Svalbard, July 23 - August 3rd with Aurora Expeditions.

We were originally going to go to Australia for a couple of months, but in the end red tape and complications got in the way and we gave up and opted for the next best thing, a two week trip around the islands of Svalbard with Aurora Expeditions. Not quite as scorchy as Australia, in fact the archipelego lies well north of the Arctic circle.

As ever, initiallising these trips can be wearisome, not least all the paperwork. Insurance, medical details, passports, booking flights and hotels, disclaimers in case you get eaten, and you name it, we were asked for it. Eventually we flew from rain soaked Manchester to Oslo but we had to make our own way there and arrange ourselves some overnight acommodation. Fortunately, the rather smart Radison Blue airport hotel turned out to be within easy walking distance of the Luggage reclaim. I recall it was about 1.00am next day before we checked in.

So, next day we caught the SAS plane from Oslo to Longyearbyen, the only settlement of any size on the islands, about a 2.5 hour flight. Once again we had to stay overnight at another rather smart chalet hotel. Longyearbyen has a population of around 2400, main industries are coal mining (1) and tourism. The houses were brightly coloured rather like other arctic towns that we have visited. However, there are strict rules regarding which colour you can use on your house. In the afternoon we were zodiac-ed to the trusty Ocean Explorer and allowed to settle in before receiving our free thermal jackets and returnable furry muck boots.

Weather? Dry and mainly sunny, temperature as high as 15C in Longyearbyen  but usually 8-10C. In the far north we dipped down to 1C.

1-4

1. Flying into Longyearbyen
2. Longyearbyen
3. Our eventual route around the Svalbard archipeligo
4. The Ocean Explorer. Room for 130 passengers but with all the singles we numbered just 103.

Good Morning good morning, our wake up call. Next day they took us across Eisfjord to Skansbukta, probably as a kind of test run, to check that we could actually climb in and out of the zodiacs. We seemed to pass the test, some better than others. Before we were allowed to land however, scouts would go ashore first to check that there were no polar bears. Even then, we were accompanied by men with high powered rifles and bear scarers. Apparently, getting eaten is really bad PR for the company. Pleasant landing in a dramatic setting, sprinkled with wild flowers.

Overnight, the ship set off with intent and next morning we found ourselves in the far wild and remote north of the islands, almost within spitting distance of the North Pole. We were taken out on a zodiac trip found the snouts of the Monacobreen and Seligenbreen glaciers which were calving large lumps of ice into the sea.

5-10

• 5. Skansbukta
• 6. Skansbukta and old boat
• 7. Reindeer
• 8. Seligenbreen Glacier
• 9. Monacobreen Glacier
• 10. Ice and islands drifted past.

The captain seemed to have a secret desire to reach the North Pole but eventually failed when a huge barrier of sea ice defeated us and the ship ground to a crunching halt. However, we continued north, past The Seven Islands and reached a point just a touch under 80°N. About this time a strange madness overtook some of the passengers, and they took off their clothes and leapt into the water at 1°C for the Polar Plunge. Doctor on standby.

 

11-14

• 11. Ladies first
• 12. And second
• 13. Looking North towards the pole.
• 14. Kayackers amnongs the floes and a broken down zodiac.

There was a certain obsession amongs some of the passengers with regard to Polar Bears. The faintest white dot on the horizon would result in an outbreak of very long lenses and a tendancy for the ship to develop a list in the bear's direction as ursaphiles crowded onto one side of the observation platform. Eventually we had some close views of them and the novelty started to wear off. This one is probably a young male but without flipping it over and looking at its naughty bits we couldn't be sure. Once bears were sighted we were not allowed to go ashore and we lost a couple of landings because of them

We also saw quite a few walruss. These can be detecten from over 1km away by their smell.

 

15-17

• 15. Polar Bear 1
• 16. Polar Bear 2
• 17. Walruss colony.

Plan A was to sail along the coast of the most easterly island, Nordaustlandet but the sea ice was hard packed against the land so we resorted to plan B which was to visit an area called Texas Bar. However, we woke up to thick fog and were transferred to plan C which was bird colony and walruss spotting.

Even in this hostile region there were lots of tiny wild flowers. Sue spent much of her time ashore on her hands and knees with her camera.

18-22

• 18. Tufted Saxifrage Saxifraga cespitosa.
• 19. Svalbard Poppy Pappaver dahlianum.
• 20. Brunnich's Guillemot colony, there were tens of thousands of these birds.
• 21. Arctic Fox, gull for lunch.
• 22. Sue.

After the birds we set off through a narrow channel called Heleysundet which is only navigable at certain states of the tide and looked a bit like the Straits of Corrievrecken at the North end of Jura. Overnight we set off south and rounded the most southern cape of Sorkapp Land and woke (good morning good morning) to find ourselves in the ice choked fjord of Hornsund. We took a zodiac cruise along the snouts of the Hornbreen and Storbreen glaciers. Very spectacular with lots of icebergs.

After this, we dropped in below the huge limestone outcrop of Gnalodden and pottered up and down the shore.

23-27

• 23. Hornbreen glacier.
• 24. Icebergs.
• 25. The huge limestone butress of Gnalodden. Great looking climbing rock if only it wasn't covered with thousands of birds.
• 26. Alpine Bistort Bistorta vivipara
• 27. Moss Campion Silene acaulis.
• 28. At the Captains farewell cocktail party. Captain (3rd) and officers.

28.

So that was it. Next morning from our window there was Longyearbyen again, just a walkway away. Airport to Tromso, off the plane and on again with our luggage as there were no customs and security facilities on the island. Then Oslo, overnight again and back to jolly old Manchester airport where it was drizzling.

Brilliant trip. Many thanks to Aurora Expeditions who really looked after us and fed and watered us a little too well. Can't fault them, go for it.

Chris and Sue.

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Now onward goes, along a narrow path
Between the torments and the city wall,
My Master, and I follow at his back.

Dante's Inferno Canto 10