Svalbard - Glaciers and mud (Throwback post)

Zodiac, Svalbard

We awoke on Monday to find that we were passing the huge icy face of Brasvellbreen. Brasvellbreen means sudden advance, named after the ice surged into the sea in the late 1930s.

This glacier joins with the even larger Austfonna (eastern ice cap), and together they create a wall of ice that stretches for 180km, the longest in the Northern hemisphere. Although that was two years ago, and with the ongoing effects of climate change, it may be a bit shorter now; still pretty long though!

BBQ on deck, Svalbard

After breakfast, we passed by Bjornsundet, or Bear Island, where we did see a number of bears, but only from quite a distance. We had planned to land on the island of Wilhelmoya, but there were too many bears around for that to be safe, so we landed on the Spitsbergen mainland instead, next to the Hochstetterbreen glacier. I can't now remember why, but we decided not to do this landing, and thereby managed to avoid getting very muddy. There was a lot of mud to get through, and a few of the group even managed to leave a boot behind. The expedition team did a great job in rescuing people and wellies.

In the evening, while we had a slightly chilly BBQ on deck, and we got someone to take a quick photo of us with our main travelling companions.

Merlin, Svalbard

On Tuesday morning we found we had an additional passenger. The Merlin was taking a rest on deck, probably after a long flight. They are only very seldom recorded in this area, so it prompted a lot of interest from the birding fraternity.

We passed through Freemansundet, the narrow gap between Barentsoya and Edgeoya, and on to a landing at Diskobukta. And no, there was no seventies music or glitterballs.

Kittiwakes, Diskobukta, Svalbard

What they did have was thousands of kittiwakes nesting on the cliffs here, and more arctic foxes looking for a meal. It was nice to see a few cubs out today, learning to hunt for themselves.

As well as the wildlife here, we had the chance to find out a bit about the geology of the area, look at a few skeletal remains, and see a few of the tiny flowers that manage to grow here.

Diskobukta, Svalbard

Diskobukta, Svalbard

Diskobukta, Svalbard

Arctic fox cub, Diskobukta, Svalbard

Arctic fox cub, Diskobukta, Svalbard

Sperm whale, Svalbard

We started Wednesday around the Fram Strait, following the drop off to deeper water. catching sight of fin whales, white beaked dolphins and a sperm whale.


In the afternoon we landed at Hornsund, and took a walk on a glacier called Hansbreen.

Hansbreen glacier, Hornsund, Svalbard

When you see a glacier from a distance, it looks like a pretty solid block of ice, but up close, you can see that in fact it has many huge ravines and crevasses carving through it.


We were only on the edge of this one, and it was relatively smooth and level, but even here you could see how beautiful - and dangerous - they can be.

Hansbreen glacier, Hornsund, Svalbard

Mind you, on this occasion, it wasn't the ice that was catching people out, it was the mud on the way to it. There was a relatively narrow section that we had to pass across, which was incredibly muddy and slippery, and there was a reasonably large and steep drop to one side if you were to fall, and of course as we all went across it, it got muddier and even more slippery.

Kevin and others from the expedition team did a really excellent job of helping us all cross safely over. There were a few slips and falls, but nothing disastrous, albeit Kevin in particular looked like he had been wallowing in the mud by the time he had got us all back.

Hansbreen glacier, Hornsund, Svalbard

Hansbreen glacier, Hornsund, Svalbard

Hansbreen glacier, Hornsund, Svalbard

Hansbreen glacier, Hornsund, Svalbard

Hansbreen glacier, Hornsund, Svalbard

Svalbard

Towel art, Svalbard

Launceston, Tasmania

Albert Hall, Launceston, Tasmania

After Melbourne, we flew over to Launceston in Tasmania. We weren't hiring a car, and we didn't want to join lots of tours, so we knew we weren't going to see all of the sights - this was more an introduction to the two main cities.

Launceston, Tasmania

Launceston is quite an attractive city, with a mix of architecture from Victorian and Georgian, through Art Deco, and even on to a bit of Brutalist. It makes it a good place to walk around, and you can pick up a decent map of the heritage trail.

Launceston, Tasmania

Black Cow, Lucks Corner, Launceston, Tasmania

We were quite attracted by the Art Deco building on Lucks Corner, and were more attracted when we discovered it was now the Black Cow steak restaurant.

We felt we had to try it, but whilst it was fine, it wasn't the best steak - but then we are particularly fussy about our beef.

