Due to strong winds, we headed south first, aiming for Hornsund. Swells while sailing south, but we woke up in Burgerbukta to light fog and otherwise perfect conditions.
We made a landing in front of Kvalfangarbreen, followed by an additional landing on a small cliff further towards the glacier, and then a Zodiac cruise in front of Mühlbacherbreen.
An amazing landing with good conditions: four Arctic fox pups playing on the beach, and dozens of Brünnich’s guillemot chicks (Spitsbergen guillemot) jumping from the cliffs. An incredible landing, showing nature at its finest (cutest, I dare say, thanks to the fox pups), and at its most brutal, as many of the bird chicks were snatched up by sea gulls.
It felt like we had 1st row tickets to a BBC documentary!
Woke up in the south, in Storfjorden, to clear skies, warm temperatures and a bright, clear sun. Absolutely astonishing conditions, considering the west coast had rough weather and strong winds. We landed in the early afternoon at Kapp Lee – even crew from the ship wanted to join.
Plenty of walruses ashore – a big herd, approximately 60 individuals, and active! We also brought fika on land, so we went for an extended hike up to a height further into the mountains. We all enjoyed cookies and coffee with incredible views, in T-shirts and no wind!
We spotted a polar bear halfway from Kapp Lee. It turned out to be a massive female – a beautiful first encounter.
Around 07:00 the next morning, when the fog lifted, we spotted two polar bears walking along the shore towards the bird cliffs – a mother and her one-year-old cub. We ate breakfast really quickly before heading towards shore in the Zodiac. We didn’t make a landing, but got an even better alternative!
In the afternoon, we sailed north to Negribreen. Heavy fog on the way north, but as if by magic, it cleared upon arrival. An absolutely incredible and long Zodiac cruise in front of Petermann, Johansen, and Negribreen with massive icebergs, beautiful light, and the bay continuously thundering with the sound of calvings.
Upon return, we had a lovely dinner for the birthday twins turning 60, followed by drinks and birthday cake on the outer aft deck. The crew had decorated the deck with balloons and signs. A fantastic evening.
We landed in Smeerenburg in perfect conditions. As per usual, the walruses were there. We spent our time observing them – we’ve generally been very lucky with walrus sightings on this trip.
Afterwards, we set course for Virgohamna, planning for a landing, but got “interrupted” by a male polar bear along the shore west of Virgohamna. We spent our time there, watching the polar bear from a respectful distance – a young, active male trying to hunt seals. The sixth individual encounter of this voyage. A lot of smiles. A VERY good “interruption”, I dare say ;)
We arrived in Magdalenafjord in good conditions and aimed for a landing at Graveneset. Beforehand, we did a short Zodiac cruise in Gullybukta before setting foot on land at Graveneset.
A small point with 130 individual whalers’ graves – a unique burial site indeed, wrapped in the surrounding peaks of Magdalenafjord. We finished the afternoon with a Zodiac cruise in front of Waggonwaybreen at the end of the fjord.
Ny-Ålesund in windy weather, but as always inviting and beautiful. As Amundsen wrote about this place in his diary on 17.04.1924: “The station is located in a remarkably beautiful place, completely surrounded by tall snow-covered peaks.”
In the afternoon, the weather and wind conditions changed a bit, and it looked like we would have some wind in front of the glacier. Even worse, we were expecting fairly high waves going south, so we decided to set course straight south to get around Dødmannsodden (the northern point at the entrance of Isfjorden) before the waves reached two meters… It ended up being the right choice, as we had splendid, sunny conditions in Forlandssundet.
Woke up to perfect conditions in Trygghamna. We did a nice and long landing at Alkhornet. Plenty of reindeer, and three fox pups playing around. We had a calm and scenic fika right beneath the bird cliff, taking in the view and the silence — the only interference being the birds.
The fox babies were running around, play-fighting over some bird wings, haha.
10 out of 10 landing, and a strong finish. And as if it couldn’t get any better, a massive pod of belugas entered the bay just as we got back to the ship.
We stood on the outer decks for a good while observing, before continuing towards the sun.
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© Eli Gunnemark -
© Eli Gunnemark -
© Eli Gunnemark -
© Eli Gunnemark -
© Eli Gunnemark -
© Eli Gunnemark -
© Eli Gunnemark -
© Eli Gunnemark -
© Eli Gunnemark
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.
