ALEUTIAN ISLAND & KAMCHATKA BOUTIQUE EXPEDITION CRUISE

Escape from routine on our boutique ship as it voyages to isolated and vast uninhabited regions of the northern Pacific. Navigating the oceanic islands of the northern Pacific Ring of Fire - Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands in Russia and the of - we discover the unique geothermal hotspot where new species of whale have been found. From prolific birdlife in the to the abundant wildlife of the tundra regions, we get to see flora and fauna like nowhere else on earth as we land on shores where only a few intrepid travellers and indigenous peoples have been before.

ITINERARY

DAY 1, NOME Nome is the most famous gold rush town in Alaska (the town’s welcome sign is marked on the state’s largest gold pan). This wind-swept tundra landscape is a haven for wildflowers. Hardy muskoxen forage, bear and caribou roam, and the mountain streams provide a freshwater habitat for spawning wild Alaskan salmon. Excursions include mushing, panning for gold on the beaches and trips to the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve.

DAY 2, NUNAM IQUA, ALASKA Previously known as Sheldon Point, Nunam Iqua (a Yupik name meaning ‘land’s end’) - with a small population of less than 200 people - lies on the Yukon River to the east of the Yukon National Wildlife Refuge where Canadian lynx and wolf packs roam. This coastal region on the sees mulchatna caribiu herd migrate to the tundra during autumn and winter. As we pass through the waters keep your eyes open for beluga,

01432 507 280 (within UK) [email protected] | small-cruise-ships.com gray and minke whales. Known as the ‘Galapagos of the North’ with millions of migratory birds each year coming to nest on its basalt cliffs, on St George DAY 3, KANGIRLVAR BAY, ALASKA Island you can encounter more than 200 species of birds. To the east of Nelson Island in southwestern Alaska, Kangirlvar Watch out for orca that watch for fur seals along the coastline Bay faces the Bering Sea and is home to the native Yupiit who and a new species of beaked whale, beradius beringiae, survive on a traditional diet of fishing and hunting musk ox and discovered near the island in 2016. The island is also a huge caribou. This area is an important autumn staging post for breeding ground for red-legged kittiwakes, while on land arctic shorebirds such as bar-tailed godwits and bristle-thighed fox will make your heart leap. curlew. The Ningaluk river separates this area from the Alaska mainland to the north, by the Kolavinarek river to the east and DAY 7, by the Etolin Strait to its southwest. This island’s volcano last erupted in 1796 but activity on the island since has been confined to being a rich outpost of DAY 4, CAPE NEWENHAM birdlife in the Aleutians to the north of the Alaska Peninsula. A former Air Force Station built to provide the United States with From the red-faced cormorant and golden eagle to the black early warning of attack by the Soviet Union, Cape Newenham oystercatcher, this uninhabited island northwest of Cold Bay is a today is a more relaxed state game refuge and estuary. A glorious base for a huge variety of species. Seals may bark a stopping ground for thousands of ducks, geese and shorebirds welcome on your approach, and do search nearby for sea to and from nesting grounds further north, you can see black otters. brant feed on eelgrass. Emperor Geese, taverner's canada geese and red-breasted merganser also refuel here. In the bay DAY 8, AKUTAN, watch for brown bears scavenging the beaches. Mount Akutan volcano had a relatively recent major lava eruption in 1979 but it is, of course, mostly tranquil on Akutan DAY 5, ST PAUL ISLAND, ALASKA Island, in the group of the eastern Aleutian Islands. The island fictionalised in a scene of Rudyard Kipling’s story The A magnet for birds such as the northern pintail and pacific White Seal and poem ‘Lukannon’ in The Jungle Book, St Paul golden- plover, on the nearby , you can see the Island is the largest of the Pribilof Islands. It is a birding whiskered auklet, one of only two places it exists in the world. migratory capital - part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Akutan itself is a city set in a green and tan valley surrounded Refuge - and it is a breeding ground for more than half a million by snow-capped mountains. northern fur seals. The landscape is craggy and uneven with sheer cliffs in a few headlands. Until c. 3,750 BC, the Woolly DAY 9, DUTCH HARBOR, ALASKA mammoth roamed these plains. A mile-long spit on in the Fox Islands, Dutch Harbor was one of the few sites to suffer from aerial DAY 6, ST GEORGE ISLAND, ALASKA bombardment in World War II and you can still see concrete

