Canada's newest territory offers beautiful landscapes and out-of-the ordinary experiences. (Toronto Sun/Silvia Pecota)

KIMMIRUT, Nunavut -- Julio Preller is building up our hopes about a visit to the northern community of Kimmirut.

"They're very well organized and have a lot of things planned for us," explains our expedition leader during the daily briefing aboard the 122-passenger ship the M/V Lyubov Orlova. "They'll have local art on display, bannock-making, traditional Inuit games, throat singing and a tour of the town."

There's only one catch. In order to get there, the conditions have to be just right.

"We've tried several times (this season) but there was always too much ice to get into the fjord," Preller says.

As we approach the Hudson Strait, between Baffin Island and Nunavik in northern Quebec, it appears we're in luck. The ice has melted. It's about time, after all we are travelling in the third week of July!

A chance to visit a northern village will be a welcome change, since many of the other shore excursions on this week-long Baffin Adventure are to uninhabited islands -- albeit ones rich in wildlife and archeological sites, which offer great hikes on spongy tundra.

As the ship approaches the town, several houses built on a hillside come into view. A few aluminum boats rest on shore and on a barren hill in big white letters are the words: "HBC 1911 Lake Harbour, Kimmirut."

Hudson's Bay Company history in the area dates back to 1670 when two boats -- the Prince Rupert and the Wivenhoe -- first cruised through the Strait under the charter of the new company.

Then, as now, they would have seen the huge limestone rock outcrop across the inlet, which locals say resembles a human heel and explains how Kimmirut, which means "place of the heel" in Inuktitut, gets its name.

I know I've arrived in the north when I meet a 13-year-old girl named Shannon who is carrying her baby sister in the hood of her amautiq, or traditional parka. (Women in the south don't carry their babies in their hoods nor do they wear parkas in the middle of summer.)

There are other clues, too -- the husky dogs we encounter on the kilometre-long walk to Soper Lake (notable for its 15 metre tides), and the local conservation officer who carries a 12 gauge shotgun in case of bear encounters!

Yesterday, we are told, no fewer than seven polar bears had been seen in and around the community.

Back in the village, we meet Kooyoo Tikivik, who wears a mosquito net over her head to ward off the pesky insects. Her usual job is office manager for the school, but today she will be our tour guide.

Tikivik begins by showing us some of the local artwork including paintings with Inuit themes and sculptures made from stone, caribou antlers, and whale bone.

"A lot of people here do carvings because there's not a lot of other work," she says.

Next we're taken into a canvas tent to watch bannock (native bread) being made, and see how dried moss and Arctic cotton are used to light a traditional seal oil lamp called a "kudliq."

Outside, we notice a large crowd has gathered in a circle. The attraction is a seal, which hunters have placed on the ground and are now preparing for a communal meal, which we are invited to join.

"You can boil it, fry it or just eat it raw," a local man tells me. This time, it will be the latter.

"Sailors use to get scurvy," he adds, "but Inuit didn't get that because they eat seal which is very rich in vitamins."

Though seal consumption is not uncommon, I later learn that this particular feast was put on for our benefit.

And it isn't the only big event the community stages for us. Over at the gymnasium we marvel at the athletic performances typically seen at Inuit Arctic games, and enjoy the drumming and throat singing that follow. At least half the town of 450 people has turned out to watch as well.

Outside, water trucks make daily deliveries on dusty roads, while our guide points out the landmarks -- the new RCMP building, the Anglican church built in 1909, the cemetery surrounded by a white picket fence, and a museum that displays traditional clothes such as seal skin pants (which hunters still wear) and caribou coats (less common these days).

In the post office I read a poster about sapphires recently discovered southwest of Kimmirut.

Someone asks if we can see the inside of a local house, and Tikivik obliges by taking us to her home located half-way up a hill.

"From here, we can see belugas when they come by," she says. "Two mornings ago I saw polar bears swimming down here. It's one of the best views."

Before heading back to the boat, I notice a historical plaque affixed to the exterior of a home near shore. It was built by Joseph Dewey Soper, a federal government employee from Guelph, Ont., who conducted four scientific expeditions to the eastern Arctic beginning in 1923.

Soper lived in Kimmirut with his family in the winter of 1930-31 during his last expedition and later wrote a book called Canadian Arctic Recollections. I wonder if he had been as warmly welcomed.

BOTTOM LINE

MORE INFORMATION

Cruise North has seven different tours to various destinations in Nunavut and Labrador this summer.

The trips, which book up quickly, take place between June and August.

For details check cruisenorthexpeditions.com or call 416-789-3752 (1-866-263-3220 toll free).