TALOYOAK/SPENCE BAY - Students from Gjoa Haven and Kugaaruk travelled by land to Taloyoak to participate in a community visit and camping trip for the first time last month.

Students and guides gather near a seal hole during an on the land trip to Ittuarturvik near Taloyoak on April 23. From left, Paul Ikuallaq, Jimmy Qirqqut, Louis Uttuq, Tommy Kununak, Ivan Takkiruq and Jordan Umma Aglukkark. - photo courtesy of Natalie Smith

Guides, elders and students from the other two communities arrived in Taloyoak around 10 p.m. on April 19, said George Hill, vice-principal of Taloyoak's Netsilik School.

On April 21, all 38 students and 21 adults headed north to Ittuarturvik for a three-day seal hunting trip.

Netsilik School Grade 7 student Jonathan Jayko said the journey from Taloyoak to Ittuarturvik was his favourite part of the trip.

"I liked looking around when we were travelling," he said. "I saw seals."

Student Sabina Nartok from Kugaardjuk School in Kugaaruk agreed and said travelling was her favourite part. She said while she has been on land trips before, she had never been on such a long journey like the trip from Kugaaruk to Taloyoak.

Along the way to Ittuarturvik, some minor problems with qamutiit and snowmachines allowed guides to show students how to fix problems out on the land, Hill said.

"They were shown on the land how to repair a qamutiik while travelling," he said.

"We had some excellent mechanics with us; they were able to show the students how to fix a machine if it breaks down on an ice floe or on the land."

The main event for all the kids was seal hunting, a first for some of the students.

Netsilik School Grade 7 student Mimi Tucktoo said it was her first time going seal hunting. She said she enjoyed "eating seals and waiting beside the hole."

Students were taught to look for seal holes and how to watch for signs that a seal is coming to a hole to breathe, Hill said.

Tommy Kununak, a Grade 10 student at Qiqirtaq High School in Gjoa Haven, said it was his first time hunting seals with a harpoon.

After a few unsuccessful attempts, seals were caught on the morning of April 23. Students learned how to properly skin and butcher the seals for meat, and got to taste fresh seal liver.

Kugaaruk student Irene Kakkianiun said she enjoyed getting a chance to eat seal.

"I liked seal hunting so we can eat them," she said.

Students also learned how to pack the sleds and set up camp. Qiqartaq High School Grade 11 student Angus Hiqiniq said he learned how to properly set up a canvas tent.

"It has to be perfect to make sure the wind doesn't get in," he said.

On the journey back to Kugaaruk, students saw polar bear tracks and a den, said Kugaardjuk School Grade 7 student Miranda Qirngnuq.

"It kind of looked like a female bear and it was with a cub," she said.

Qiqartaq High School Grade 10 student Jordan Aglukkaq said the most valuable lesson he learned on the trip was to listen to elders.

"Stay with the elders so you don't get lost and so you won't get attacked by any animals," he said.

Kugaardjuk School principal Michael MacIntyre said it was a chance for students to learn from elders and guides from all three communities.

"I think it's a great experience for them to not only go and learn from our own guides but from the people from the other communities as well," he said.

All schools fundraised for the trip, and MacIntyre said Kugaardjuk School received $10,000 from Sport Nunavut.

Qiqirtaq High School principal Paul Cipriano said the trip was a success.

"I think it's an excellent thing," he said.

MacIntyre, Cipriano and Hill said they plan on making the trip an annual event.