PLA06-24, trip log, Around Spitsbergen, In the realm of Polar Bear & Ice

Today is the day, it’s finally time for us to embark upon our Arctic adventure! In the late afternoon we arrived at our ship Plancius, our new home for the next 10 days. She rocked gently against the peer as we climbed the gangway onto the decks. The day was suitably Arctic with clouds and chilly wind – but we were warm and comfortable aboard. We all checked in smoothly and were quickly escorted to our respective cabins. We excitedly began to explore the ship and wandered the decks enjoying the views of Longyearbyen.

Once we were all aboard, we were invited to the lounge to take part in a mandatory briefing and an abandon ship drill. During the drill, we cast off and were soon on our way out of the harbor.

Whilst the crew made sure we left the harbor soundly, our expedition leader, Phillipp, invited us back to the lounge for the Captain’s Cocktails, where we met Captain Ernesto Barria, and the expedition team. We celebrated our expedition with some bubbles and canapes before we all enjoyed our first dinner onboard!

We all filed down to the restaurant for a delicious buffet and an opportunity to meet some of our fellow travelers. Our day was not done yet, after dinner we located the boot room and collected our rubber boots. We were another step closer to being able to start our off-ship activities.

The rest of the evening was spent enjoying our first evening cruise and the never-ending daylight before returning to our cabins to prepare for tomorrow’s adventure!

Our expedition leader, Philip, woke us up for the first time today as we were already in Kongsfjord. Despite the overcast skies, the scenery was beautiful, with gentle moraine slopes and glaciers in the background. The research town of Ny-Ålesund was already in sight. During breakfast, Captain Ernesto maneuvered our ship Plancius alongside the harbor, and the gangway was lowered. We were able to disembark straight after breakfast.

Ny-Ålesund is such an exciting place because of its interesting history with the Zeppelin expeditions launched from here and because it is the northernmost research settlement in the world. We explored its narrow streets filled with wildlife: barnacle geese and their tiny chicks, arctic terns dive-bombing us if we came too close to their nests. Some of us rushed into the souvenir shop, while others decided to begin with a visit to the museum. Soon enough, it was time to gather in front of the Chinese research station for the guided walk outside of the settlement to the zeppelin mast, under the guidance of our assistant expedition leader Michelle, and escorted by our guide Paolo, who was carrying a rifle for polar bear safety. Michelle gave us an exhaustive account of the historical expeditions that departed from here, of Amundsen and Nobile and rescue missions. After strolling through the settlement and last-minute souvenir shopping, we all headed back onboard for lunch while we transited towards Smeerenburg.

After lunch, we all took part in the various mandatory briefings. Once we worked our way through the briefings, our guides spotted a polar bear in the distance on top of a hill, and we were all able to watch the bear before it disappeared behind a hill. First day, first polar bear, a great start! We then decided to have a short Zodiac cruise in Smeerenburg, where we observed a small group of walruses hauled out on the beach. One of them went back and forth in the water and was easily identifiable as a large male because of his voluminous throat, thick neck blubber and very sizable tusks.

We then headed back to Plancius right on time for a delicious dinner prepared by our star chef Khabir. What an amazing way to end our first expedition day. So many new memories already.

We awoke to the sound of our expedition leader Phillip Schaudy calling us over the PA to awaken and seize the day. We prepared ourselves and headed to the dining room to enjoy a hearty breakfast. We could already see our first destination for the day through the windows of the dining room. The impressive Monacobreen could be seen, a vast glacier shrouded in morning fog standing at over 50 meters high.

After breakfast, we quickly dressed, getting ready for our first activity which would be a two-hour Zodiac cruise of the glacier and the surrounding smaller glaciers. Our expedition team prepared the Zodiacs, we loaded in and off we went to see what we could find. We cruised along the vast glacier front, enjoying all of the beautiful colors and shapes found within the ice. We saw many kittiwakes, Arctic terns, black guillemots and even some Arctic skuas feeding as we travelled along in the Zodiacs. Next thing there was a giant rumble then a crash! Part of the ice had calved falling into the sea making a huge splash and even a small wave. It was so exciting!

All too soon our two hours were up. We sped back across the harbor in our Zodiacs and arriving just in time before the first spots of rain fell. We all changed back into our ship clothes, and it was time for lunch. Whilst we ate, the ship repositioned to the location of our next activity, a lovely spot called Texas Bar.

