Just back from a week on the good ship Origo, breaking ice and exploring Svalbard's waters. In search of Polar Bears of course, and yes, we were successful. We had two separate viewings, the first from a distance, a mother and young one near their Seal kill from the evening before. We attempted to get closer through the ice but the ice started to close around us and the captain wasn't happy so regrettably we had to back out of the ice, but not after firing off some shots at least. A bird flew over and the mother, ever alert, looked up and sideways and then, with the noise of Origo in reverse, the two took off across the ice and we were unable to find them later.
Our second viewing was during breakfast a few days later. The bridge had called us up out of bed earlier, around 6.30am, and we all rushed up on board but were unable to find the captain's Polar Bear. We gave up and sat down to breakfast at 8am, but part way through breakfast someone saw our Polar Bear coming up out of the water and onto the ice. Of course no-one caught that on camera, but we were all up on deck pretty quickly and had a great session, firing away as the Polar Bear, probably a two year old male, advanced toward the ship. It looked as if we were going to get a paws on the side of the ship shot, but one of our group accidently banged their tripod on the railing and our Bear ran off in alarm, occasionally rolling in the snow when it was further away. Needless to say, everyone was disappointed and one person very embarassed, but it was pure magic while it lasted!
The sea ice stopped us from heading around the top of the islands and exploring the eastern side but we spent the week exploring the fjords on the western side. The ice landscape was enchanting and it was impossible not to try your hand at landscape photography. Having said that, we didn't see as impressive ice sculptures as we have seen in Antarctica but we believe it is possible to see these in some of the fjords further north. There were many sea and migratory birds, fabulous Walrus and Seals and it's a very impressive one week trip, we saw a lot, compared to Antarctica for which you need three weeks.
Please keep an eye out for a full trip report plus additional photos which will be on this website within the next 10 days and we are researching a return trip for June 2009 or 2010 in a small vessel, either to Svalbard or to Greenland or both so please let us know if you are interested in principle, as we will only be taking a very small group.
All the best.
Julie and Adam
Svalbard - Spitsberg: Polar Bears and Ice - June 2008
