Passengers are typically rewarded at their final destination with sightings of beluga whales in the Churchill River or wandering polar bears, which amble through snow-covered Churchill in October and November.

BBC: Majestic Canada, coast to coast

We watched one sitting on the high riverbank, stretching its legs and wandering along the curve of the river, before slumping down in a preferable place further along.

BBC: Spotting jaguars in Brazil

Books in contention included Jamil Ahmad's The Wandering Falcon, Tahmima Anam's The Good Muslim, Amitav Ghosh's River of Smoke, Mohammed Hanif's Our Lady of Alice Bhatti and Uday Prakash's The Walls of Delhi.

BBC: Booker nominee wins Asian literary prize