If you’re the kind of person who is lured by adventure and actively seeks to avoid the kitsch and crowds of overhyped tourist areas, we encourage you to consider venturing off the beaten path to visit one of the most isolated places on Earth.
Stark and scenically beautiful, Norway’s Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard encompasses an untamed wilderness shrouded with majestic glaciers, spectacular ice-carved fjords, alpine trees, wind-swept tundra blooming with boreal and arctic wildflowers and jagged snow-crowned mountains. Toss into this mix a rich assortment of arctic wildlife, along with remnants of ancient whaling stations and abandoned mining towns, and here you will discover a place that has been fascinating intrepid travellers for a long time. By far, the best way to explore these pristine environs is by polar expedition cruise ship.
First mentioned in Icelandic literature as far back as the 12th century, the word “Svalbard” translates to “cold coast.” Today, nearly two thirds of Svalbard’s nine main islands are protected through designated national parks, nature reserves, and bird sanctuaries. Despite its high Arctic location, Svalbard’s mild climate has been described as an “Arctic desert” due to its milder temperatures, low humidity, and its 20-30-centimetre annual snowfall and rain.
Svalbard’s Western coastline is the world’s northernmost ice-free area due to the comparative warmth of the Gulf Stream flowing northward along the Norwegian coast and around Svalbard. Average summer temperature is 5.5ºC. While there is little rainfall during the summer months, moist sea air can generate considerable variations of fog and light mist.
Summertime also signals the return of the “midnight sun,” or 24 hours of daylight, which is the optimal season for Arctic wildlife viewing in Svalbard.
Lying approximately 930 kilometres north of Norway’s mainland, and 1,313 kilometres south of the North Pole, Svalbard’s largest island, Spitsbergen, is home to a former coal-mining frontier settlement called Longyearbyen. Apart from being the world’s largest and northernmost year-round inhabited town with approximately 2,400 residents, Longyearbyen is also Svalbard’s capital, cultural and commercial centre. This modern coastal community also serves an embarkation point for polar expedition cruise ships.
For our trip, we signed on with PolarQuest, a world-renown Swedish small ship expedition company that has been hosting passengers aboard three expedition ships since 1999. These comfortable vessels were purposefully built and designed for polar expedition cruising in remote, ice-choked, fjords.
What sets polar expedition cruises apart from large cruise ships is that rather than visiting curio shops or museums during shore visits, in the high Arctic, all activities are centered around exploring abandoned outposts, old mining towns and seeking out benign encounters with wildlife.
The planned itinerary is fluid and subject to abrupt change to adjust for weather changes, sea conditions and wildlife encounters. Sometimes you might be woken up in the middle of the bright night, if a polar bear has been spotted on the ice.
We spent 10 days aboard MV/S Quest, which at 43 metres long, can carry a maximum of 53 passengers roomed in 26 modern cabins, all with sea-views and private ensuite bathrooms. While onboard, the dress code is relaxed and informal. The dining room menu offers delicious and varied gourmet meals. The service provided by Quest’s international crew is exceptional. Truly, they go above and beyond to ensure guest comfort. Throughout the cruise we were entertained and educated about Svalbard’s flora and fauna through short lectures from polar naturalist guides and subject matter experts in the ship’s 300-degree panoramic lounge and bar.
Shore hikes, photography and wildlife viewing are the primary draws on polar expedition cruises. Guests were sorted into five groups before boarding Zodiacs that ferry everyone to shore for multiple daily shore excursions at different locations. During all onshore activities away from any settlements, safety is assured by experienced armed guides who carry radios and rifles to fire off a warning shot, if necessary.
Polar bears do not usually attack humans but can be aggressive when provoked, and an encounter with a determined bear in open terrain can be lethal. Hence, if while on land a polar bear is spotted, all guests are safely ushered back into the Zodiacs. If the ship while cruising came upon a whale at 3 a.m., the expedition leader’s voice over the ship’s intercom would lull us from sleep to quietly tell us a whale has been sighted by the bridge crew and to bring our cameras and binoculars up on deck. Hence, we went to bed every night with our cameras locked and loaded by our bedside, ready to rush out on deck for the next incredible wildlife photo op!
