Circumnavigation of Spitsbergen
Itinerary
Day 1
Oslo - Longyearbyen
Arrive in Longyearbyen and in the afternoon embark the M/S Quest.
Days 2-10
Spitsbergen
Our route depends on weather, ice conditions and the wildlife we encounter. Each day we make several landings with our rigid Zodiac craft and these are a few of the places we hope to visit:
Ny Ålesund
Here Amundsen, Byrd and Nobile started their courageous attempts to reach the North Pole.
Danes' Island
This was the starting point for Andrées hydrogen balloon, the Eagle, which left Danes' Island on July 11, 1897. Three days later the balloon crashed on the pack ice north of Spitsbergen.
Northwest Spitsbergen
On Danes' Island, Amsterdam Island and Yttre Norsköya we see remnants of 17th century whaling stations.
North Spitsbergen
In beautiful Mossel Bay we visit Polhem, the world's northernmost house, where Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld over-wintered in 1872-73.
East Spitsbergen
Heading east we may meet the massive pack ice border. We enjoy the silence and grandeur of this icy landscape. The chances of meeting polar bears increase the further we travel into the ice.
Nordaustlandet
This island, covered by an enormous ice cap, fascinates naturalists as well as historians. Here you find a huge glacier front intersected by hundreds of melt-waterfalls, an abandoned German weather station from WW II and the wellkept scientific station at Kinnvika.
Storöya
This island, situated east of Nordaustlandet, is reachable in favourable ice conditions. Because of its large walrus colonies, this is one of our favourite places. We also hope to see some of the many polar bears that thrive here. White Island If ice conditions allow, we land on White Island, where few people have ever set foot. Here Andrée and his men were found 33 years after their unsuccessful attempt to reach the North Pole with balloon. We visit the monument commemorating these brave men, and admire the huge ice cap, which covers the island.
Barentsöya
Here we visit the remnants from the Pomors that came here from the Arctic shores of Russia in the 1600's to fish and hunt seal. The first Pomors came to the area in small open boats over 400 years ago.
Edgeöya
On Edgeöya we are in the realm of the polar bear. In wintertime female polar bears go ashore here and over-winter in snow caves. They give birth to their tiny young in early spring.
Halvmåneöya
On Halvmåneöya (Half Moon Island) we visit the trapping station of the Norwegian polar bear king Henri Rudi. The island was also the scene of one of the most dramatic survival stories in polarhistory. Four Russian Pomors had to spend six winters on the island before they were rescued by their countrymen.
Tusenöyane
On Aekongen in the Tusenöyane island group (Thousand Islands) we study an almost intact whale skeleton on the beach. We also pay a visitto some of the many walrus that haul out here.
Hornsund
A grandiose fjord on Spitsbergen's southwest coast where enormous glaciers tumble down to the sea between alpine mountains. This is a favourite area for the islands' many polar bears.
Day 11
Longyearbyen - Oslo
We sail into Longyearbyen and you then fly back to Oslo in the afternoon to continue your onward travel arrangements.
