One last day in the sea ice and some took to the water in zodiacs. It was way too cold for me (I have a slight cold from spending too many hours standing out on deck) but Lindsay and others went on a last zodiac ride amongst the sea ice.
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| They tried to wash the ice and snow off the zodiacs but it refroze within minutes |
After a day navigating the marginal ice zone – that region between the pack ice and the open sea, we navigated to and made land on the other side of the Arctic ocean, Svalbard our destination, a wonderful icy archipelago in the Artic circle north of Norway. We were the first cruise ship to transect the Arctic Ocean - Alaska to Svalbard. Quite an exciting achievement.
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| A pretty dawn after our first dark night |
We woke to a see a huge glacier outside our window yesterday. Mighty! We had arrived in Wahlenbergfjord, a deep fjord on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard’s northeastern island, the third biggest icecap in the world. They piled us into zodiacs to drive through icy chunks to the glacier front in the morning - from horizontal ice to vertical ice, glaciers and their carved offspring! Our driver was a little nervous so we didn't get anywhere close to the glacier front but we saw lots of floating ice.
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| A large chunk calved off the glacier seen in the background |
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| This bergy bit is full of rock worn away by the action of the glacier |
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| The birds hang around waiting for the glacier to carve |
When the glacier calves the broken piece crashes in to the sea churning up nutrients from the depths. The birds loiter about the glacial front waiting for that to happen and then they all swoop in to see what rises to the surface.
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| Dainty Black-legged Kittiwakes |
Yes of course we landed later in day to wandered along a long beach made of shattered slatey rock - glacial moraine. We spotted some interesting rocks along the beach. RAther a mind teaser to imagine what forces over what period of time produced these piles of small rocks. Other people took to the hills to wander high on the tundra slopes but the long hikers had to retreat early as a bear was spotted and the guides take no risks - particularly as bears can run at 40 kph! Despite that it was a marvellous beginning to our short visit to Svalbard - and wonderful to be on land.
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| We beachcombers were a small bunch numbering just four plus our expedition leader (and his rifle) |
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| The landing party is always accompanied by a medic and armed guides |
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| The surrounding hills looked gorgeous with a dusting of snow but the place is rather desolate |
We have only a few days here before are voyage of explorations comes to an end – but there is a lot to see before then. More anon ….
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