Zegrahm Expeditions ZEGRAHM & ECO EXPEDITIONS — Giving You The World
1-800-628-8747 or 206-285-4000
Search
Zegrahm Expeditions Giving You The World

>Home >Reports From The Field >Nordic Summer: Arctic Norway & Spitsbergen
 
  Reports

Summary

View Day by Day
Reports

View Full Page Report
(may take a while to download)

Passenger Testimonials

Read testimonials from Zegrahm's past travelers

E-Mail A Friend

Do you think a friend would like this expedition? E-mail a link to this page.

Z-Mail

Sign up for news and information about upcoming voyages.

Nordic Summer: Arctic Norway & Spitsbergen

Full Page Report

  

Day — 1 2 3 4 5 6

 
Print Itinerary Print Report  

Day 1
July 11
Bjørnøya (Bear Island)

Our crossing of the Barents Sea passed smoothly. An excited Tim woke us up over the PA system and said, "Whales, whales and dolphins ahead, come on out on deck!" Many of us were still sound asleep, but we grabbed our coats and binoculars and scrambled onto the deck in front of the bridge and saw the most amazing sight. More than a dozen humpback whales and white-beaked dolphins were playing just in front of us in glorious sunshine and flat calm seas. The captain had skillfully maneuvered the vessel so as not to bother or alarm the mammals. This allowed us great viewing, close up, in fantastic conditions. We were able to spend 45 minutes or more at the "Whale and Dolphin Show" before heading in for breakfast.

After an early lunch, we headed out for our first thrilling Zodiac excursion, on southwest Bear Island. We cruised around the base of towering cliffs, laden with breeding kittiwakes and auks. The bare and barren cliffs gave us the feeling of true remoteness. It was extremely exciting cruising under arches and into deep caverns and caves.

We made it back from the Zodiacs just in time for tea and got ready for a landing on the southeast point of Bear Island. Once there, we split into three groups — long walkers, short walkers, and beachcombers. Our naturalists did a fabulous job leading us to viewpoints and interpreting our findings. We discovered and photographed tiny flowers that dotted the landscape — purple saxifrage, moss campion, and rose root — while the more ardent birders kept a watchful eye for puffins. It was 54° Fahrenheit and sunny with no wind to speak of. It was a struggle to get us off the beach; nobody wanted to leave the wonderful weather behind.

And so ended our first day of expedition landings aboard the Endeavour. We were all excited at the possibility of catching our first glimpse of polar bears and walrus tomorrow. We also hoped to encounter our first sea ice.

back to the top

Day 2
July 12
Halvmåneøya (Half Moon Island) / At Sea

We made excellent time steaming overnight and arrived off Half Moon Island in the early morning. The conditions were near perfect, and it was possible for us to make a landing. After breakfast, we took a short Zodiac ride to shore, and off we went on our various hikes. Scott and Mats led the long hikers on a one-way, two-mile hike. Kathleen, Rob, Steve, and Jack led the short walkers and did about a mile of hiking before exploring the surrounding beach area. Karen's explanations of the tundra plants and the artifacts scattered around the landing site fascinated the beachcombers. Among the finds were driftwood from Siberia, lots of whalebone, walrus and seal bones, a trapper's hut, and boat hut. All of us were astonished at the number of tundra plants we found. Although tiny, they were stunning in their beauty. We all also had the opportunity to see some of the High Arctic birds – guillemots, fulmars, and glaucous gulls – nesting on the cliffs. Most of us even had the chance to see our first little auks (also called dovekies). It was hard to believe we had spent hours ashore and that it was time to head back to the ship. We did not want to leave the warm, sunny weather and were trying to take advantage of every moment until we heard, "Last Zodiac!"

After lunch, there was a scheduled afternoon naptime. However, we entered our first sea ice (with a gentle bump) at around 1400, and instead of napping, everybody went out on deck for hours, just marveling at the sea ice and how the Endeavour cut right through it with grace and style. The sun was out, and in the good light, which was perfect for photography, we had our eyes peeled in search of the great white bear.

back to the top

Day 3
July 13
Barents Sea

The decision was made to turn the Endeavour around at 0700 due to the amount of ice in the direction of Kvitøya, our planned destination. However, we still had luck on our side with glorious sunshine again. In the main lounge, we heard the exciting news about the revised morning plan. The sea was so calm that the captain and Tim decided it would be a shame not to take advantage of it, so we were offered sea-ice kayaking — a first for nearly all of us. Captain Lampe told us we were "hundreds of miles from our closest point of land, right in the middle of nowhere." How thrilling, the thought of being out in kayaks and Zodiacs in the middle of nowhere! We dressed in our warm woolies, and many of us went on a Zodiac excursion, while 43 folks signed up for kayaking. Many of us had been patiently waiting for this moment to go out in sea kayaks. It was more exciting than we ever imagined. The Zodiac rides in the pack ice were also magical. Cruising amongst blocks of ice with an ethereal blue-green backlighting from the Arctic sun, we encountered birds with utterly no fear. Little auks, guillemots, and fulmars all swam up to our watercraft wondering just what sort of benign beast we might be. Whether in kayaks or Zodiacs, all of us were entranced by the beauty of the ice and quiet calm of the open ocean.

Staff and passengers were constantly on watch for polar bears during the day. Finally, at around 1800, our first polar bear was sighted in amongst the ice. When the announcement was made, everyone rushed out as soon as Steve Gould came in and spread the good news, "Bear, bear!" We ran for our cameras and binoculars and dashed outside quickly. The captain and chief officer were able to edge us close to the polar bear, which stood on an ice floe, perfectly reflected in the still waters, while we appreciated the awesome presence of this enigmatic beast. Mats Forsberg identified her as a female because of her longer neck and smaller size. After we spent some time with her, she eventually swam away, and people went down to their cabins to get ready for recap and dinner.

It seemed that our polar bear luck was holding because, no sooner had people put their cameras down, Tim announced that two more bears had been spotted. Once again, we all dropped what we were doing to rush out on deck to see the ice bears, as Mats refers to them. The second bear, probably a male, was swimming right towards the Endeavour on the starboard side. The third polar bear was sighted off in the distance. A fine specimen, and once we were close enough, the lighting was perfect for all of us to take in good views and snap photographs. At evening recap, excitement was still very high as we reflected on a day of unexpected pleasures and great rewards in the high latitudes.

back to the top

Day 4
July 16
Kapp Fanshawe / Augustabukta, Nordaustlandet

This morning we cruised by and stopped to marvel at the Kapp Fanshawe bird cliffs. Once again, the captain and chief mate skillfully edged us as close as possible to view the 180,000 pairs of nesting murres. Scott Babcock also shared some of the geological beauty with us, and Rob McCall told us a little more about the breeding murres and went on to say how fortunate we were to have seen such a truly magnificent spectacle. We headed in for breakfast before our midmorning landing at Augustabukta (August Bay). We disembarked by Zodiac for our walks: the long, the short, and the beachcombing. It was an extensive beach with glaciers surrounding us. Expedition Leader Tim Soper and the scout party were delighted to have found about 12 walrus at one end of the beach. All were able to get great views of these huge pinnipeds from very close range before we broke off on our various hikes.

During tea at 1630, Bill Mercadante spotted our sixth bear from the crow's-nest. Most rushed away from tea to grab their cameras and binoculars. The ship crunched through the ice and was able to get us much closer to the island upon which the bear was seen. We saw for the first time how the bear swam ashore and then over huge rocks and boulders walked skillfully up a mountain without even flinching. We cruised through some terrific scenery and saw a bearded seal on an ice floe. Soon it was time for our recap and briefing.

back to the top