Our guides are blogging from the expedition “Polar Bear Quest”, the 24th May – 2nd June.
30th May
Not even 6 days have passed since we left Longyearbyen and we’ve seen more and experienced behaviours, views, meetings that we only could hope for. A high pressure has more or less stayed over the whole of Svalbard and we could not be more grateful. Since we started with our briefings onboard just after leaving the dock we have had to adjust our schedule. Even our introduction to the guide team was interrupted by Beluga whales in Isfjorden. We spent the evening searching for wildlife and found evidence that the polar bear exist. Relatively fresh tracks could be seen in the fast ice in the fjordsystem just across from Longyearbyen. We sailed South during the night and found our first polar bear thanks to M/S Stockholm, the other ship in the PolarQuest fleet. A stunning healthy male on fast ice in the sun. Later a female with cubs was spotted and we got to see them feeding on a fresh kill at a distance.
There has always something happening and always something to look at in Svalbard. Listening to Nikita’s lectures about polar bears or Olle talk about Andree’s balloon expedition towards the pole has been great parts of the journey too. Walrus, Arctic fox, Svalbard reindeer – there is always something to look out for. Due to the amount of snow, seeing tracks always makes it more exiting. The hundreds of thousands guillemots flying around Alkefjellet is a sight!
Vänligen notera! Beroende på vilket objektiv som används för fotografering eller videoupptagning kan ett djur uppfattas närmare än vad det är. Vi följer alltid rådande riktlinjer i Arktis för att försäkra oss om att vi inte stör djurlivet.