A A u Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land u f

Jul 25th 2015 - Aug 7th 2015 f 14 days / 13 nights K K Itinerary description u u Day 1. Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, embarking. rs rs Longyearbyen is the main settlement of the Norwegian Spitsbergen archipelago.This Arctic town located at 78° north, is one of the world’s northernmost communities and boast of being even the ! worlds northernmost town. It has approximately 2000 inhabitants and is a modern place with a ! wide range of facilities such as a supermarket, outdoor shops, several pubs and hotels. Before I embarking there is an opportunity to stroll around this former mining town, whose parish church I n and Polar Museum are well worth visiting. In the early evening the ship will sail out of Isfjorden. n s s Day 2. 14th of July Glacier, Krossfjord, Spitsbergen. e e Today we plan to have Zodiac tour to the sparkling 14th of July Glacier at Krossfjord.Weather l permits we’ll land right onto the glacier for a great walking tour. l r r e Day 3. Victoria Island. e i We will explore Victoria Island with its large population of walruses. Naturalists are not the only i s creatures attracted here by these Arctic animals - polar bears visit the area frequently to have their s

“walrus dinner”.We hope to meet them both here while cruising near on our Zodiacs. e e n Day 4. Bell Island – Cape Flora, Nordbrook Island, Franz Josef Land. n We expect to reach Franz Josef Land archipelago this morning. A landing is planned on Bell Island to visit the house built by Lee Smith expedition in 1881. Let’s go on learning history of Arctic discoveries during our landing at Cape Flora on Nordbrook Island, discovered by Lee Smith expedition in 1880.They had to winter on this island after the steam yacht "Aira" had been crushed by ice and sunk near the coast. Jackson expedition (1894- 1897) dwelled here longer than any other one and made a major contribution to the exploration of the archipelago. In 1897 a memorable meeting of Jackson and Nansen took place on the island. Several memorial steles were erected on the island to commemorate the daring Arctic explorers. A huge sea birds colony finds home on the cliffs towering over the southern side of Cape Flora.

Day 5. Tikhaya Bay, Hooker Island, Franz Josef Land. Today we explore Tikhaya Bay on Hooker Island.There is a huge cliff in the bay, the famous Rubini Rock, the home to thousands of sea birds.We will try to approach the cliff as close as possible, but very cautiously in order to watch kittiwakes and other Arctic birds without disturbing them.There is a derelict polar station in the bay.Weather permitting, we will go ashore.

Day 6. Cape Norway, Jackson Island, Franz Josef Land. During the night we sail to Cape Norway on Jackson Island. In 1895-1896 Nansen and Johansen wintered here for over 7 months, after a failed attempt to conquer the North Pole.

Day 7. Stolichky and Appolonov Islands, Franz Josef Land. We are at Stolichky and Appolonov Islands. Our expedition activities here are highly dependant on weather and ice conditions. If we are lucky to have favourable conditions we plan a Zodiac trip near DetailprogrammDetailprogramm A A u the islands.The main attraction of the islands is walrus rookeries. Our Zodiac drivers will do their u best to get to the rookeries as close as possible. f f Day 8. Cape Heller, Wilczek Land Island, Franz Josef Land. K K Today we plan a landing at Cape Heller on Wilczek Land Island. In 1899 two sailors, members of the u Welle expedition wintered there, waiting for the core of the group that was trying to conquer the u North Pole. As everywhere on Franz Josef Land, we are very likely to witness Polar bears and sea rs

mammals. rs

Day 9. Champ Island, Franz Josef Land. ! ! Our goal is Champ Island in the very center of the archipelago.The landscape here is majestic: the I cliffs and ice-capped mountains are the highest on the archipelago.We are to land onto the island I n to see the remarkable creations of the Mother Nature: the stones of ideal spherical shape (up to 3 n m of diameter). s s e Day 10. Alger Island – Cape Tegetthoff, Hall Island, Franz Josef Land. e l At Alger Island we plan to land at the wintering place of the American Arctic expedition headed by l r A. Baldwin. If the weather is calm, we will lower Zodiac crafts and dodge among drifting icebergs in r e order to admire the view, and to take pictures of these majestic giants from the very sea level. e If time permits, we might spend evening at Cape Tegetthoff, Hall Island.The island sights are very i impressive: huge cliffs resembling dorsal fins of gigantic sharks submerge into the depths.The i s remains of the wooden structures built by the Wellman expedition (1898-1899) add colors to the s e

vivid panorama. e n Day 11. Kvitoya Island, Spitsbergen. n If the weather is on our side today we’ll try landing on Kvitoya Island. It is almost completely ice- covered (White Island) and belongs to the Northeast Svalbard Nature Reserve. On the ice-free parts there are moss beds which can be very colorful. Arctic terns and some other birds breed here. Polar bears and walrus are frequent visitors in this area.

Day 12. Sjuoyane Islands. If the weather and ice conditions are favourable we plan a landing in the region of Sjuoyane Islands.We plan to visit the island of Rossoya, the northernmost point of Norway.

Day 13. Lagoya – Phippsoya, Spitsbergen. Today morning we plan to visit Lagoya, a flat island covered with glacial moraine, rocks of every size and type. Lagoya also serves as a summer resort for walruses. Sometimes they look like a field of rocks. Lagoya (Low Island) is an island off the northwestern coast of Nordaustland in Svalbard. Lagoya is uninhabited island, perfect for walrus to haul out and rest at its shore. We also plan landing at Phippsoya, in the Seven Islands north of Nordaustlandet. Here we will be at 81 degrees north, just 540 miles from the geographic North Pole.The island is named after the English explorer Constantine John Phipps, who commanded two bomb vessels on an expedition to Svalbard in 1773. Polar Bear inhabit this region, along with Walrus and Ivory Gull.We may sit for several hours in the pack ice, taking in our spectacular surroundings with their own wildlife.

Day 14.Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, disembarking. Our adventure ends in the port of Longyearbyen.We disembark after breakfast and go to the airport for flight home. DetailprogrammDetailprogramm