Great Lakes are worth the plunge
AS THE hatch shuts above our heads and the pilot prepares to descend, I’m wondering if a submarine dive is perhaps too far from my comfort zone. Water outside the craft’s thick windows morphs from sunlit-blue to progressively greener shades as we sink down to a secret world of short, weedy plants, among which tiny fish are sheltering.
I’m in one of two high-tech subs, each costing the best part of £4million, that form part of the excursion fleet aboard Viking Octantis, the first of Viking Cruises’ new breed of expedition ships, the other being Polaris.
These identical vessels were built to serve Antarctica and North America’s Great Lakes, each allowing 378 passenThe gers to explore these rugged regions in comfort and style.
My Great Lakes Explorer itinerary goes from Milwaukee in the US to Canada’s Thunder Bay, taking in Lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior. Octantis and Polaris are by far the largest passenger vessels on these waters – at 650ft, they only just squeeze through the spectacular locks on the Welland Canal.
As well as the submarines – named Paul and John alongside Polaris’ Ringo and George – the other onboard contraptions include 17 Zodiac inflatables, plentiful kayaks and two military-standard Special Operations Boats (SOB) whose jets propel them to hair-raising speeds.
I squeeze on to an SOB excursion one day and we zip off to explore a coastline of lichen-patterned boulders topped by an unbroken wall of green forest. A bald eagle soars over on broad, dark wings, its white head and tail feathers agleam in the sunshine. It comes to rest on a nearby cliff, unperturbed by the boatload of gawpers below.
As befits a luxury cruise experience, all excursions with the SOBs, subs and other equipment, plus land-based tours and guided hikes, are included in the price.
The result is an abundance of opportunities to connect with the Lakes’ treasures.
Best-known among those is of course Niagara Falls, whose thundering waters tumble between Lakes Erie and Ontario – but the icons of my itinerary are the Great Lakes themselves.
These mighty bodies of water are among the largest in the world, with Lake Superior about the same size as Austria. Their beauty reaches its peak on Mackinac Island, which sits where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet. Here I take a hike through the woods to reach British Landing, a beach whose turquoise waters mimic the Aegean.
Natural beauty also abounds at Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve, with a freshwater fjord and 30,000strong archipelago, where I opt for a Zodiac tour that chugs along the stony shore of pink granite rocks worn smooth long ago by glaciers. wooded hinterland holds wolves, bears and moose.
One day I visit the on-board spa for a bathing ritual that’s designed to boost circulation. Starting with a steam room warm-up, I bring my body temperature back down with a rub of artificial snow before heading for a further bake in the sauna. The experience rounds off with a soak in a hot tub.
At our penultimate port of call, in Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, I join a guided hike following a flower-edged trail down to Lake Superior’s shore, where the view across the water is crowned by Viking Octantis patiently waiting to welcome us back on board.
A seven-night Great Lakes Explorer cruise from Milwaukee to Thunder Bay costs from £5,495pp, including flights, accommodation, meals and excursions (viking.com).