Baffin Island & Greenland 8

John from Wildfoot travelled in August from Iqaluit on Baffin Island to Kangerlussuaq in Greenland on one of the company’s Arctic Cruises to Greenland. This is a log of his experiences.

 

day 9a

Day 9

 

Woke this morning with the sun streaming thought the window, which was brilliant, since we were off on the zodiacs for a pre-breakfast cruise at 06.30. We thought yesterday’s icebergs were big but today we are at their actual source at Ilulissat, where they have broken away from the Jacobshavn Glacier and come away in massive chunks into the Davis Strait. We cruised around in the early morning sunshine for about 90 minutes amongst these massive bergs – truly amazing.

day 9c

After breakfast, we zodiaced into the port itself and went off for a walk. Ilulissat is a world heritage site and after walking about 3km, we found out why. We came to a spot overlooking the point at which the Jacobshaven glacier spews out its ice into the bay. I have seen many beautiful sites but this has to rank with the most spectacular, just a magical sight, with bergs and brash ice moving surprisingly quickly with the current, especially in the sunshine against a deep blue sky. This glacier is moving at a metre an hour.

day 9b

Then, a wander around town with a look in the supermarket and the one souvenir shop open this Sunday morning and then into the very well laid out and interesting museum.

 

Not much wildlife today. Those in one of the zodiacs this morning spotted a pair of humpback whales, but the best we have seen is more Icelandic Gulls, fulmars, wheatears and snow buntings. Not sure if dogs count as wildlife, but we walked past a massive open area where all the sled dogs are kept during the summer. Hundreds of them there with cute pups too, but very noisy and a bit smelly too!

day 9d

Back to the ship for a barbecue lunch on deck in the sunshine whilst sailing out past those magnificent bergs again – running out of superlative adjectives!

 

There is a pair of cameramen/presenters from the Canadian Weather Channel on board. They have been filming each day and having fun too – today’s combination of elements has made them very happy!

 

Lectures today included another by our resident historian, this time about the explorer John Ross, who added to the knowledge of Arctic Canada in the early 19th century whilst seeking the elusive northwest passage – his certainly wasn’t a luxury Arctic cruise!

 

During dinner this evening, there was a call for whales and over the next half hour, we saw several humpbacks at binocular distance from the ship with great displays of blows and flukes.

Baffin Island & Greenland 6

John from Wildfoot travelled in August from Iqaluit on Baffin Island to Kangerlussuaq in Greenland on one of the company’s Arctic ship adventures to the Canadian Arctic. This is a log of his experiences.

 

day 6d

Day 6

 

This morning at 08.45, our Arctic ship adventure continued as we crossed the Arctic Circle, celebrated by a deafening blast of the ship’s foghorn and a group picture on the bow of the ship.

 

Then, into the zodiacs and off to the shore. We are in Sunshine Fjord, just round from Cape Dyer. Today I joined a group on a quite strenuous 2 hour walk to the top of the nearest hill and back again. Walking on springy tundra with lots of beautiful wildflowers and lichens and then down to a mountain stream, clambering over rocks as we followed it back to the sea. At last I have walked off a little of all that super food and drink we are enjoying on board.

day 6c

Now we leave Baffin Island and Arctic Canada and move into the Davis Strait for our crossing into Greenland  waters.

day 6b

Day 7

 

Our first day fully at sea and an hour less on the time zones to GMT-4.

 

Turned out to be quite a busy day with lots of presentations, chief of which was actually by one of our fellow passengers. Matthias Breiter is a well known naturalist (of German origin but has lived for years in Alaska) who has written books on northern bears with some of the most amazing photographs. Bears are his speciality and he gave us an hour’s talk based on a lecture he had given to the Smithsonian in Washington. Really gripping and superbly illustrated, including comment on the hybrid bears resulting from grizzlies mating with young female polar bears.

day 11a

Other lectures too, on early mapping of the Arctic by theorists and explorers and also on the science of glaciers.

 

We are sailing slowly today on exceptionally calm seas so that we can arrive at Disko Island in Greenland first thing in the morning, having lost yet another hour.

day 6e

Baffin Island & Greenland 5

John from Wildfoot travelled in August from Iqaluit on Baffin Island to Kangerlussuaq in Greenland on one of the company’s Arctic wildlife cruises. This is a log of his experiences.

