POLAR BEARS, WALRUS' & GLACIERS

 

The archipelago of Svalbard is situated 800km from the North Pole and north of Norway.

We fly into Longyearbyen, the world’s most northern airport. We are given our instructions and are set free for the rest of the day. We walk all over town, catch a sightseeing taxi to see further afield and have a late dinner, as it is 24 hours of sunlight this time of year. The next day we are free until lunchtime so we walk way up to the far end of town. It is spread alongside a glacier valley and there are old mines dotted everywhere. Coal mining has only recently stopped. Just time for a quick look at the Artic Museum showcasing the crazy airships that were used to the reach the North Pole in the race to be the first there. Lunch and a tour of the main museum before we are taken to our home for the next 10 nights. The Quest is a small icebreaker with a mere 40 passengers.

And so, our expedition starts. Our days are organized for us. Something we don’t do well. Wakeup call at 7am. Brekkie at 7.30am. Then at 10am a zodiac ride to a beach to explore or a zodiac ride past glaciers. Lunch at 12.30, and again at 2pm another hike or zodiac ride. Recap and a lecture at 7.30 and dinner at 8pm.  The hardest part is putting on all the layers required to go outside. Waterproof pants, jacket, two pairs of socks, thermals, gumboots (because of our wet landings) and finally a life jacket. If it is just a zodiac ride, we also don huge red suits to ward off the chilly ice wind from the glaciers. Sounds tedious! It is not! The incredible scenery and wildlife more than make up for the cold and layers of clothing.

Out of Longyearbyen we head south, rather than north as planned. There is a huge storm up north. We have lots of trips onshore to explore. There is usually an old trapper’s hut to look at and some hills to hike up. The guides always have armed rifles in case an elusive bear comes by.  We are very excited with our first bear sighting up near the island of Kitoya. We have been spit into 2 groups for our shore landing and as part of the second group we are ready and waiting. Then we hear there has been a sighting, and we rush to the zodiacs. A few hours spent watching 2 bears on the beach. Our zodiac got stuck on the rocks, so the guys must get out to push it and hurry back onboard because those bears look hungry. Our next amazing sighting is after a day of thick mist that keeps us on board. The decision is made to try a zodiac ride after dinner. We head out with our fingers crossed. Through the mist we spy a bear on top of a hill. We keep seeing more bears as the mist clears. We watch for hours as the bears wander along the beach and stare at us. They are only 20 metres from us! How awesome. There were nine bears there in total. This is just the start of lots more bear spotting.

Another incredible few hours are spent cruising by the magnificent Ice Wall (the third largest ice cap in the world). Words and photos do not do justice to the sight of this beautiful blue/white expense and the sparkling water filled with chunks of ice. To top off this display there are even waterfalls poring over the icecap. Truly amazing.

The other sight to see here is the “Haul Out” of walrus’ lying in huge mounds of up to 80 laying on the beach. And we see four of them, plus numerous walrus’ swimming around us. One even takes a bite out of a zodiac. The zodiac doesn’t win that fight. A section deflates and passengers are moved to another zodiac. What a story for those guys to tell!

What else! Well countless glaciers to explore. We zodiac past so many I have lost count. All are magnificent. Sometimes there is a bonus of a seal or two, and always plenty of birds. In one fjord we visit there are towering cliffs covered in guillemots. Millions and millions of them with their baby birds all learning to fly. Then of course there are seagulls and foxes catching the odd one for dinner.

Near the end of the cruise we have the most glittering sunny day, Perfect for cruising two magical glaciers, then for the brave, time to do a polar plunge!! Of course, John is one of the brave. It makes for hilarious watching as the brave leap into the chilly arctic waters. This event is followed by a fabulous BBQ and party out on deck. The next day we wrap it up back in Longyearbyen and head off to the airport to fly back to Oslo.

It has been an amazing experience for 10 days travelling 2,500km around the archipelago. Something we will never forget.