As M/S Quest heads back into Longyearbyen, we reflect on the past couple of weeks: the snow has melted significantly, and the tundra has started to dry out. This has given us fantastic opportunities for tundra walks and more adventurous hikes.
We marked this transition into summer (and snow free ground…) with visits to Virgohamna and hikes in Widjefjorden, St Jonsfjorden and Eidembukta.
In Widjefjorden, we split into three groups of hikers. The fast group found ourselves hiking up to a side moraine and be rewarded with a fantastic glacier view, with brünnich’s guillemots, little auks, black-legged kittiwakes and Atlantic puffins flying back and forth to a bird cliff in the distance.
It was a calm day with almost no clouds at all, which offered some great reflections.
Some guests were lucky enough to spot a pair svalbard ptarmigan during the hike. Mr & Mrs Ptarmigan were happy to sit still for some photos - they trusted very strongly in their camouflage and thought we couldn’t see them at all.
Although this time there was more than just one cloud in the sky, we hiked up to more fantastic glacier views in St.Jonsfjorden.
If you take a tundra walk with PolarQuest guide Karin, it’s likely she’ll encourage you to take on the “Arctic Botanist” position so you can fully appreciate the fantastic plants of the high Arctic.
The purple saxifrage is flowering now, and many other species are starting to show buds that are almost ready to flower too.
It’s not only us as visitors to Svalbard that enjoy it when the snow melts and the vegetation begins to be lush: after a long winter, the Svalbard Reindeer are ready for the season of eating all of the greenery that they can find!
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.
