| Expedition
to The High Arctic
Pollyanna travelling by dog sled
The toughest physically of all Pollyanna's expeditions was
made in 1992 - she journeyed into the high arctic to study polar
bears and other native wildlife. Traveling across the frozen
arctic ocean by husky dog sledge, and camping at night in tents
and igloos Pollyanna and Anna-Louise endured temperatures as
low as -40ºC. their suffering was rewarded by the sighting
of a lone male polar bear at the flow edge where the pack ice
breaks away into the freezing ocean.
Painting of Arctic wolves
Having sworn never to return to the discomfort and cold, Pollyanna
flew north again in 1998, this time to the famous polar bear
town of Churchill, below the arctic circle, were she saw and
sketched over 30 polar bears during a brief stay! Her main destination
however was an hours' flight North of Churchill - a remote lodge
accessible only be air, located on the inland migration route
of female polar bears and their cubs. Pollyanna spent over a
week in the lodge, which is completely encircled by a metal
cage. She was able to watch the bears from the exposed open
roof, and the outside deck - often only six feet away from the
worlds largest carnivore watching her intently through the metal
bars before strolling off - a neat reversal of the usual zoo
experience!
If your image of a typical arctic explorer is of someone tall,
butch, rugged and hairy, then the lavishly illustrated book
"On top of the World"'On Top of the World', will challenge
your preconceived ideas!
Anna-Louise in the High Arctic
From Chapter One (England). In case of emergency
Taking up a large portion of my suitcase was my legendary first
aid kit. Initially devised to deal with any emergency which
may befall us in a remote African Village, our supplies of ointments,
bandages, pills and potions were supplemented with a few specialist
items - hand warmers to thaw out frozen fingers, waterproof
matches - I even invested in a Swiss army knife for that authentic
explorer feeling. In pride of place, neatly vacuum packed into
plastic pouches were two thin silver blankets, of the type modeled
by collapsing runners at the end of the London marathon. Apparently
the blurb reassured us, "in case of emergency" they
would help us maintain body temperature in even the most severe
conditions. Quite what sort of emergency was going to result
in me being stranded in the middle of the arctic wasteland wrapped
in a large piece of tin foil was something I preferred not to
contemplate.
From Day Seventeen
...Midmorning, Pakka slows our sledge. Up ahead, Pollyanna
and Gideon have already stopped. We have company - the first
human being we have seen since setting out a lifetime ago. On
a motorized skidoo, pulling a sled loaded with caribou is a
lone Inuit hunter. He has stopped to speak with Gideon, and
as is tradition share a slice of frozen raw meat. The hunter
leans back on his sledge which is heaped high with slabs of
freshly deceased caribou, complete with antlers. Being English,
Pollyanna decides to attempt polite conversation.
Pollyanna - "Good Morning"
Inuit Hunter - "Good morning"
Pollyanna - "Have you been out hunting?"
Inuit Hunter - (glancing at sledge piled high with caribou)
"yes"
Pollyanna - "What were you hunting? Was it Caribou?"
Inuit Hunter - (with another glance at sledge) "yes"
Pollyanna - "Did you catch any?"
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