SPITSBERGEN EXPLORER

Day 1
The transfer to the ship takes place in the afternoon. Once on board there is a get together for introductions to the expedition team, to learn about the ship and its layout, talk about the itinerary for the next 10 days and participate in the obligatory lifeboat drill. Departure from Longyearbyen is normally around 6:00 p.m.

Day 2 - 4
Sail down Kingsfjorden towards Ny Alesund - one of the northernmost communities in the world. Once a mining village served by the world's most northerly railway, which can still be seen, Ny Alesund now serves as a base station for international Arctic research. There is a chance to visit the station shop where you will be able to send mail from the most northerly mailbox in the world! Visitors interested in the history of Arctic exploration will want to walk to the anchoring mast used by Amundsen and Nobile in the airship Norge in 1926 and Nobile in the airship Italia in 1928 before their flights to the North Pole. Bird-watchers should see Arctic terns, Arctic and long-tailed skuas, purple sandpipers, common eiders, barnacle geese, long-tailed ducks, kittiwakes, glaucous gulls and snow buntings. Arctic foxes and reindeer are often seen on the periphery of the community. Sail on towards the 14th July Glacier, where on Zodiacs we cruise past spectacular cliffs, home to a small population of Atlantic puffins, before reaching the front of the glacier. Often bearded seals can be spotted in this scenic fjord. There will also be time to go ashore and the naturalists will help you identify the many species of plants. One of the reasons for the rich vegetation of this site is the large quantity of natural fertilizer supplied by the large kittiwake colony that nest in the cliffs above.

Day 5 - 8
At Smeerenburg, or Blubber Town as it was known, there are the remains of a 17th Century Dutch whaling station. Blubber ovens, whalebones and other remnants can be observed in the shadow of the mountain that the Basque whalers used as a lookout for the Bowhead whale, often called the Right whale as it was the right one to pursue, being a slow moving animal which could be approached closely. Unfortunately it was hunted to the brink of extinction.
We hope to sail into Liefdefjorden, cruising near the 5km long face of the impressive Monaco glacier. The waters of the glacier front are a favourite feeding spot for thousands of kittiwakes and on previous voyages, Polar bears have been seen on the glacier, providing wonderful opportunities for photography.
The temperature drops as we continue northward. We cross 80° North, just 600 miles from the North Pole, when ice conditions permit, heading for the island of Phippsoya, a well-known Polar bear and walrus haunt. At Tusenoyane (Thousand Islands) we'll go ashore to seek Red-throated divers, and view the beached skeleton of an ancient whale.

Day 9 - 10
Heading towards Bellshund, we will go in search of the Beluga whale, which can often be seen transiting the narrow sound near Bourbonhamna. We hope to land here and visit the hunters' cabin; however, it is the massive piles of Beluga whalebones that catch everybody's attention. The bones and the artefacts are protected by the Svalbard Government and cannot be removed. Dozens of reindeer are often seen feeding in the area.

Day 11
We arrive back into Longyearbyen early this morning and on disembarking after breakfast you are either transferred to your hotel or the airport.