Cruising in the mirror-like Lady Franklin fjord
M/S Stockholm has anchored in Lady Franklinfjorden. Or rather in a small branch of it. It’s a place rarely visited because of the mostly uncharted waters in the fjord and its closest surroundings. Our experienced captain navigates us through the unknown territory safely, however.
We are completely alone, the morning is dead calm and there is no wind and not a ripple on the water. Our goal is to make a Zodiac cruise close to the Franklin glacier and to an ice floe of pack ice drifting on the western side of the fjord.
After breakfast we head towards the ice flow with the Zodiacs and discover a lot of seals laying on the ice. Its ringed seals and bearded seals. Some laying close to the edge and some much further in where they must have dug out a breathing hole for themselves.
Bergy bits and larger icebergs from the glacier are drifting close to us. The weather is so calm that the icebergs reflection in the water is like a mirror of itself but up-side down. Blue ice in the dark water. It’s like a painting. We steer closer to the glacier and find more seals but now they are swimming in the water. They seem to be curious of the boats and pop up their heads close to us to have a look.
The glacier is alive and now and then we can hear thunderous sounds when it breaks and large bits of ice falls in to the water. In one corner there is a lot of ice debris and suddenly a large piece of the glacier breaks off and falls into the water. A hugs splash sends waves all over the fjord and the zodiacs rocks gently in the aftermath.
On the way out of the bay a group of pink footed geese swims by. M/S Stockholm awaits us and soon we all sit in the saloon having a great lunch talking about our last polar experience.
Please note: We always follow strict wildlife guidelines to ensure that we do not cause any disturbance.
Magnus Danbolt
Guide and Expedition LeaderRelated trips
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Svalbard Adventure 2024
M/S Stockholm 12 passengers9 days 7 nights on ship USD 9 390LanguagesDeparture: June 2024 -
Expedition Svalbard 2024
M/S Stockholm 12 passengers12 days 10 nights on ship USD 11 990LanguagesDepartures: July / August / September 2024
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.