 

day 5a

Day 5

 

Woken at 0615 with the call of ‘polar bear on the ice’. Quickly pulled on clothes and up to the bridge, and there she was posing for us, moving across the sea ice, stopping, jumping, and all for our cameras. Then, a few minutes later as we drifted, there were more, including a mother with two cubs trying to make distance between her and a big male on the next floe. What a super start to the day.

day 5c

After breakfast, we had a talk from Katie, one of our historians on board, about the Arctic and the Vikings – all very interesting. Later, as we reached Cape Mercy in millpond conditions and under a bright blue sky, we boarded zodiacs for a cruise in the sea ice, which was amazing, getting really close to ice floes of all shapes and different hues of blue. We even drove the zodiac up on to the ice at one point and all climbed out to take photographs of each other with the ship way in the background.

day 5b

In the afternoon, I went down to a photography workshop to see if there was some way I could learn enough to improve my efforts. We spent 15 mins on theory and then went out on deck for practical. Trouble was that that was just as we came across another polar bear on the ice, this time one with a kill, a seal, which he was busy devouring. Lots of shots here and we’ll have reconvene the workshop tomorrow. One of my other ambitions here in the Arctic was also realised when we saw an Ivory Gull standing waiting to grab his share of the kill too. This gull is one of the rarest of the Arctic species these days, rarer even than polar bears. Also saw a flight of Brunnich’s Guillemots (they’re called thick-billed murres around here), another must see Arctic species plus fulmars and our first Icelandic gulls. What a great day for Arctic wildlife viewing. All followed by afternoon tea on deck with drinks laced with Amaretto or Baileys – not really my cup of tea!

day 5d

Later on, we had a presentation from a professional photographer on board who is just completing a 7 year project to photograph real people around the Arctic Circle. Some super images, which will be published in book form next year and probably online too. When we cross the line for the first time tomorrow, he plans to have all of us pictured for the book too!

 

An evening chat after dinner about the importance of gin and other alcohol to the early British explorers in this region!

Join us at The Rutland Birdfair – Friday 21st to Sunday 24th August 2015

Wildfoot (born from Antarctica Bound and Arctic Bound) are delighted to once again be attending and exhibiting at the world famous Rutland Birdfair this year.

You can find us in Marquee 2, stand 1 – our usual spot.

Every year we meet wonderful people who have the same passion for birding and wildlife as we do and it gives us great pleasure to be involved in what is commonly known as “The Birdwatcher’s Glastonbury”!

It gives us even greater pleasure to announce that this year we are even more involved than usual. Alongside our usual mix of special offers available exclusively to Birdfair attendees, including an introduction to our new regions – Galapagos & Ecuador, Costa Rica and Brazilian Pantanal in South America and Botswana, Namibia and Zambia in Africa – we are also holding a free to enter prize draw giving attendees the chance to win the latest Opticron Discovery binoculars!

This year we are also sponsoring (along with our special expedition Partners, Zegrahm) a lecture which will take place Friday 21st August at 2.30pm in Lecture Marquee 2. The talk will be provided by wildlife expert and renowned author Mark Brazil and will cover Mark’s extensive knowledge and experience of the intriguing and wonderful wildlife of South Georgia – an area particularly close to our hearts. Click here to read more about Mark Brazil and what to expect from his talk.

The biggest news, however, is that our partner Zegrahm Expeditions have donated one of this year’s top auction items. On offer to the lucky bidder this year is an incredible 16 day expedition for 2 people to Patagonia, the Falkland Islands and Cape Horn, worth over £13,000!

Antarctica Bound are the official UK partners for Zegrahm Expeditions and we are delighted to be able to represent them at the Birdfair with this fantastic auction piece.

About Rutland Birdfair

Due to our close working relationship with Tim Appleton, co-founder of Birdfair, Antarctica and Arctic Bound have been attending the Birdfair for many years and have found it to be a calendar highlight each year.

birdfair2

Tim has worked tirelessly throughout his career in nature conservation raising awareness and vital funds for conservation projects throughout the globe. To read more about Tim and the vital work he carries out click here.

Jointly organised by the Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust and the RSPB, one of the most important elements of Birdfair is the large sums of money that is raised each year in order to fund these vital conservation projects, the majority of which comes from the regular Birdfair Auction. This year all funds raised from the auction will go towards helping to stop millions of birds being illegally slaughtered in the Eastern Mediterranean – a subject which is of particular concern right now.

If you would like to attend this wonderful 3 day event you can obtain tickets from the Birdfair official website or if you would like any further information on what to expect then please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to chat.

At the Birdfair you can find us in Marquee 2, stand 1.