold your horses—let's not go overboard and accidentally split it wide open!

•Pinch the organs and intestines with your fingers or use a spoon to loosen them. Keep going until the fish's belly is squeaky clean!

•When you're done, give your fishy friend a thorough rinse with clean water to wash away any remaining blood, debris, or the occasional muddy encounter.

If you want, you can choose to remove the head and scales. Use your knife or a scaling tool to scrape them off. And there you have it your fish is now ready for the frying pan! 🍳🔥

Enjoy your delicious catch of the day!

26/06/2024

No fishy shortcuts here, folks! 🎣 Watch Kylik as he schools visitors. These little scouts are getting lectured in the fine art of prepping fish for their celestial swim. Gentle taps to precise slits, all in the same package!

Also, it's not just about fishing alone, it's about respecting the catch and understanding the process, one meal at a time. And who knows, maybe one day we'll even catch a furry fish and scratch that off from our bucket list. 🐟❄️