Last summer I joined the Le Boreal as Expedition Leader for a voyage of exploration around the remote shores of Svalbard, or Spitsbergen as it is known to many. In terms of an Arctic destination Svalbard as some great advantages; firstly the wildlife is not hunted so the diversity and abundance is amongst the greatest that
you will find in the Arctic; secondly its unique geographic position with a warm current bathing the western coast while the eastern shores are chilled by ice from the north means that the diversity of habitats in a relatively small area is large; thirdly Spitsbergen is reasonably accessible, connected by daily flights from Oslo, so you can very quickly find yourself amidst one of the great wildernesses left on earth!
So it was on a calm but overcast morning in August that we were sailing along Isfjord headed for our first landing of the expedition at Alkefellet. This landing is a great introduction to the Arctic, set below a dramatic mountain cliff that dominates the scene and is a nesting site for Kittiwakes and Guillemots. On the slopes below Reindeer are usually found grazing, and we spotted plenty this morning, calmly wandering past us just a few metres away! Up on the rock slope at the base of the mountain a family of foxes occasionally appeared with their young cubs being taught to hunt, providing endless photographic opportunities. Later during our time ashore, in fact as the first zodiacs started returning to the ship, a group of nearly 100 Beluga whales swam along the coastline, passing between the ship and shore, just a few metres away from where we stood, enthralled as we watched their white backs regularly break the surface.
Later that evening, after Le Boreal had repositioned to the coast of Prins Karls Foreland, we headed ashore once again for an after dinner landing, a time with dramatic lighting with 24 hours of daylight, evening is a beautiful time of the day with the sun low on the horizon. At the very end of a long low gravel spit a group of approximately 50 Walrus were lying and lounging about, occasionally moving into a more comfortable position with their large tusks seemingly a constant source of discomfort. A group of five animals gathered on the water's edge and, sitting upright, provided ideal photographic opportunities as they posed against a backdrop of mountains and glaciers behind.
The most northerly community on earth
Our next day was more focussed on the history and scenery. During the morning we visited Ny Alesund, the northernmost community on earth and a once bustling mining town that is now a thriving scientific research community. It was from here that Amundsen and Nobile launched their airship attempts to reach the North Pole and the airship mast remains to this day. The afternoon landing was at the beautifully scenic 14 July Glacier, landing well away from the glacier front there was the opportunity for those so inclined to walk up to and even onto the edge of the glacier which permitted commanding views across the ice filled bay and crevassed glacier itself.
For the next couple of days the plans were purposefully left a little more flexible and, unusually for August, there was still ice present across the northern coast of Svalbard. We were hopeful that it would be possible to find a passage through the ice to the east but in the meantime we had some time for exploration. Firstly we headed north, deeper into the ice, in search of polar bears. Polar bears are most at home on the ice, only coming onto land during the summer when the ice has all gone. We were hopeful of finding one or more bears out on the ice using the Le Boreal as our viewing platform. The frustrating thing about ice is that often where water and ice meet there is fog and this day was no exception, we did however continue our search with many eyes straining through the fog in the hope of spotting an elusive bear. It took more than 3 hours but finally we were rewarded with a bear climbing out of the water onto a nearby ice floe. The captain was then able to manoeuvre the ship to a position where its bow was only 50 metres away from the bear as it proceeded to investigate us whilst we were all busy capturing its every move on camera. After an hour and countless photos we left the bear to continue living and hunting in the ice and we sailed south, because at this point south is really the only option!
Polar bears
Reports of bears on the Andoyane Islands saw us out in the Zodiacs early the next morning, these low lying islands are an important breeding location for Arctic Terns and Eider Ducks and this often attracts polar bears, but on this occasion the carcass of a White-beaked dolphin that had washed ashore had attracted a female bear and her adult cub that were gorging on the remains. With the Zodiacs approaching slowly and quietly we eventually found ourselves close enough to hear the crunching of bone as we floated just a few metres offshore from the feeding bears.
Blue whales & vast seabird colonies
By this stage the ice that had been inhibiting our progress eastwards had cleared sufficiently for Le Boreal to sail towards Hinlopen Strait. Approaching the strait shortly after 5am there was great excitement on the bridge when we spotted a blue whale female and calf just off the portside of the ship. An early morning wakeup call and a lot of bleary eyed people were rewarded with a rare sighting of the greatest of the whales. By the time breakfast was completed Le Boreal was in position to launch the Zodiacs at Alkehornet, location of a vast Brunnich's Guillemot colony, and in my opinion one of the very best seabird colonies for visiting and appreciating in all the Arctic. With more than sixty thousand pairs of guillemots breeding here and cliffs that drop straight into the water the Zodiacs afford excellent views of all the action in the colony. Adults and chicks huddle on tiny ledges just centimetres from falling - as precarious as it might seem this provides safety from foxes and bears which will happily feed on any accessible guillemots they might find.
With the ice clear to the south of Hinlopen Strait the decision was made to continue southwards and complete a circumnavigation of Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard Archipelago. This allowed us the luxury of spending a full day exploring Edgeoya and its remote High Arctic shores. This eastern coastline receives the full force of the Arctic pack ice pushing against its shore, so not only is it significantly more difficult to access than the west coast it also has a more barren and inhospitable appearance which is characteristic of a High Arctic landscape, similar to that which you might find in an equivalent latitude elsewhere in the Arctic.
The final day of our expedition was spent amongst the mountains in Hornsund at Spitsbergen's southern extension. Here the peaks rise sharply to jagged pinnacles from the deep waters of the fjord. We took the opportunity to enjoy one final walk ashore with the wild flowers before Zodiac cruising along the face of an impressive but un-named glacier which treated us by regularly calving large pieces of beautiful blue ice into the fjord.
The next morning Le Boreal returned to the port town Longyearbyen, also a former mining town, but now the major service centre of Svalbard, and it is here that we connect with our flights returning us home again.
Le Boreal
A superb mega-yacht with 132 cabins, she is the fruit of the expertise of the Italian Fincantieri shipyard and French sophistication, as interpreted by designer Jean-Philippe Nuel. Le Boreal creates a unique atmosphere, a subtle blend of luxury, intimacy and well-being. Built in 2011, she carries a maximum of 264 passengers in luxury suites that all have outside balconies.
8 day Spitsbergen cruise on board Le Boreal
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