Buffalo Adventures
Though these days your more likely to encounter a Hollywood movie crew or puritan wildlife conservationist in the area, the Wainwright and Provost region in east central Alberta boasts one of the most profound historical legacies in Western Canada. One hundred years ago and better, you'd be more likely to find aboriginal buffalo hunters, long-suffering homesteaders, and moonshine-swilling prisoners of war.
Buffalo Adventures is a conglomerate of learning and experience-based attractions led by the Wainwright Buffalo National Park Interpretive Centre Foundation and the Bodo Archaeological Society. Located near the Saskatchewan border, this rural area of Alberta is the site of the former Buffalo National Park, one of Canada's earliest national parks, and Bodo, one of the richest archaeological sites in Western Canada.
Buffalo Adventures is located in the skillfully restored Canadian National Railway station in Wainwright, Alberta, at the south end of historic Main Street. The Wainwright Museum is located in the same building. At the old train station, you will pick up your orientation package that includes driving instructions to your Adventures package and suggestions for additional sites to visit along the route.
The Bodo Archaeological Site
Located in the Eyehill Creek sand dunes, this site is one of the richest archaeological digs in western Canada. New finds include bone fragments, arrowheads, pottery shards, and stone and bone tools, some dating back thousands of years. The full Adventure includes a tour with an archaeologist and visits to other prehistoric sites in the Bodo vicinity.
Wainwright Museum
Experience the rich history of the Wainwright region at the Wainwright Museum, where an interpreter will guide you through Wainwright’s history, by film footage, photographs and artifacts. Stories and exhibits of the rich history of Buffalo National Park (1909-1939), about one of Canada’s earliest and largest wildlife saving efforts, and about Internment Camp 135 - Canada’s Second World War Prisoner of War Camp in Wainwright (1945-1946).
Buffalo Adventures provides visitors with authentic, entertaining and meaningful tours that revolve around two strong interpretive threads – the buffalo and the area's rural life. Custom tours include themes on Buffalo National Park, POW Camp 135, historic Main Street in Wainwright, historic sites (Kemah Ranch and St. Norbert’s Church), collections (John Deere tractors and Railway), modern bison ranches and the Bodo Archaeological Dig Centre and Site. Wildlife you may spot while travelling to and from the area includes deer, moose, coyote, water fowl, and Pronghorn Antelope, as well as unique flora and fauna. At night, the stars in the immense sky will amaze you. You may even see the Northern Lights (aurora borealis).
Day trip and overnight adventures are pre-packaged and customizable. Group and school tours are also available.