Ferguson finds northern exposure in N.W.T.

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, says she enjoyed the cold Canadian wilderness during a whirlwind trip to the Northwest Territories that will be shown on a reality television series later this year.

The former wife of England's Prince Andrew was followed by a camera crew from the U.S.-based Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) during her five-day trip, in which she went camping on a frozen lake outside of Yellowknife.

"I love Canada. The cold is goodfor me," Ferguson told CBC News in an interview before she and the three-person camera crew departed for Los Angeles on Friday morning.

While Ferguson spent most of her northern trip camping, she mingled with some surprised patrons of a Yellowknife coffee shop on Thursday. She was also spotted at a local hotel and a restaurant that day.

"Going out onto the ice is not about finding Sarah; it's about just accepting that everybody can make changes within themselves," she said.

"You can find the adventure within yourself, you can explore yourself. You can go to the solitude of nature. Nature is wonderful. It's God's playground."

Six-part series airs this summer

Ferguson is working ona six-part reality series, Finding Sarah, that will debut on OWN in Canada this summer.

The show will follow the Duchess of York as she addresses "recent public troubles" and "lifelong battles," according to the network's website.

"You've got to help yourself in order to help others, and I just sort of realized it's time after May, it was time to put the oxygen mask on myself," she said.

"Then hopefully I can do more by being strong in who you are."

In May 2010, an undercover reporter secretly filmed Ferguson appearing to sell access to her ex-husband in exchange for 500,000 ($769,000 Cdn).

After the British tabloid News of the World posted the video on its website, Ferguson's spokesperson confirmed that the recording was authentic and said the duchess was "devastated."

"There's many things that have happened, and you've got to regroup within yourself and look at why you do things," Ferguson said, adding that her family is supporting her.

"My intentions are totally and utterly real and good intentions. I just got scammed."

Visited N.W.T. in 1987

Ferguson married Andrew, who is fourth in line to the throne, in 1986. The newlywed couple travelled to the Northwest Territories in 1987, both on official business and for a personal canoe trip on the Thelon River.

"It's really been our home, you know.As soon as we got married we came here," she said. "Since then we've really been great supporters."

Ferguson and Andrew had two children, princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, before divorcing in 1996.

Ferguson has since penned children's books, founded the charity Children in Crisis, and acted as a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers.

As part of Finding Sarah, Ferguson will speak with TV personalities like Dr. Phil McGraw, Suze Orman and Martha Beck, as she tackles a number of personal issues.

"Oprah reached out her hand and said, 'Look, why don't youmake a documentary series on finding Sarah?'" Ferguson said.

"Last year I had a particularly difficult year. 2010 was difficult I had a lot of growing to do, made some mistakes."

And while Ferguson would not confirm if she will attend the upcoming wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, she said she is excited for the couple.

"It's great news for William and Catherine," Ferguson said. "She's so beautiful and so lovely, and it's just love.It's wonderful to see such great love."