The Arctic Part 2, NORWAY
Airing Date: Apr 25th, 2005
A fantastic way to explore the Arctic is with a Peregrine Adventures High Arctic tour on board the ship Akademik Sergey Vavilov. The Akademik Sergey Vavilov used to be a Cold War Russian spy ship and now it's been fitted out for tourists. All cabins have an outside view, with portholes or a window, and are comfortably furnished. Most of them have semi-private (one bathroom between two cabins) or private facilities. On-board facilities include a spacious top deck, where you can enjoy spectacular views, and a refreshing sauna and plunge pool - a great place to relax after your shore excursions. There is also a well-stocked library, a comfortable lounge and a friendly bar. Other facilities include an exercise room, gift shop and laundry.
During your expedition expect to see a lot of Arctic wildlife - walrus, polar bears and birds . Walruses live in the Arctic seas and on the land. Walrus occur in summer on some northern and eastern shores notably Nordausland and the small island of Moffen off the northern coast of Spitzbergen. Walrus numbers were very reduced by commercial hunters until 1972 when the Marine Mammal Act started protecting them. Now only native people in the Arctic may hunt them and the populations have grown in size.
Bird colonies play an important role for the terrestrial ecosystems of Spitzbergen because of the large amount of organic matter that they transport from the sea onto the land. Some of the largest concentrations of birds in the North Atlantic region can be found at Svalbard. The bird-rocks are dominated by the little auk, the kittywake and the fulmar. Most of the birds are migratory, spending the winter at the Barents Sea, along the coast of Norway or on the continent. 36 bird-species nest on Svalbard.
Smeerenburg, on Amsterdamya, is located on the north-western corner of Spitzbergen. Also known as Blubber Town, Smeerenburg was a settlement of Dutch whalers in the first half of the 17th century. Your guides will explain the whaling techniques that were used in the 1630s when almost 200 whalers spent the summers here.
The Scandinavian Arctic is believed to be home to around 5000 polar bears. Around one-fifth of the world's population are found on the northern and eastern coasts. This magnificent animal can also be seen on the north coast of Nordausland, on Kong Karls Land and sometimes Edgeoya and Barentoya. These more remote shores can be visited in August when the passages are ice-free and accessible to cruise ships.
One of the highlights of the Arctic trip is the opportunity to see some enormous glaciers. Glaciers depend for their formation on the annual accumulation of snow exceeding the amount removed by summer melting. Unfortunately, due to global warming, the Arctic glaciers are retreating. In the Arctic, where most glaciers have temperatures far below the freezing point, the snow changes into ice slowly. Now you may think that ice is just ice but there are various forms of the stuff - frail ice, pack ice, rotten ice, new ice, pancake ice, bay ice and ice bergs!
Further information:
A 10 day High Arctic tour from $5950 a person, twin share. This Includes expeditions & all meals
Includes taxes / charges. Conditions apply.
Valid for travel 21/7/05 - 31/7/05 & 31/7/05 - 10/8/05
Peregrine Adventures Ph. 1300 854 4444 www.peregrineadventures.com.
Thai International & Scandinavian Airlines fly to Svalbard via Copenhagen from $3259 ex east coast
Includes taxes / charges Subject to exchange rates
Scandinavian Airlines Ph) 1300 727 707.
Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) www.scandinavian.net.
Get your winter gear at Columbia Sportswear www.columbia.com.au.
Prices correct at 25/04/05.
