Ardendalen National Park – Senja Island , 6/6/2022, National Geographic Resolution
Aboard the
National Geographic Resolution
Arctic
After a bumpy night, guests awoke to find that National Geographic Resolution had navigated the stunning coastal waters of Northern Norway towards our morning destination of Senja Island. The morning’s activities included medium and long hikes as well as Zodiac cruises of the bays surrounding the island. For the long hikers, they were led by naturalist Mike Jackson through coniferous woodland past a waterfall to a lake, all whilst being serenaded by singing willow warblers. In total, they covered 15 km over tricky terrain, so everyone returned to ship ready for their lunch and eager to relax.
The afternoon was spent exploring more of the fjords from the comfort of the ship. Eiders, kittiwakes, and Arctic skuas were enough to satisfy one final wildlife fix before the ship came alongside in Tromso in time for some post dinner exploring.
Jamie is from England. He grew up in Oxford, about as far from the sea as you can get in the UK, yet somehow decided he would work in marine biology and conservation. Ever since he reached his teens, he has dedicated time to this passion, working and...
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We started the day at beautiful Monacobreen, slowly cruising by as we sipped the first coffee of the day. After that, we continued to Mushamna to observe a trapper’s station that was used quite recently. Actually, it is still in use sometimes! The weather was good to us with calm winds and overcast skies. It was the perfect day for our last hike of the trip. The day continued as we made our way down the coast of Western Svalbard, passing by glaciers and enjoying breathtaking views of the fantastic mountains. At the same time, we listened to a couple of very interesting talks from naturalist Carl Erik Kilander about Amundsen, the greatest explorer of our time, followed by the fascinating story of Michael George, our National Geographic expert, on how he became a National Geographic photographer. Of course the hotel team made sure we were treated to something special on this final day, and they put on a wine and cheese tasting that left us all with very happy smiles on our faces. It has been a tremendous journey with exciting sightings of wildlife, beautiful weather, and fantastic people. Both Norway and Svalbard have shown off their very best sides!
This morning, we awoke to a completely new sound: the sound of ice scratching and grinding against the hull of the ship! National Geographic Endurance shuddered and lurched as we started pushing through larger and larger pieces of ice on our way north. Soon after we were called to breakfast, we were treated to our first sights of the pack ice as we enjoyed a hearty breakfast. It was an incredible view! Huge pans of ice for as far as the eye could see. After breakfast we spent time searching for wildlife from the decks. It was a roaring success with many walruses, ringed seals, and various seabirds spotted. Lucho made an announcement as we passed over 80°N to let us know that we had reached the northernmost point the ship has been this season. We reached the Seven Islands, which was an impossibility only a week ago. In the late morning, we were called to the ice lounge to enjoy a wonderful lecture from Javier Cotin on the seabirds of Svalbard. We learned so much about all that we have seen since our arrival in Svalbard. Before we knew it, it was time for lunch. Today, we enjoyed the famous Endurance burger and fresh fish and chips. After lunch, we hit the decks again to view some wonderful walruses that allowed us to watch them snooze on pieces of floating ice. Lucho made another announcement. Since it was such a lovely day in a beautiful location, the ship would be offering us the opportunity to polar plunge! While the crew and staff made preparations, over 40 of us prepared ourselves to surrender to the cold waters of the Arctic. Once all was in place, we lined up in basecamp for our turn. One by one, we jumped off the bow of the Zodiac as small icebergs drifted by. Squeals were heard as guests experienced the -0.5°C water followed by laughter and cheers with every new initiate. Everyone who jumped received a patch to commemorate the insanity, and we were greeted with hot cocoa back on the ship. We all scurried back to our rooms or to the sauna to warm up after the experience. Next on the itinerary was teatime with a colourful arrangement of cakes and savouries for our enjoyment, followed by the last lecture of the day on polar bears by Carlos Navarro. We learned so much about the beautiful creatures we observed. Finally, it was time for recap and dinner. Tomorrow is our last day, and we plan to get up early to make the most of it!
The sun didn’t rise this morning, as it had never set the night before, just doing its loops in the sky during this midnight sun time of year. We steamed north through the ‘night’ from Svalbard’s southern outpost isle of Bear Island. We visited the island yesterday to admire its cliffs of guillemots and the easy cod fishing. National Geographic Endurance navigated into Svalbard proper, arriving at the lower reaches of Hinlopen Strait by midmorning. National Geographic photographer Michael George inspired us with engaging anecdotes from his burgeoning career in photographic storytelling, before being graciously interrupted by expedition leader Lucho Verdesoto’s announcement of a sighting of polar bears. A mother bear and her two first-year cubs were wandering the rocky ridge of Friesøya, a very small island in the small Wahlberg archipelago. Without any sea ice in the area from which to seek ringed seal sustenance, the mother didn’t have much choice but to forage for seabird eggs or take her cubs for a swim. We enjoyed a peek into the lives of these beginner bears in the care of their mom. They engaged in rock climbing, egg-hunting, and lounging in snowbanks before the trio of arctic icons took to the water to hopefully find more nourishing environs. A second polar bear sighting was made on the southwest side of icy Nordaustlandet. A mother bear and her second-year cub were navigating the rocky bluffs above an icy beach. Mom spread out on a snowbank for a while as the cub seemed to be seeking eggs of arctic terns that flew over the pair in alarm. This mother was sporting a bright white radio collar; her capture, measurements, and tracking are important parts of polar bear conservation in Svalbard. Since male bears have such large, thick necks relative to the size of their heads, only females can be collared. After the agreeable bear-watching detour, we reached our intended afternoon destination at Torellneset on Nordaustlandet, a traditional haul out site for walruses. Walking from our landing site along the berm above the beach, we quietly approached a group of walruses piled up together on a sandy point of land. Pairs of tusks occasionally rose from the brown blubbery mass of the behemoths. Small groups of these big pinnipeds swam the shoreline. With big bodies, small heads, dexterous vibrissae, and impressive dentition, the common name in combination with the scientific name, Odobenus rosmarus, for these whimsical arctic creatures can be very loosely translated to ‘tooth-walking pink whale-horse of the sea.’ We enjoyed sharing our first day in the High Arctic with two of its most mythical representatives, the polar bear and the walrus, as we continue our exploration of Arctic Norway.
