Radstock Bay, Devon Island (Nunavut)

(I’ve joined 100 passengers on board a small cruise ship to explore the Eastern coast of Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. Join me as I see wildlife, phenomenal landscapes and meet friendly locals with Adventure Canada.)

Radstock Bay, Devon Island, Nunavut

Before coming up to the arctic, I had a picture of Nunavut in my mind: stark, empty and flat snow covered ground as far as the eye could see. White capped mountains broke up the terrain and the cold air was frigid enough to scare visitors away.

Daily, though, I was proven otherwise with the colourful tundra and exciting landscape. Although arctic animals have adapted by becoming bigger and the land intimidating with larger-than-life fiords and glaciers, the wonder of things on a smaller scale is quite remarkable.

Bushes of red flowers burst through the cold ground and wisps of cottongrass peak from between the meadows; wild blueberries and crowberries are ripe for the picking (and taste more delicious than I’ve ever tasted before). The clearest streams run through the grass, creating a setting not unlike southern Canada (except that it’s not much over 0° Celcius!).

Today, though, I found the Nunavut I had previously imagined: Caswell Tower, an archaeological site on the south end of Devon Island. We anchored in Radstock Bay and saw the monumental mountains that lined the beach.

Caribbean-coloured water greeted us as we looked out over this remote area: snow covered, flat tundra as far as the eye could see. It was glorious and yet, so little of what Baffin Island actually looks like. Early settlements, possibly dating as far back as 1200 and 1400 AD, were left over the in the form of rock placements; whale bones (which were used as posts to hold up the wall of animal hide that protected from the cold) were scattered along the ground.

I was glad to have found this piece of Nunavut, the one I expected to see. I’m even happier, though, to be discovering how much more there is to the Canadian Arctic.

Tags: adventure canada, canada, canadian arctic, Devon Island, Nunavut, Radstock Bay, small cruise ship