My recent educational trip to Canada was to the lesser-known province of Manitoba, bang in the centre of the country, stretching up from Winnipeg to the Hudson Bay. Winnipeg is a quiet city on the banks of two rivers – the Red and the Assiniboine, and an easy place to get to from Toronto. A few hours’ drive northwest of the city however, and you reach Riding Mountain National Park – a area of lakes and forest, home to moose, elk, bison and around 850 black bears. A great place to enjoy some gentle hiking and biking!

We also visited the town of Churchill, perhaps Manitoba’s most famed destination – known as the ‘Polar Bear Capital of the World,’ due to the high numbers of these exotic creatures which present themselves each October. It had long been a dream of mine to see one of these magnificent animals in the wild – and one that came true during our helicopter ride over the Bay! Even from the dizzying heights of the ‘chopper,’ she was an incredibly impressive sight. Just as impressive were the several hundred beluga whales we saw from far closer quarters in a boat the same day…