01432 507 280 (within UK) [email protected] | small-cruise-ships.com bunkers and former gun emplacements. The native Aleut people lapland longspur and Aleutian Canada goose. have inhabited this area for around 9,000 years but the strong influence of the Russian Orthodox Church can be seen in the DAY 13, AT SEA characteristic onion domes. The sprightly arctic fox and As you cruise to your next port of call, spend the day at sea bright-beaked horned and tufted puffins are all residents here. savouring the ship’s facilities and learning about your destination’s many facets from the knowledgeable onboard DAY 10, AT SEA experts. Listen to an enriching talk, indulge in a relaxing As you cruise to your next port of call, spend the day at sea treatment at the spa, work out in the well-equipped gym, enjoy savouring the ship’s facilities and learning about your some down- time in your cabin, share travel reminiscences with destination’s many facets from the knowledgeable onboard newly found friends: the options are numerous. experts. Listen to an enriching talk, indulge in a relaxing treatment at the spa, work out in the well-equipped gym, enjoy DAY 14, PETROPAVLOVSK (KAMCHATSKY) some down- time in your cabin, share travel reminiscences with With a backdrop of conical-shaped, snow-capped volcanoes, newly found friends: the options are numerous. the rustic Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy is the main city of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Nearby Avacha Bay is considered one of DAY 11, HARBOR, ALASKA the world’s most picturesque bays, dubbed by UNESCO as The site of one of Japan’s few American toeholds during World being in “one of the most outstanding volcanic regions in the War II, Kiska Island was held for more than a year in world”. A visit to the iconic Three Brothers sea stacks, where 1942–1943 as a naval base. Stark relics of that time such as Steller sea lions bask, or to the dramatic volcanic area with artillery guns, a Shinto shrine, bullet casings and ruined piers geysers, craters and active calderas is an unforgettable treat. can still be seen. The striking cliffs of Sirius Point are visited by large numbers of least and crested auklets, while keeping alert DAY 15, RUSSKAYA BAY & UTASHUD ISLAND for the distinct black-footed albatrosses, ptarmigans and bald On the southeast coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Bukhta eagles. Russkaya is a deep, narrow fjord-like bay with a long and interesting history. Here along the southeast shore, Itelmen DAY 12, , ALASKA tribes settled and archaeological evidence has been found here A site of great historical significance, Attu Island was the from the remains of dwellings to tools and arrowheads. Orca location of the only World War II land battle fought in the United and sea otters pop up above the water’s surface, but the main States. More than 3,500 hundred American and Japanese attraction is the rookery of hefty sea lions and pups that haul soldiers died at Massacre Bay on the southeastern coast. Now out at nearby Kekurny Cape. a birders’ paradise, it is the setting for the movie, The Big Year - starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson as avid DAY 16, ATLASOVA ISLAND ornithologists – and you can spot soaring peregrine falcons,

