Arctic wildlife

After the stunning hard to beat arctic landscapes of Hornsund, the last two days of the trip to Svalbad focused on looking for wildlife. This meant hours on the zodiac - one record-breaking trip had us in the zodiac for more than 3 hours! This was because just as we were about to wrap up the session in Bellsund, we heard on the radio that there was a bear sighting on the other side of an island where we just left. This meant heading back all the way and of course by the time we arrived, the bear was almost near the top of the hill!  Even our toes were frozen and the weather throughout the trip had not been cold enough for that. It truly gave us a small taste of what long hours in the Arctic environment could feel like.

Polar Bear on Alkhornet

The antlers were developing on this reindeer

A skua harrassing a kittiwake

This tiny loon like bird is a Red Phalarope

An eider threesome

Arctic tern mating

Eider in flight

Another reindeer in a classic pose

Our first bear sighting - this one was first sighted going into the water and swimming then it went up on shore and seemed to be looking for a place to snuggle down.

The last day of the trip we visited Poolepynten, known as the site of a walrus haul-out on the beach.  We were allowed a half hour with the walruses at a respectful distance and the interaction between them were quite fun to watch. It was such a chore for them to move even a few feet and the expressions on their faces disarming. The time went quickly.

The afternoon expedition was supposed to be a landing and a hike on Alkhornet. And just as we were debating about whether the clamber up the rocks might be too hard for us, we heard on the PA that the landing was cancelled.  The reason - a polar bear was sighted in the exact place of our landing!

So instead of a landing, we all headed out on deck to see the polar bear sauntering along where we were supposed to be hiking. It was also a treat to have a bird's eye view of the bear and the reindeer together on this magnificent tundra landscape. 

The bear and reindeer on the tundra - the reindeer originally started running away when they saw the bear but when the bear showed no reaction, they stopped, but kept their distance.

The bear kept walking along the length of the shore with no change in gait for more than an hour. But there was more excitement as there were several whale sightings while we were all out on deck. What a super end to an exhilarating trip!

Humpback whale tail

More stunning arctic landscape at Longyearben, from where we took our flight home.

This wraps up our trip to the Norwegian fjords and the Arctic - an awesome experience all round!

A warm welcome to the Arctic!

What a pleasant surprise to wake up in Hornsund, Svalbard to blue skies, sunshine and magical reflections of the Arctic landscape.  I quickly clambered up on deck after gasping at the scenery from our window - have to confess that more than once on this trip, I wished the ship offered cabins with balconies! Everywhere I turned, the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful.  And this continued for the rest of the day.

The ship anchored at Gnalodden and we got on zodiacs to get close to the icebergs and hear the air bubbles crackle inside them.  As the zodiac stopped and turned we got to see the stunning land and seascape from different angles. It was a photographer's paradise!

A barnacle goose on the untouched landscape!

We went ashore briefly to look at a historical trappers's cabin and climbed up to a viewpoint to get a panoramic view of the surroundings. Armed expedition staff were positioned on both the landward and seaward side to make sure we were safe from wildlife, mainly polar bears as they could apparently run up to 40 km/hr and easily outrun humans.  We saw hundreds of kittiwakes, guillemots and glaucous gulls, including a rare sighting of an ivory gull.  We went back to the boat for lunch while the ship saled past the majestic peak of Hornsundtind, the highest mountain in southern Spitsbergen.

Panorama from the viewpoint half way up the hill

Expedition staff standing watch

Hundreds of kittiwakes hangout on shore

The ship next cast anchor in the bay of Brepollen with its stunning scenery and mirrored reflections.  We got into zodiacs to see the two glaciers, Svalisbreen and Mendeleevbreen.  The glaciers were the widest I have seen, even wider than the huge Perito Moreno glacier in Patagonia.  We saw a couple of arctic skuas and a fight between them and some gulls.  

Hornsundtind, the highest mountain in southern Spisbergen in the distance

The Svalisbreen Glacier and the amazing shapes of the mountains

Arctic pyramids!

An all white ivory gull

Arctic skua also called Parasitic jaeger, so called because it robs other birds, like gulls and we actually saw them do it from our zodiac!

Guillemot

Svalisbreen and Mendeleevbreen Glaciers

Zodiac going through glacier ice

The stunning landscape and reflections along the Bay of Brepollen

Barbeque dinner on the rear deck

Crossing the Barents Sea to Svalbard

The Barents Sea was the last hurdle before the Arctic - I was certainly worried about the crossing of such a wide expanse of sea which is really part of the Arctic Ocean. Luckily there was no storm - even though the waves were quite high at times, it was a relatively smooth crossing even for someone prone to seasickness like myself. In fact, it was calm enough that when we were half way across and reached the one island in the middle of the sea - Bjornoya (Bear Island), the southernmost island in the Svalbard Archipelago, we were able to stop and cruise around the island, something that many of the expedition staff haven't been able to do during their many previous crossings because of rough seas.

The island is wild! Its geology spectacular! And there was amazing bird life on its cliffs - this remote island in the middle of this vast expanse of sea plays host to puffins, murres, guillemots, kittiwakes, skuas,  auks, eiders, gannets and gulls in the tens of thousands.  The sky around it was full of birds flying back and forth. While I was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of birds and the noise they made around us, it was the rocks that struck me dumb with their astounding cragginess, probably the result of weathering arctic storms. It was for me, one of the most beautiful islands I have seen on this trip.

Spectacular rock formations around the island

Those are not dust spots on my camera - they are birds flying above the island!

Look at the astonishing bird population on these cliffs!  The sedimentary rock layers are almost designed to accommodate the residents, whether migrant or permanent...

Bear Island has only 4 inhabitants, the staff at a meteorological station. It's hard to imagine living here with the birds!  When we were in our zodiac, we discovered a natural arch and with the approval of the group leader, our zodiac ventured forth through the unknown tunnel.  It was quite an adventure and we were surprised to find even birds inside the tunnel!  Please see the video below of our navigation through the tunnel and also to get a sense of the sea conditions - considered calm but still tossing in our zodiac. I was taking photos at shutter speeds of 1/1250 second and higher to get sharp enough photos. We also came across an abandoned Russian trawler that had washed up on the shores of this island -  a piece of junk on an otherwise all natural environment.

Abandoned Russian trawler on island

Puffins

Common murres and guillemots

Looks like a social here

And some mating on the side

A skua feeding on a kittiwake

A Northern Fulmar enjoying the swell

Skua flying off for more food

Looking at the island from this angle reminded me of images of Ayer's Rock in Australia

 An overnight journey from Bear Island would take us to Svalbard in the morning - the top of the world!