Norwegian Fjords, Bear Island & Svalbard

Embark in the afternoon and set sail.

Over these days, we will explore the Vega Archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage site, a myriad of islands scattered in the Norwegian Sea and home to one of Norway’s largest eider duck colonies. We hope to visit the largest egg and eiderdown farm in Helgeland and the Coastal Museum to have a look at their motor collection and later make a brief visit to see the Vega Church in Gladstad. We then head north to cruise Vistenfjord and the Visten National Park, an incredibly varied wilderness, ranging from fjords to vast forests and towering mountains, where we can hike and take Zodiac excursions.

At the very southern end of the Lofoten Islands are bird cliffs that hold Norway’s largest colony of Atlanticpuffins, and also good numbers of kittiwakes, razorbills, black guillemots, shags, northern fulmars and white-tailed eagles. Storm petrels and leach petrels can also be seen, along with whimbrel, red-necked phalarope, Arctic skua, turnstone and Arctic tern. Slightly further north is Værøy and the charming village of Reine, before we head north again to explore the area of Tysfjord by land or Zodiac. This is the narrowest part of Norway and was formerly used by Sami reindeer herders of Sweden and Norway.

Then on to the Gjesværstappan Islands. We will use our Zodiacs to circumnavigate Storstappen, the largest of the islands, looking for European shags, common and Brünnich’s guillemots, black-legged kittiwakes, white-tailed sea-eagles and Europe’s largest Atlantic puffin colony. On the evening of day 5, we round North Cape with its impressive cliffs.

In Kirkenes, we can either drive southward into the Pasvik Valley sitting between Russia and Finland, to go for nature walks to observe the valley’s unique birds and plants, or head west along Munkefjord to visit Neiden, a small village near the Finnish/Norwegian border, and see Neiden church, St. George’s Chapel, and the Neiden Waterfall -and even briefly cross into Finland at Näätämö.

In the afternoon, as Silver Cloud sails through the Barents Sea towards Bear Island, a series of lectures will emphasise the special history and natural history of Norway’s Far North.

Close to 9 kilometres of cliffs are home to some of the largest bird colonies of the Northern Hemisphere. Common and Brünnich’s guillemots, black-legged kittiwakes, northern fulmars, and glaucous gulls are all found along the cliff. Other species have been observed, including Atlantic puffins and northern gannets.

Leaving Bear Island head out on deck to watch for whales -white-beaked dolphins and minke whales are known to frequent the area.

Our flexible itinerary is dependant on ice and weather conditions. We will travel to see walrus haul-outs, might see polar bears, reindeer, Arctic fox, whales or a bearded seal. Also myriad birds. We will go ice cruising by ship and Zodiac and devote at least one day to exploring the pack ice north of Spitsbergen. Conditions permitting, our Expedition Leader may choose to take us out in the Zodiacs for an even closer look.

Here are a few of the places we hope to visit:

Magdalenefjorden - where the remains of blubber ovens and a cemetery can still be seen.

Liefdefjorden - where we may encounter polar bears looking for bird’s eggs.

Monacobreen - for Zodiac cruise along the front of two different glaciers: Monacobreen and Seligerbreen. Monacobreen has a 5 kilometre long front and is a good place to look for seals, Black-legged Kittiwakes and Ivory Gulls.

Fjortende Julibreen – The 14th of July Bay is located at the entrance of Krossfjorden. Here we will go ashore for a hike up to the 14th of July Glacier.

Hornsund – This is the southernmost fjord on the rugged west coast of Spitsbergen Island. Jagged mountain peaks tower above glacier-filled bays. Amidst floating icebergs, we will watch for bearded seals, the beluga whale and the king of the Arctic – the polar bear. Sightings are fairly common as the polar bear’s favourite food, the ringed seal, breeds in the fjord. The surrounding bird cliffs are home to thousands of pairs of nesting Little Auks. We may visit the remains of whaling stations and trappers’ huts.

Arrive and disembark