01432 507 280 (within UK) [email protected] | small-cruise-ships.com The highest volcano in the Kuril Islands volcanic archipelago, northern fur seals - the largest species of seal - who gather here Vulkan Alaid rises to 2,340m above black lava beaches where on overcrowded beaches. Our cruise coincides with breeding you might spot shorebirds and waders, such as long-toed stint, season in the Sea of Okhotsk, so we should get to see black fur Eurasian wigeons, black and white-winged scoters, harlequin pups being nursed in these dense rookeries. Equally prolific are and tufted ducks, Red-faced cormorants clinging to the cliffs seabirds: tufted puffins, crested auklets, Pallas’ warbler to name complete the scene. This remote island was also the site of a a few. gulag - labour camp - for women political prisoners in the Soviet era who were sent here to raise foxes for fur. DAY 20, KORSAKOV Our ship docks off Korsakov, a port city on the south coast of DAY 17, YANKICHA ISLAND & KETOY ISLAND Sakhalin Island - Russia’s largest island - in the Pacific Ocean. A highlight of the Kuril Islands, the flooded caldera surrounded From here, most passengers take the short trip to by emerald green peaks is the summit of a submerged volcano Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the island capital. Between 1905 and where the lagoon waters bubble and fumaroles plume around 1945, Japan ruled this part of the island and the mix of the perimeter. And if hiking around this beauty spot is not architecture is evident, while the local Korsakov museum enough, then a chance to catch sight of alcids - Brunnich’s, documents this turbulent period. common and pigeon guillemots, crested and whiskered auklets, tufted and horned puffins - that breed here are an added DAY 21, OTARU bonus, especially as night falls and they swarm in their An important port on Hokkaido - Japan’s northernmost island - thousands. Otaru retains much of its original architecture. Restored warehouses along its picturesque canal, lined with Victorian DAY 18, CHIRPOY ISLAND street lamps, have been converted into restaurants and This uninhabited volcanic island, part of the Kuril Islands, is boutiques selling sake, music boxes and renowned Otaru glass. heaven-on-earth for seabird-watchers. Dramatic black lava cliffs Built on the herring industry, its trading history is evident from provide roosting areas for black-legged kittiwakes and the terminal station of Hokkaido’s first railway line to the Herring Brunnich’s guillemots, among many others, as sea lions drag Mansion on the outskirts of town, once owned by rich herring themselves onto the beaches below. Climbing to Vulkan fishermen. Chernoga, the highest point on the island at 691m, gives hikers a panoramic view over the island, and on a good day across Please Note: towards nearby islands that form a caldera about 9km wide. Itineraries are subject to change.

DAY 19, TYULENIY ISLAND Tyuleniy means “seal” in Russian, so it is hardly surprising to see steller sea lions cohabiting with more than 100,000

01432 507 280 (within UK) [email protected] | small-cruise-ships.com YOUR SHIP: MINERVA

YOUR SHIP: Minerva >Your Wellbeing The safety & happiness of the guests is paramount to the VESSEL TYPE: 120-strong crew on board as well as the passionate expedition LENGTH: team who'll be serving up thrilling shore excursions and lasting PASSENGER CAPACITY: memories. Cabin Types BUILT/REFURBISHED: The 76 cabins including 6 suites have all the amenities you will need to feel comfortable including dressing gowns, hairdryers, personal safes and minibars. The stylish cabins all have desks, The 5 star elegant Scandi-design boutique ship offers you an a dressing area and comfy seating. En suite bathrooms all intimate setting from which you will be fully immersed in all the feature glass-enclosed rain showers. sights and scenery of your voyage. Introducing SH Minerva Minerva has been designed to journey to off the beaten path destinations and remote polar regions in style and comfort. The ship incorporates a PC5 ice-strengthened hull combined with extra-large stabilisers to make your journey as smooth as possible. Sophisticated Elegance We know how important outdoor space is, so our spacious, relaxing public spaces provide wide open, unobstructed views throughout the ship. The destination will always be in view.

01432 507 280 (within UK) [email protected] | small-cruise-ships.com INSIDE YOUR SHIP

Balcony. From Oceanview

Premium Suite Suite

01432 507 280 (within UK) [email protected] | small-cruise-ships.com PRICING

20-Aug-2022 to 09-Sep-2022 Balcony. From £18405 GBP pp Oceanview £16655 GBP pp Suite £24145 GBP pp Premium Suite £27745 GBP pp

01432 507 280 (within UK) [email protected] | small-cruise-ships.com