After lunch, we prepared to make our first wet landing on the trip. Once again, we loaded into our Zodiacs, and our drivers delivered us safely to the shoreline. We removed our lifejackets and made our way up to the small cabin on the hillside. The cabin had its name marked proudly in large letters, and we could enter to see what life would be like inside. Apart from the many liquor bottles decorating the inside, it was bare inside. Once we had all arrived at the landing site, we were presented with three options for hiking: fast, medium, and leisurely. The fast group would head for the high ground, the medium group would go for some distance on the lower hills, and the leisurely group would enjoy the beach. Our expedition team pitched their hikes to us, and we divided ourselves into various levels before setting off.

All hikers were able to enjoy the wonderful flora of the area. So many flowers littered the ground, and as we climbed higher, we saw lots of bird life. Snow buntings, Arctic skuas, pink-footed geese, and many other birds roamed the area. Once we had explored the areas high and low, It was time to head back to the ship. We said goodbye to Texas Bar and loaded back into our zodiacs. On returning to the ship, we were invited up to the lounge for our recap. Our expedition team had prepared a series of short talks about what we saw today. They were so interesting, and straight afterward, we were called down to the dining room for a wonderful plated dinner.

We thought the day was over, but we were wrong. As soon as we finished our dinner, there was an announcement over the PA system; a polar bear had been spotted! It was swimming in the water past the ship. We gathered our gear and headed for the outer decks to catch a glimpse of this powerful animal swimming from island to island. It was a long way from the ship, but we got to see how fast he could swim and with such ease. As we started to leave the decks to call it a night, the PA system went off again. This time we had belugas on the port side. Once again, we lined the decks and we could see the white flashes of the backs of the belugas as they swam along the shoreline. It was the perfect end to a great expedition day.

We were woken up a little bit later than the previous days. At 7.45, we opened our eyes and realized that Plancius had arrived at the edge of the pack ice. The overcast weather made for a nice contrast to the blue shades of the ice floes. There was an excited feeling amongst us as we headed out onto the decks before breakfast, glancing at the surreal surroundings. The vastness of the ocean with ice floes everywhere gave us an image of the harsh conditions that polar bears are facing here, but still call it their home. There were many Bearded seals observed resting on the ice in all directions.

After breakfast, guests and expedition guides scouted and scanned the horizon from the bridge and outer decks ambitiously in search for wildlife. During our scouting we could see many species of birds including Brünnich’s guillemots, puffins, kittiwakes and fulmars. For those who remained on the decks spotting wildlife in the cold, their efforts were rewarded with several ivory gulls and at one point even a Sabines gull was spotted on the ice. These two are especially rare and very the sightings were much appreciated among the birders on the ship.

After lunch, we continued our search for possible sightings of polar bears. The weather had changed with a lot more fog, making spotting difficult. To keep everyone entertained during the period of poor visibility our Assistant Expedition Leader Michelle provided a very insightful lecture on the life of polar bears. As the wind picked up by the late afternoon, we slowly headed back in a southerly direction, leaving the pack ice behind.

The highest latitude we reached today was 81°14.0 `North. At 18:15 we all gathered in the lounge for an extended series of recap presentations which included a briefing from Phillip on our plans for the following day, as well as a presentation from Tiphanie on sea ice, a short biography of Prince Albert from Monaco the First who the Monacobreen was named after from Paolo, and an introduction on beluga whales from Andi.

After our delicious plated dinner, we sailed into a slight storm and our ship Plancius began to roll a little bit. Finally some authentic Arctic weather to end our day.

With a forecast of winds increasing in the North we leave the pack ice, and sail south overnight. We are looking for shelter and good wildlife sightings. Our planed destination is Wahlenbergfjorden. After a good night’s sleep aided by the gentle rolling motion of the vessel, we wake up earlier than expected to the sounds of Phillip on the PA system. Is too early for breakfast surely? It happens that around 06:30am, in the entrance to Wahlenbergfjorden we spotted a mother bear and her Cub roaming on Gyldenøyane Island, it was beautiful, this cub of approximately 1.5 years of age followed mum from a distance whilst she was roaming, perhaps hunting for eggs in nests.

After some time watching the bears, we carried on our way to our planned landing; unfortunately, the wind was too strong, with gusts well over 30 knots. If conditions deteriorate further once everyone is on land, evacuating everybody back to the ship would be difficult. Therefore, the landing was canceled, and we continued east, deeper into the fjord to Pemmicanpynten, where we found calmer conditions. We scouted from the bridge, but no bears were in sight. We lowered the Zodiacs, and as the expedition team got ready to head for the landing, there came a bear! It showed up right where we were planning to land; it appeared from nowhere from the dead ground behind the landing and, in the same way, walked away out of sight. After more scouting, we spotted the bear snoozing near the beach on a single patch of snow.

