Then we took the road south on Hwy 10 towards Riding Mountain. You cross The Pas, another gateway to the North. Not much to stop here for. Riding Mountain was the first National Park to visit. There is a park office at the boundary of the park and admission fees for the parks are collected. The park is a natural gem in the middle of the Manitoba prairies. Green forests and blue lakes rise above the plains. It is a sure bet to see wildlife. We spotted the second black bear crossing the road, again too quick and shy for the camera.
Wasagaming is a sensitively designed resort town on the south shore of Clear Lake where we made our base for the night. Apart from this everything is wilderness in the park. There is a 20km long gravel road to Lake Audy that has bisons. The area is surrounded by a fence but the bison live relatively freely on a extensive grassland area. There is a bison lookout where we were lucky enough to spot a grazing ~1 tonne bull bison. He was really close so when he became aware of us and looked back at us very alert, everything froze in me. Even though the lookout was raised half meter above the ground that animal was massive and his look was measuring.
Then another bison sounded from the forest next to us but we couldn't see it. It turned out there was a whole herd in the woods and this bull was the only one out on the grass yet. Eventually the herd came out to graze. There is a drive trail around the bison's area and it is strongly encouraged not to leave the car. We drove along the trail and so we could see the herd from a closer spot.
The bisons were the definite highlight of the day, tomorrow we will head for Saskatchewan.
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