Sunday 1 September: Ellesmere Island at Sea – Sylvia

Today has truly been an incredible and memorable day. We woke in the igloo this morning with the ship crunching and shuddering as it made its way through the sea ice. This makes for some impressive scenery, especially in the early morning light.

Just after breakfast the call came that a polar bear had been spotted on the ice. We watched for quite a while as he ambled along. We were able to circle around the sea ice to get a good look at him from all angles.

Later we headed to the lounge to hear an excellent presentation from Peter, one of the cultural ambassadors on board, about the creation of Nunavut. He has an amazing history, having been separated from his parents as a child and sent to school in Ottawa. He has since served as an MP and was instrumental in the agreements made with the Canadian government.

Almost immediately after his presentation bearded seals were spotted on an ice flow, followed by a second polar bear and numerous beluga whales. There was so much activity it was hard to know where to look. The bridge was buzzing with excitement as nearly all the guests and naturalists were in there, oohing and aahing at the different things we were seeing.

After lunch we all set out on zodiacs. The fun was definitely not over. We saw the second polar bear from the morning again and then found ourselves surrounded by beluga whales. All of a sudden an arctic fox was spotted walking along the shoreline. As we reluctantly left the action after a good period of observation, we spotted a large number of ivory gulls perched on a particularly picturesque iceberg, and then a number of seals as we made our way back on board.

It was cold out, just below freezing, but I don’t think any of us really noticed – we were out on the zodiacs for about two hours. Jonathon, the naturalist driving our boat joked that he needed to go and lie down in a darkened room to take it all in. Definitely the most activity he had ever experienced in one day in the Arctic.

After recap and dinner we attended a great session in the Ice Lounge. Several guests had given up to two of their favourite photos to the photography team. They showed the photos (anonymously) and provided feedback on what worked and what could be done to improve the shot. There have certainly been some fabulous photos taken on this trip so far.

 

Monday 2 September: Makinson Fjord, Smith Sound, Ellesmere Island – Roger

We awoke today parked in Pillir Avijuk Bay, well inside the Makinson Inlet. After breakfast we boarded the zodiacs and headed south a few kilometres to a nice landing area. As was usual, the staff had scouted the area to ensure there were no polar bears around. We headed off with the long walk group, lead by Erland. Jonathan the other guide was waiting up on the hill watching four Arctic hares. These pure white bunnies really stand out amongst the golden and brown foliage. They seemed to be oblivious to a pack of 2 legged Homo sapiens bunched together, heading up the hill towards them.

After a few long range photos, most of us moved on, while a small group stayed with Jonathan to move in and get some closer pictures. While heading up the valley behind the hares Erland spotted some Arctic geese on a hill across the valley to our west. There have obviously been a lot of musk ox on this area. We saw plenty of scat and even a skull, but no animals today.  As we headed down into the valley a call came over the radio that a bear had been spotted to the east and we should head back to the zodiacs. Eventually the bear decided to go swimming and the alert was called off. When we got up on the hill it appeared the geese had moved on. As we made our way down hill we eventually spotted the geese some distance to our rear. They had been hidden by a ridge. We headed towards them for another 10 minutes and got some long range photos, then headed back to the shore. It all made for a relaxing 7km walk.

After another delicious lunch we relaxed as the ship got underway, heading back out the inlet with intention of heading further north. Apparently the Expedition Leader has said we can’t go swimming until we are above 80 degrees north.

Mid afternoon we had a talk from Anne Hedlund, the ship’s chief diver, on how the ice and currents work around the Arctic, and the effect they have on the world’s oceans. As the planet goes through this warming phase it will have some effect on the oceans and where marine species live. Interestingly the ice cap on Ellesmere Island remains about the same depth and coverage as it was 12000 years ago during the last Ice Age.

We also heard a story of an Arctic fox that, with a tracker fitted to it, traveled over four thousand kilometres, leaving Svalbard and arriving on Ellesmere Island seventy nine days later.

 

Tuesday 3 September: At Sea – Northward into Smith Sound – Sylvia

It has been another stunning day in the Arctic. As we cruised ever northward, the ship would occasionally shudder as we crunched through large chunks of sea ice. We could see them float past the window with small red smears where a bit of paint from the ship had marked them.

