Summer in Churchill brings thousands of ghostly while beluga whales into the waters of the Churchill River. -- Photos courtesy Travel Manitoba

At first it seemed as if everyone in town had slept in 'til noon. How else to explain the deserted streets on a gorgeous summer day? It doesn't often get very warm here on the edge of Hudson Bay. The average temperature in August is just 11C. So when it shot up into the 20s on the first day of my visit, I half expected to see the townsfolk outside enjoying the unseasonably balmy weather. But there was no one around.

"It's too hot," said Gavin Lawrie, owner of the Aurora Inn, where I'd spent the night. "People stay inside when it's this warm."

Sometimes you have to go to northern climes to get a different perspective on summer.

That kind of "hot" weather certainly won't scare off any tourists. Although the few who make the effort to come this far north, usually do so in the fall during the polar bear migration.

Summer, however, is an equally rewarding time to visit. In July and August, the tundra is covered in red, orange and purple wildflowers; Parks Canada offers guided tours of the Prince of Wales Fort; and perhaps the biggest draw -- thousands of beluga whales arrive in local waters.

Churchill is best known as the "polar bear capital of the world," but according to a welcome sign at the edge of town, it's also the "beluga whale capital of the world."

Every summer, (from late June to August) as the ice breaks up, 3,000 beluga whales travel into the warmer, shallow waters of the Churchill River and area, to feed, calve and mate.

This is one of the most accessible places in the world to see the ghost-white whale, which, fully grown, measures about three to five metres in length. Unlike other whale watching excursions, where you can spend hours at sea looking for the cetaceans, the belugas can usually be found close to town. On a trip with Sea North Tours, we see dozens of them just off Cape Merry.

SEA CANARY

Because it has the most varied vocalizations of any whale, the beluga has been called the "sea canary." Our boat is equipped with an on-board stereo hydrophone which allows us to hear all the squeals, high-pitched whistles, ticking, clucking and chirping sounds produced by the cetaceans as they swim within metres of the vessel.

The tour also includes a visit to the Prince of Wales Fort, which is only accessible by boat or helicopter. We are accompanied by a ranger whose job it is to protect us from any bears that might sneak up on us, and a guide who provides a history of the site.

The stone fortress was an ambitious undertaking. Built by the Hudson's Bay Company as a base for northern exploration and to protect its fur trading business, construction began in 1730 and took 40 years to complete. But fur profits were not as great as anticipated and no major mineral discoveries were made. In 1782, the fort fell to the French without a shot being fired.

After the tour, the boat deposits us back in town, where we pick up a free local map highlighting 28 sites of interest and drive around trying to find them all.

Not far from the grain terminal (Churchill was once one of the largest grain-handling ports in the world) are the ponds where the rare Ross's Gull was first sited in 1977.

Wildflowers on the tundra.

MISS PIGGY

Further east are the "Churchill Rocks," an area where the Canadian Shield's Precambrian bedrock is exposed, and the wreck of a cargo plane, which locals call "Miss Piggy."

The plane, a C46 owned by Lambair crashed in 1979 during its approach to the runway. It landed without any fatalities among the rocks and is now a popular hangout for late night parties.

We hadn't seen any bears yet, but we knew there was at least one in town.

The previous night, there had been a lot of banging and some shooting. Gavin Lawrie told us it was meant to ward off a bear that had strayed too close to local homes.

No one knew its whereabouts now, but we figured if it was still around, it might be at the Polar Bear Dining Room, otherwise known as the town dump. We drove out and had a look but there was no sign of movement amid the trash heap.

Perhaps the animal had been carted off to the polar bear jail, in which case we definitely wouldn't see it. The jail does not allow visitors because it wants to prevent bears from becoming familiar with humans. Sounds like a good plan.