Into the Pack Ice
During the night we rounded Sorkapp, the southern cape of Spitsbergen Island, and headed northeast across the open waters of Storfjorden. The bright sun emerged from behind a layer of clouds, and soon presented us with a spectacular day. Before we had even reached our initial destination of Halvmaneoya, Richard spotted the first polar bear. Living up to its reputation as a marine mammal, this intrepid bear was encountered swimming miles from the nearest landfall. These powerful creatures are well known for their ability to swim great distances. We were careful not to draw too near in the ship, as we didn't want to affect its course or behavior. After pulling away, Ralph Hopkins gave a presentation about the basics of photography.
Soon we were cruising past the eastern shores of Halvmaneoya, and another polar bear was sighted on the island’s shores. The bear’s presence on shore meant that we would not be venturing ashore for hikes. However, we did hope to get a closer view. Because of shallow ground near shore, we couldn't approach any closer with the ship. So it was decided to launch our fleet of Zodiacs in hopes of gaining a better view. From the near shore waters we could see this was a large and handsome bear. It was lying on a narrow snow field just above the shoreline. Eventually it rose and wandered lazily up onto a ridge, pausing dramatically against the skyline before disappearing from view.
Back onboard the ship we continued northeastward in search of pack ice. As we began passing small ice floes, a large walrus was soon sighted on a distant floe. With deft maneuvering of the ship, we moved gently closer. The views were superb with blue waters surrounding the white ice, and the snow-streaked hills of Edgeoya rising in the distance. During the afternoon we were also treated to fascinating presentations; first was Stefan Lundgren telling us about the history and biology of the polar bear. Later on, Art Wolfe showed us a dazzling display of his photographic images as he described his work in the field and his approach to composition.
Thinking we’d already had a day’s worth of wonderful wildlife sightings, in the early evening we were nearly ready to retire to the lounge when word came over the P.A. system that a third polar bear had been sighted –this time with a fresh kill. On the white ice backdrop, this bear was quite easy to spot as its location was well marked with a large smear of red blood on the ice. The bear was quite preoccupied with feasting on its prey of a recently captured harp seal. Again the captain did an incredible job of carefully positioning the ship close enough for fantastic views, and then pulling away without any hint of disturbing this bear. We still had time for a quick cocktail before dinner as our ship took us northward and deeper into the surrounding ice pack.
During the night we rounded Sorkapp, the southern cape of Spitsbergen Island, and headed northeast across the open waters of Storfjorden. The bright sun emerged from behind a layer of clouds, and soon presented us with a spectacular day. Before we had even reached our initial destination of Halvmaneoya, Richard spotted the first polar bear. Living up to its reputation as a marine mammal, this intrepid bear was encountered swimming miles from the nearest landfall. These powerful creatures are well known for their ability to swim great distances. We were careful not to draw too near in the ship, as we didn't want to affect its course or behavior. After pulling away, Ralph Hopkins gave a presentation about the basics of photography.
Soon we were cruising past the eastern shores of Halvmaneoya, and another polar bear was sighted on the island’s shores. The bear’s presence on shore meant that we would not be venturing ashore for hikes. However, we did hope to get a closer view. Because of shallow ground near shore, we couldn't approach any closer with the ship. So it was decided to launch our fleet of Zodiacs in hopes of gaining a better view. From the near shore waters we could see this was a large and handsome bear. It was lying on a narrow snow field just above the shoreline. Eventually it rose and wandered lazily up onto a ridge, pausing dramatically against the skyline before disappearing from view.
Back onboard the ship we continued northeastward in search of pack ice. As we began passing small ice floes, a large walrus was soon sighted on a distant floe. With deft maneuvering of the ship, we moved gently closer. The views were superb with blue waters surrounding the white ice, and the snow-streaked hills of Edgeoya rising in the distance. During the afternoon we were also treated to fascinating presentations; first was Stefan Lundgren telling us about the history and biology of the polar bear. Later on, Art Wolfe showed us a dazzling display of his photographic images as he described his work in the field and his approach to composition.
Thinking we’d already had a day’s worth of wonderful wildlife sightings, in the early evening we were nearly ready to retire to the lounge when word came over the P.A. system that a third polar bear had been sighted –this time with a fresh kill. On the white ice backdrop, this bear was quite easy to spot as its location was well marked with a large smear of red blood on the ice. The bear was quite preoccupied with feasting on its prey of a recently captured harp seal. Again the captain did an incredible job of carefully positioning the ship close enough for fantastic views, and then pulling away without any hint of disturbing this bear. We still had time for a quick cocktail before dinner as our ship took us northward and deeper into the surrounding ice pack.
