Spectacular landscapes featured on CBC’s new TV series “Arctic Air” are giving people a craving for a Bird’s-eye view of the NWT
Spectacular landscapes featured on CBC’s new TV series “Arctic Air” are giving people a craving for a Bird’s-eye view of the NWT
For those of you who haven’t seen it, “Arctic Air” is a TV series about a maverick airline based in the city of Yellowknife, NWT which airs on CBC. Three episodes have aired to date, and people are a-buzz about our spectacular scenery featured in the shows. While the plots of the episodes are revved up for dramatic purposes, the NWT has a long, colourful and close relationship with bush pilots and air travel. In fact, getting to your travel destination in the NWT can be half the fun.
With few roads and many small communities in far-flung reaches of the territory, bush planes were critical in opening up the North in the 1920’s. Today, they are an everyday part of northern life, and are used to: transport people; deliver food, supplies and mail; explore for minerals and other natural resources; and to keep our communities connected. For visitors, planes and flightseeing tours are an opportunity to get an excellent bird’s-eye view of our various regions and the stunning geography of the Northwest Territories. There are scheduled flights into many of our communities and plenty of opportunities to charter planes for flightseeing trips at reasonable rates.
One of our most popular flightseeing trips is of the spectacular Nahanni National Park Reserve. Visitors hop on a 6-person float plane in Fort Simpson, and just taking off and landing on floats is a pretty cool experience if you’ve never done it. When you approach the stunning mountain ranges and plateaus and traverse the deep canyons as they follow the South Nahanni River, the vistas will take your breath away. You’re very likely to spot a Dall’s sheep or two perched majestically on the cliffs as you pass by.
The Mackenzie Delta, reached via Inuvik, offers an unbelievable view when seen from above: a tangled web of channels spreads before you, with a majestic mountain backdrop. When you see it from this perspective, you’ll realize why it takes an experienced guide to navigate the maze of waterways when you travel the Delta by boat.
The plane trip to Tuktoyaktuk and, of course, the Arctic Ocean, is about a 45 minute, not-to-be missed ride from Inuvik. You’ll see a land dotted with pingos, cone-shaped hills formed by the build up of ice under the tundra. Visiting the natural, underground ice freezer and dipping your toe in the Arctic Ocean are also popular excursions.
Bush Pilot’s Monument, overlooking the bay in Yellowknife’s Old Town, honours bush pilots of today and in the past who opened up the North and played a crucial role in developing the economy and providing basic public services. The view alone is worth the hike up the six story rock where the monument stands. And it’s a great place to remember the crucial role that aviation plays in our Northern way of life.