Customs House, Launceston, Tasmania

The city was settled back in 1806, and while it may not have the most exciting history, it does have a few claims of 'firsts'; it was the first Australian city to have underground sewers and hydro electric power, and it was first place in the Southern Hemisphere to use anaesthetic, apparently.

Launceston College, Launceston, Tasmania

Boags Brewery, Launceston, Tasmania

By lucky chance, a friend from Belgium, who we met in South America back in 2011, happened to be in Australia at this time, and we managed to find one evening where our schedules overlapped, so we met up here in Launceston. We went out to a rather good beer place called Saint John Craft Beer, which I would definitely recommend.

One the subject of beer, we did check out Boags Brewery, but while the place was interesting, the beers weren't especially to our taste.

Cataract Gorge, Launceston, Tasmania

To walk off those beers, we took a stroll up along the Cataract Gorge. We opted for the easy walk, which was a nice, mostly flat route along the riverside, rather than the one that takes you up the sides of the cliff.

Peacock, Cataract Gorge, Launceston, Tasmania

At the basin, there are some nice gardens, with a café, and free roaming wallabies and peacocks. If you want to, you can go for a swim, or you can take the longest single span chair lift in the world across the 308 metres to the other side, and carry on walking from there.

Overall, we quite liked Launceston for a short stop, and it would have been good as a base if we had been able to hire a car to get out to some of the local beauty spots.

Cataract Gorge, Launceston, Tasmania

Cataract Gorge, Launceston, Tasmania

Cataract Gorge, Launceston, Tasmania

Face in the rocks, Cataract Gorge, Launceston, Tasmania

Wallaby, Cataract Gorge, Launceston, Tasmania

Wallaby, Cataract Gorge, Launceston, Tasmania

Svalbard - a curious polar bear (Throwback post)

Polar Bear, Svalbard

Sunday would turn out to be the real highlight of our trip, with a fabulous sighting of a polar bear. This was our day for cruising along the edge of the pack ice, in the hope of finding a polar bear amongst the floes, for that classic polar bear on the ice opportunity.

Polar Bear, Svalbard

Polar Bear, Svalbard

Nic sadly wasn't feeling too good, but he hung on in there; after all, you don't want to come all this way and then miss seeing what you came for.


We started off with some harp seals that were having great fun diving around in the water, and of course the usual multitude of sea birds, and then suddenly the shout went up that a bear had been spotted on the ice in the distance.

Polar Bear, Svalbard

The captain gradually moved us in to where it was sleeping on the ice, careful to push his way through the floes without disturbing the bear.

It was slow going, but eventually we pulled up close enough to get a fantastic view of the huge creature. Because it was lying down, you could get a really good look at its enormous paws.

Polar Bear, Svalbard

Polar Bear, Svalbard

Unfortunately, at this point, Nic
reached the stage where mind over matter was no longer good enough, and he had to give in and return to the cabin.

At least he had seen the bear, and at this stage, being disappointed not to spend longer watching it was not his main concern.

Polar Bear, Svalbard

Polar Bear, Svalbard

Polar Bear, Svalbard

Polar Bear, Svalbard

I stayed on deck, and eventually, the bear decided that it was time to get up and see what was going on. It was inquisitive enough to some right up to the side of the ship and take a sniff. Needless to say, the cameras were working overtime.

Polar Bear, Svalbard

Polar Bear, Svalbard

The bear hung around us for quite a while. At one point it did a wee, and we weren't sure whether perhaps this was meant as a message to us for interrupting its sleep.













After some time, it started to wander a little further away, and the expedition team decided that it was probably time to give the bear back its peace and quiet.

Polar Bear, Svalbard

Polar Bear from the cabin window, Svalbard

I went down to the cabin to check on Nic, and was pleased to find that the worst had passed, and he was feeling a little better.

It occurred to me that the bear was probably on the same side of the ship as our cabin, so he may be able to see it out of the porthole. Sure enough, we took a look, and there was the bear, not far away at all.

Polar Bear from the cabin window, Svalbard

So Nic managed to see the bear from the cabin, and it obligingly came even closer, before heading off across the ice.

Polar Bear from the cabin window, Svalbardcaption

I especially liked watching it jumping from one piece of ice to the next; they look like such lumbering creatures, but they really are quite agile and very fast.

The second, disappearing polar bear, Svalbard

We did spot one more bear later, but it disappeared into the water before we could get close - I just have a photo of its bum as it jumped in.

All in all, even despite Nic not feeling well, today was a good day, and we were all thrilled with our polar bear encounter.

Polar Bear, Svalbard

Polar Bear, Svalbard