Nothing in our previous experience could have prepared us for our multiple awe-inspiring close encounters with Arctic wildlife. Small herds of Svalbard reindeer roam freely over the tundra and appear to have made a strong recovery from the brink of extinction after being ruthlessly hunted here for more than six decades. Other than humans, these reindeer have no natural predators as polar bears would overheat if they tried to chase them. Inquisitive, and seemingly unconcerned by our presence, Arctic fox foraged on birds as we walked Svalbard’s shorelines.
Facing out towards Hinlopen Strait, the basalt cliffs at Alkefjellet, which roughly translates in English as “Bird Mountain,” tower like organ pipes more than 91 metres into the sky. These monolithic, sheer vertical cliffs are home to an estimated 200,000 Brünnich’s guillemots who breed in mixed colonies with black-legged kittiwakes wherever they can gain a foothold on narrow cliff ledges. More than 100 different bird species have been recorded here, along with the ever-present Glaucous gulls. Arctic foxes hunt along the boulders at the bottom of these cliffs for fallen eggs, chicks, and unaware adult birds.
Svalbard’s Arctic seas are also home to 19 species of marine mammals that include 12 whale species, five species of seals and White-beaked dolphins. Just over 400 years ago, tens of thousands of Greenland right whales and thousands of walruses were slaughtered to near extinction in the Svalbard archipelago by English and Dutch whalers. Remains of whaler’s graves and blubber ovens still dot the landscape in many places. Walruses haul out in groups on land and were noticeably alert when we approached from land. However, when they were in the water, they seem more emboldened. While known to be ferocious hunters, these carnivores prefer to dine on crabs, snails, sea cucumbers and shellfish using their whiskers to detect shellfish on the sea floor.
Polar bears are the most iconic Arctic species, and it is an exhilarating experience to observe them in their natural habitat. During the summer in Svalbard, polar bears forage for food on land, plundering birds’ nests, or searching near glacier fronts for seals that may be hauled out upon small pieces of glacier ice.
As polar bears are a protected species in Norway, it is forbidden to actively search for the bears. Accordingly, there are no land-based polar bear safaris companies in Svalbard. Even more surprising, encounters with the “King of the Arctic” during winter months here are exceedingly rare. Hence, the most opportune time to observe polar bears in the wild here is during summer polar expedition cruises to Svalbard’s more remote islands or out on the sea ice. It is here from the safe confines of a ship’s deck, or from aboard a Zodiac, guests can observe and photograph polar bears in their natural habitat from a safe distance that does not stress the bear, nor endanger the safety of guests.
One of the most surreal moments of our Expedition Svalbard adventure occurred off the Northern tip of Spitsbergen. Our ship had sailed several miles offshore to the edge of the drifting sea ice. It was here that the Zodiacs were launched, and we navigated between the sheets of floating sea ice looking for a safe place to land. The Arctic sun burned bright against a cerulean blue sky and a biting wind chilled the air as the Zodiacs pushed their bows up onto the sea ice. Here, more than 800 km inside the Arctic Circle, everybody disembarked from the Zodiacs to stand upon the sea ice. It was then that several people laid themselves down on the sea ice to make snow angels in the light layering of snow.
The southern fringe of the frozen Arctic Ocean is a wonder. No kitsch, no crowds, just the infinite beyond. A place on this blue planet that is simply beyond belief.
Jett and Kathryn Britnell are underwater, wildlife and expedition photographers, internationally published writers, explorers, scuba divers and public speakers. Both are Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, The Explorers Club and the Royal Geographical Society. Jett is presently serving a two-year term as Regional Director BC/Yukon in The Explorers Club’s Canadian Chapter.
IF YOU GO:
PolarQuest Expeditions
Visit Svalbard
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