A behind the scenes look at Churchill's surprise driving lesson
Fall sees Bob Debets routinely offer some tundra-style driver’s ed.
And those receiving pointers on navigating the terrain near the northern Manitoba community of Churchill will be far more likely to encounter hefty predators than other vehicles while under his careful supervision.
Debets spends October and November in Hudson Bay-fronting Churchill operating a Tundra Buggy, massive vehicles created for Winnipeg-based tour company Frontiers North Adventures to allow tourists to easily and safely explore the Churchill Wildlife Management Area, which sees polar bears gather in the fall while waiting for Hudson Bay to freeze over, after which they move onto the ice to hunt seals.
The Tundra Buggy name is something of a misnomer as the vehicle weighs around 32,500 pounds and is around 14 feet high, 12 wide and 54 long.
Tundra Buggies – which have elevated outdoor viewing platforms that enable people to safely get close-up outdoor looks at often-curious polar bears, which frequently wander up to idle vehicles – have a top speed of around 35 kmh but Debets usually has it travelling around 10 to 15 kmh on wildlife management area trails, which work their way over flat, sparsely treed terrain.
But Debets – who’s been operating Tundra Buggies for 24 years and is often referred to as Buggy Bob – likes to surprise his passengers as a day’s excursion nears its end, stopping the vehicle and inviting them to briefly take turns operating it on a comparatively easy stretch of unpaved trail for a few minutes.
“I keep them at a slow speed. I also judge the person: Is this someone I can trust,” Debets says of the novice operators who will be guiding a bottom-heavy, extremely stable juggernaut in an area that only sees the occasional similar vehicle and no cars or pedestrians.
Debets stands immediately next to them, continually guiding them and working what he describes as a particularly sensitive brake.
Passengers often jokingly ask Debets if they can drive the vehicle and are surprised when they later find themselves doing just that as Frontiers North Adventures doesn’t give advance notice to clients that they may find themselves in the driver’s seat, preferring to surprise them.
Debets reports all but a handful of passengers accept his offer and some who may routinely operate large trucks or farm equipment handle a Tundra Buggy quite skillfully.
“Someone who drives a little BMW, that’s a little different,” he adds.
Frontiers North guide Duane Collins, who has operated a Tundra Buggy, jokingly states that their size means they’re “super easy to parallel park because running over curbs is kind of irrelevant.”
Bracebridge, Ont. resident Angela Urroz – who visited Churchill with Frontiers North Adventure – in turn laughingly told her fellow passengers while at the wheel that she practiced on a lawn mower tractor.
Those who accept Debets’ invitation to operate a Tundra Buggy later receive a Frontiers North Adventures certificate acknowledging their exploit, although Debets adds that their performance was likely commendable but doesn’t equal the one he puts in on a daily basis.
“I’m driving 8 hours a day,” he notes. “They just drove for 5 minutes.”
