Thanks to the scouting on the bridge, we had spotted three seals. They were pretty far away, but not out of reach. So we lowered the Zodiacs. It was a bit foggy, but that added a certain mystique to the scenery stretching out before us. Nothing but ocean and ice floes stretched out before us. But far off in the distance, we could still see the small dot that had caught our attention earlier.
As we approached and were just close enough to the seal to have been able to identify its species, it slid off the ice floe and dove into the water. The disappointment was, of course, immense. Finding the other seals in the fog was highly unlikely. And what if they, too, dove into the water as soon as we got near them?
But just a few hundred meters further on, we saw it: a hooded seal was peering up at us from the water. But it kept diving back down, staying above the water just long enough to watch us curiously. Further back, we spotted another seal. As we got closer, it turned out to be a bearded seal. We took lots of photos of it as it lay on the ice floe, clearly enjoying life. Sometimes it turned around or looked at us with its big eyes.
After we’d had plenty of time to admire it, we slowly made our way back. By then, the weather had improved, and we could see farther. The Søveien lay beautifully in the distance. Our EL had planned to land on a large ice floe, so we eagerly searched for a suitable one. We found one quickly, and with great caution, we all stepped onto the sheet of ice. Photo after photo was taken. And there it was. The hooded seal from earlier had followed us and kept popping up out of the water to watch us. So we had a silent companion that never took its eyes off us and kept surfacing like a glass bottle.
And so, in good company, we headed back to the Søveien and were just about to go to dinner when the guide and the bridge crew announced that a whale had been spotted. We quickly forgot about dinner and eagerly scanned the horizon from the deck. And sure enough—a blue whale. No one had expected that. And that wasn’t all. Later that day, after we’d left the hooded seals behind, we spotted another blue whale—with a calf! We watched it in awe and could hardly get enough of it, but unfortunately even the most eager whale watchers had to admit it was time to move on.
And that was just one of the experiences. We were incredibly lucky on this voyage. We saw several blue whale mothers with calves, numerous polar bears (including many cubs), reindeer and seals with their pups, and of course many different birds feeding their chicks or calling them to fly. This trip was incredible, and I’m already looking forward to returning to work with Polar Quest next time.
Please note: Depending on the lens used for a photo or video shot an animal may appear to be closer than it is. We always follow strict wildlife guidelines to ensure that we do not cause any disturbance.