In these conditions, it is impossible to land; we would never risk a situation where a bear comes to confront a group of tourists - too much risk for both people and bears. Instead, Captain Ernesto placed the vessel broadside, and everybody could observe the bear from the safety of the outer decks. There is still more of the day to be embraced as we head for Faksevågen in Lomfjorden in the afternoon, enjoying a delicious lunch along the way.

In the afternoon we head over to the bay of Faksevågen as planned. The winds were strong from the SE blowing out of Lomfjorden, luckily the captain placed us in a sheltered area for our operations to run normally. We landed and split into four different walks, we all had something to see, walking at our own pace. We made the most of the afternoon in spite of the wind, a good location was found and great scenic hikes were had by all! The views SW towards the Skinfaksebreen and braided river were stunning and so were the views to the red rock cliffs of Myteberget on the south side of the fjord.

To wrap up the day, we had our first VERY wet Zodiac ride back to the ship. It was half a mile straight into the waves and wind and there was not an inch of our clothes left dry! This is adventure!

After a little bit of a bumpy night, we awoke to a foggy morning in Svalbard. We had arrived at the location of our next activity, a bird cliff called Alkefjellet. Unfortunately, we were unable to see it at first because of the fog. It was breakfast time anyway, so we all filed into the restaurant to enjoy a delicious breakfast. By the time we were done with breakfast, the fog had started to clear, and our expedition leader Phillip announced that we would go ahead with the planned Zodiac cruise.

We quickly got into our expedition gear and loaded into our Zodiacs, ready for two hours of cruising one of Svalbard's most fantastic wildlife hotspots. We could see the air and water as we approached the cliff, and the cliff face was absolutely bursting with bird life. Approximately 75,000 pairs of Brunnich's guillemots lined every ledge on the huge, towering cliff face. Waterfalls poured down from the ice on top, giving the whole place an ethereal feel. There was so much noise from the guillemots as they cackled at us as we floated by. As we observed the cliff, the weather improved more and more until we cruised in beautiful sunshine. Among the guillemots were several other birds, such as black guillemots, kittiwakes, and glaucous gulls. We even observed one glaucous gull chick poking its head out of its nest. As we passed the cliffs and started passing some green hillsides, the hunt was on to find one creature we had yet to see. The Arctic fox! We were so lucky, just as the Zodiacs were about to leave the cliff face, one was spotted. It was scurrying across the rockfalls and grass. We could see it quite clearly as it still had its white winter coat. It was so exciting! After the fox disappeared up into the rocks, we made our final cruise at a small glacier at the end of the cliff. We enjoyed the beautiful colors within the ice and sounds of the water rushing out from within it. All too soon it was time to return to the ship so we could make our next destination.

Back onboard, we busied ourselves to prepare for lunch when our expedition leader's voice, Phillip, came over to the PA again. A bear had been spotted on the side of an island, and we were on our way to take a look. We all rushed out on deck to see a bear climbing a very steep slope. It was clearly visible against the dark rocks, and we all enjoyed watching it until it lay down in a snow patch and went to sleep. That was bear number seven of the trip!
 

We left the bear to its nap and headed to the restaurant for a nice lunch. At about 15:00, we arrived at our final destination for the day, a landing called Torellneset, which is a known place for walrus to haul out. Only 50 people are allowed to visit the walrus at once, so we spilt into two groups. One would go to the walrus first and the other would go for a walk first, before the groups swapped at some point. On the hike, we were lucky to find a very curious reindeer. It kept following us and coming close so we could take nice pictures. When it was our turn to view the walrus, we approached very carefully so as not to spook them and got a nice look! There were about 50 on the shore resting in big piles, growling and poking each other with their tusks. It was so special. We spent about 30 minutes each with the walrus and then it was time to return to the ship in time for recap and a delicious dinner. It was a wonderful day and we can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Sundneset this morning, we landed by an old but well-preserved cabin Wϋrzburger Hϋtte, built by Julius Bϋdel’s Stauferland Expeditions in 1959-1967, dedicated to natural history, especially Geomorphology. The area we hiked had raised beaches and we saw multiple whale bones high up and far from the water, these bones may be 4000 years old or more. There were also two natural ponds and here we found red throated divers, king eider ducks and barnacle geese. During the walk we saw plenty of reindeer, some of them with young calves, always a sweet sight to see them together with their mothers. The ground was wet underfoot, and the Arctic tundra showed itself in flower. These hikes were thoroughly enjoyed by all.

In the afternoon, we undertook a short sail across Freemansund and landed at Kapp Lee. Here we found the remains of an old Pomors hunter cabin as well as the skulls and bones of hundreds of walruses with their noses and tusks chopped off. This site was a walrus hunting and slaughtering site in the 1700s yet it was somehow beautiful to see now dozens of walruses hauled out meters away from the graveyard. Here, nature has prevailed, and walrus are returning to the area. We also saw three cabins occasionally used by scientists staying on the site. We explored the area, observing multiple reindeer.

