Overview
The Svalbard archipelago in the Norwegian Arctic is one of the most beautiful locations that we have had the pleasure of visiting, a land of towering mountains, impressive glaciers, and frozen sea ice. It is home to some of the high Arctic’s iconic animals like Polar Bears. Finding an Ice Bear in this pristine Arctic wilderness is one of the best experiences in the natural world. As you travel further north in Svalbard, you start to hit the summer drift ice. This is the realm of the Polar Bear and drifting quietly along in a boat, watching for any signs of these iconic predators is a superb experience. Natures Images has organised trips in the past to this pristine archipelago and it has been our goal to arrange something again. New restrictions in Svalbard mean that around the island archipelago itself you must be a long distance away from Polar Bears but in the Pack Ice these restrictions are not needed. But it takes a special kind of boat to be able to go up to and into the pack ice and we are delighted to have secured the perfect boat to be able to run a trip like this. We have planned this trip to run in the Autumn months were the temperatures start to drop, and you can get some incredible light at this time of the year. The crew know the islands and knows what it takes to get us into the best locations and best positions. Together with our own experiences and knowledge of Svalbard we feel this is without doubt one of the best ways of visiting from a photographer’s point of view. The group size is small with only 11 guests, and we have at our disposal two metal skiffs which can be launched at very short notice, so no waiting around. Our main Goal for this trip is to find Polar Bears amongst the ice. There are estimated to be around 3,000 Polar Bears in the Barents Sea population and approximately half of these reproduce in the Svalbard archipelago. Svalbard is a wonderful place and a photographers dream and to see and photograph the Polar Bear, one of the worlds most iconic species is fantastic experience.
Itinerary Open +Close -
Day 1: We will travel from our destinations to Longyearbyen, Norway and we will arrive in the evening, and we will transfer to a hotel in the town. We will have dinner in a local restaurant and discuss the plan of the trip ahead. (We will advise on the flight recommendations nearer the time but please note it may be that we have to overnight in Oslo en route and head to Longyearbyen the next morning depending on the schedules when they become available).
Day 2: We will board the boat this afternoon for our full briefing on life and safety on board before heading off on our adventure whilst settling into the ship
Days 3 – 10: This trip by its very nature in terms of just how wildlife photographic opportunities come about here, as well as the extremely variable conditions that will change throughout the trip means we cannot follow any precise or fixed itinerary as such. Our basic programme is to head as far north as the season’s pack ice will allow us in search of the best and most dramatic locations for polar bear photography. Precisely where we end up and how long it takes to get there will very much depend on the ice conditions, but every trip here brings something different in terms of opportunity as well as conditions so we will need to remain flexible.
Our priority though will be polar bears on ice and there will therefore be times when we will be on board for several days continuously so we can get to the right locations.
Day 11: We will disembark the boat in the morning back in Longyearbyen and head to the airport for our flights back home.
Other Information: The boat is first-class to work in these Arctic waters and has full safety equipment including immersion suits for each passenger, lifejackets for any zodiac expeditions you may embark on and a highly experienced captain and crew. There is power on board for re-charging camera batteries and laptops. Please note that your mobile phones won’t work here and there is no Wi-Fi: there will be a satellite phone for emergency use only available on board.
The weather in this area is very changeable. You should expect it to be no more than -20 degrees Celsius and often around -10 degrees. Wind chill on deck is another factor here so you should come prepared in terms of clothing but do feel free to ask about anything on that front. Sea conditions are unpredictable – we have experienced both rough days and flat calm periods on previous trips: if you do suffer from seasickness you will need to come suitably prepared for this.
We will be travelling in a remote area, so it is also essential that you advise of any pre-existing medical conditions that require regular or on-going medication upon booking. This will be treated in complete confidence but is very much to ensure your own safety and comfort as well as that of the group.
The trip is primarily aimed at the serious wildlife photographer where there will be unparallel opportunities afforded for photography which are not available on the larger expedition cruise ships.
We will have the advantage of flexibility and stealth working with a small group (13 people, 11 guests) and we shall take maximum advantage of light conditions and sightings as they occur and as weather conditions dictate. This is the realm of the ice bear king of the Arctic and to see and photograph this impressive predator in this wild and remote region of Svalbard is our aim and as we head further north our chances of fantastic opportunities are greatly increased. Watching a polar bear hunting along the ice flows or resting on a floating Iceberg is a dream for most wildlife photographers and on this trip, we aim to achieve this dream and once found we will be under no pressure to move on to the next location.
The itinerary will be largely determined by the ice conditions at the time, and we shall be monitoring this closely as we progress into the higher latitudes. In the event of our planned route not being possible due to heavy ice then we shall follow an alternative route that will be decided at the time.
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