Glacier, whale, walrus & bird cliffs
Svalbard is a magical world and so far we have had a very successful season with many magnificent encounters with the wildlife and the unique nature. Below please read blog from the expedition on board Sea Endurance, the 14th – 24th July
15th July 2014 – Hornsund, Gnålodden, Burgerbukta & Samarinvågen
Weather: Bleu sky, 10°C, East wind 10 m/s.
Our first expedtion day began with humpback whales around the boat. What a lovely start! After that we went with the Zodiacs towards Gnålodden where we enjoyed the bird cliff and some remains of pomor settlements. After Gnålodden we went on to Burgerbukta to visit the glacier. The lights on the glacier was amazing. Smarinvågen was our last stop of the day. This was a Zodiac boat trip towards the glacier, with possible polar bear sightings. We saw our first one! It was far away but still a great start of the trip.
18th July – Torellneset & Alkefjellet
Weather: Cloudy, 7°C, no wind.
In the morning we enjoyed a close encounter with the walruses on the beach. Surrounded of impressive scenery and beautiful light we took lots of photos. After the walrus sighting some people took a stroll over the beach to get some exercise. In the afternoon we went to Alkefjellet to see the impressive bird cliff with hundred thousands of Brünnich’s guillemots nesting on it. The sun came out and we had an amazing view over the cliff. After this we went further up north and ankered in the Murchisonfjord.
Destinations
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Since 1999, we have taken travellers on once-in-a-lifetime trips to Svalbard. From May to September our three small expedition ships, carrying only 12 and 50 passengers, explore this magnificent Arctic archipelago. Unpredictability and flexibility are the main keywords when you travel with PolarQuest as the exact route depends on weather, ice conditions and wildlife encounters. Sometimes you might be woken up in the middle of the night if a polar bear has been spotted on the ice.