NOO14 North Spitsbergen - Aurora Borealis 2012

NOO14

Day 1 - After arriving in Longyearbyen, the ‘capital’ (actually the administrative centre) of Spitsbergen, you may wish to visit the Svalbard Museum which has an interesting collection on the history of Spitsbergen, the mining industry and polar exploration. In the afternoon we sail, setting course for Alkhornet. Below the cliffs we see often Arctic Foxes and Reindeer. We continue to Tryghamna to visit the remains of a 17th century English whaling station and an 18th century Russian Pomor station.
 
Day 2 - We leave Tryghamna early in the morning and sail through the Forlandsundet. Weather permitting we will go ashore at Fuglehuken where the first Western Europeans (the expedition of Willem Barentsz) set foot on Spitsbergen. Here we can see the graves of whalers. Nearby we may be able to visit a haul-out of Harbour Seals and Walruses.

Day 3 – 5 - We will visit Ny Ålesund, the northernmost permanently inhabited village in the world, a centre for polar research and a former starting point for many North Pole expeditions (Amundsen and Nobile for example). The Reindeers here are smaller than their mainland relatives and do not form large herds.  At Blomstrandhalvøya we see the remains of a marble mine. This area was a peninsula, but by the retreat of the glaciers it has become an island. A climb to the top of the islands gives a breathtaking view across Kongsfjord with a series of glacier fronts. The 14th July Glacier is another great landscape. Though late in autumn we still will see Eider Ducks, several species of seabirds, waders and Snow Buntings.

Day 6 – 7 - On our way south, we sail into Engelskbukta and St Johnsfjorden or Sarstangen and Poolepynten, where Walruses are often hauled out. From there we sail into Isfjord where we could make a landing with a walk at Bohemanneset. In the evening we head for Longyearbyen.

Day 8 - Departure by scheduled flight from Longyearbyen to Oslo.