After morning stretches and breakfast we met in the Ice lounge for a very interesting presentation from Dan about some of his archeological explorations. He contrasted two different peoples, one who ate polar bears, and one that hunted whales.

A little later a hooded seal was spotted, quite close to the edge of an ice floe near the ship.

Late morning Wade gave another presentation, this time about some of the early explorers in the Arctic, with an emphasis on Knud Rasmussen, a Danish explorer who spent many years in the Arctic. This led us up to lunch.

I was resting in the cabin after lunch and stepped out on the deck to take a photo of a particularly large iceberg. As I looked forward I spotted a polar bear on an ice floe and was about to head up to the bridge to let them know when the call came over the speaker. We watched for a while as the bear swam between ice floes, then headed back to the Ice Lounge for a presentation from Ralph on photography. Before he started, two more bears were spotted. This time a mother and cub. They swam quite some distance before climbing out onto an ice floe and giving us all some great views.

Back to the lounge to enjoy Ralph’s presentation. He was about three quarters of the way through when a fourth bear was sighted. This one was on a very large ice floe. He looked extremely well fed.  The captain guided the ship slowly closer until we were nosed right in to the floe, still some distance from the bear, who ambled along stopping every now and then to sniff at ice holes. A seal lay on the ice some distance away. Eventually the bear lay down beside one of the ice holes.

At 4pm we were invited to a special afternoon tea in the laundry room. This was the beginning of a very insightful visit behind the scenes of this impressive ship. We were able to visit the laundry, the control room, the engine room, the garage where all the zodiacs and kayaks are stored and the asi pods. The crew were super friendly and enthusiastic and patiently answered all our questions.

The bear was still sitting by the ice hole when we were done with the tour. The light has been amazing and the water like glass. I did several laps of the upper deck, enjoying the views and checking on the bear each time I got to the bow.

At 6pm we headed back to the lounge for recap and a briefing on tomorrow. Apparently we are going to stay here overnight and will make our way slowly further north in the morning.

We had a lovely dinner, once again enjoying the company of Mary and Jan, from Canada. We sat and chatted for quite a while before heading back up to the observation deck to do a few more laps and enjoy the incredible light conditions as the sun started to set. The polar bear hasn’t moved.

 

Wednesday 4 September: Nares Strait

It was around 0600 when we got underway, the ship vibrating and crunching its way through the ice. The plan I had seen the navigation officer draw up yesterday had us on a course for Hand Island in the Kennedy Channel, then west to Carl River Bay on Ellesmere Island, just below 81 degrees north. It was around 0800 when Bud announced that we had just crossed 80 degrees north, and that this was as far as we are going, as the Canadian Coast Guard had denied us permission to go further.

Kayaking or Zodiac trips were offered, followed by a swim. Grease ice is setting on the flat sea water making for perfect polar plunge conditions. I opted for the zodiac cruse Sylvia for a kayak. We headed out, 8 to a boat, cruising the smooth water among the many picturesque ice sculptures. We saw a black guillemot and some bear tracks on one of the many ice floes, mainly spending our time captivated by the spectacular scenery, which just can’t be fully captured on film.

Back on board we togged up and headed back down to Base Camp on deck 3 for the swim (well some did). It was a quick dive in, swim back to the kayak launching pad, and out. A refreshingly enjoyable experience. This was followed by a sauna.

At 1415 Dr Emmett Clarkin, one of the two dive team members on board, gave a talk on diving, both in the Arctic and Antarctic areas. Lindblad and National Geographic contribute extensively to various research projects world wide. Emmett ran through some of the equipment they use with Anne Hedlund, the other diver and underwater expert, fronted up in full dive gear, including drysuit, regulator and camera. An underwater drone that can go to 300m depth was also on display. It is really impressive the number of experts they have onboard these trips imparting knowledge on everything related to this and other parts of the world.

This evening we had another session where some of the photography experts on board reviewed and critiqued some of the guests’ photographs. Outside the light conditions were outstanding so we had an opportunity to go and practice what we had learned.