It is striking to see the number of bones scattered all over the place, the whole area is full of them.

We return to the ship in tricky conditions, with a very shallow beach and a difficult, choppy sea at the gangway, luckily, it is day seven, and all guests are getting the hand of our Zodiac procedures.

On the morning of 11 July, our Expedition Leader Phillipp woke us up as usual at 7.15. We had already entered Hornsund on the southwestern side of Svalbard. The weather outside was foggy and misty. After breakfast, Phillipp announced that despite the fog, he had identified a suitable spot for us to make a landing - Hornstulodden. We were informed that not many landings are made there. After putting our gear on, we soon headed out on the Zodiacs towards the beach. We approached a dramatic mountain range with some ice slopes running down from it and some waterfalls. A wild dark beach with some whale bones awaited us. When we left the Zodiacs, some of us observed puffins on our way to the beach and a few eider ducks flew above our heads. As usual, we were divided into four separate groups and soon after, all groups began their hikes. Many unusual and impressive rocks and volcanic formations, millions of years in age, caught our attention. Then, towards Plancius, a pod of beluga whales appeared close to shore, treating us to a great view! After lunch we cruised further into the bay towards the glacier aboard Plancius, for a nice view of Samarinbreen. When heading out of the bay, we were lucky enough to spot two humpback whales which were swimming close to the shoreline. Due to weather our Expedition leader Phillipp had to change our afternoon activity to Treskelen which was a moraine. Although it was muddy, all groups were able to have a pleasant hike with a view towards the mountains of Starostinfjellet. When we returned to the ship, Philip briefed us about our plans for the last day and we enjoyed a recap from Paolo about fog and Pierre educated us with some interesting facts about humpback whales. Another delicious dinner and off to bed after another adventure filled day!

Our expedition leader Phillipp woke us up as usual at 7:15 am to a relatively windy and cloudy day. After breakfast we all prepared for our landing, unfortunately it had to be canceled because there was too much swell on the beach, and our expedition guides got completely soaked when they attempted to land. So, the ship had to reposition, and Phillipp decided to try a landing at Bjornhamna. Less than an hour later we were at the site and this time the conditions were perfect. No polar bears were on the landing site either, and once on land we all split into our four groups, a fast hiking group, a medium fast, a medium photography group, and a leisurely group. We all decided to walk along the slope of the hill which had very interesting vegetation and minerals. All the groups except for the leisurely made it far enough to see some reindeer, and even a polar fox which was very well camouflaged at the top of the hill beneath a bird colony.

We all returned to the ship a little later than planned because of the canceled first landing attempt, and immediately after lunch we were already at our afternoon landing site: Skansbukta. This is a very nice landing where we have access to a puffin colony high on a cliff, and there are also historical remains of an old mine. We were all able to spend as much time as we wanted as it was a perimeter landing. At the end of the landing we had our Polar Plunge where our brave guests jumped into the icy waters of the Arctic!

Back on the ship, we all got dressed for our farewell cocktail drink with the captain. After a toast, and thanking all the crew involved in this expedition cruise, Ross showed us the slideshow he had prepared for us during the entire trip. We all got quite emotional seeing all of the places we had been and all the things we had experienced during these past ten days.

It was then time for our last plated dinner served by our chef Khabir, and as usual, it was absolutely delicious. Right before dessert the entire galley, restaurant, and hotel department crew came into the dining room to say goodbye and we all acclaimed them for their extremely nice work during this entire trip. They were always helpful and smiling. We will miss them very dearly.

We all gathered in the bar for a last drink with the new friends we made along this expedition cruise, and exchanged contacts. Incredible memories and friends were made along the way. We will never forget it!

All too soon, we arrived back in Longyearbyen and it was time to say our goodbyes. The staff and crew took care of our luggage, placing it carefully on the dock. We had our last breakfast aboard Plancius then gathered the last of our things and headed for the gangway. We said goodbye to the whole team onboard and alighted the bus waiting for us to start the long journey home or to our next adventure.

Thank you for your enthusiasm and support, but most of all for joining us on this exploratory Arctic voyage. We hope to see you again in the future, wherever that might be!

Total distance sailed: 1182.8 nautical miles

Farthest north: 81°14’N

On behalf of Oceanwide Expeditions, Captain Ernesto Barria, Expedition Leader Phillipp Schaudy, Hotel Manager Oleksandr Lyebyedyev, and all the crew and staff of M/V Plancius, it has been a pleasure travelling with you!