Arctic Expedition Voyages

The main point to remember is that expedition voyages are holidays and not research projects. They cover many nautical miles and visit an array of fascinating and remote places. And, due to their very nature, the itineraries are determined by the local ice and weather conditions therefore participants must possess a degree of flexibility to fully enjoy their experience.

Visitors are drawn by the breathtaking scenery of the region and the wildlife and history associated with it. Much of the land is carved out by massive glaciers, leaving eroded mountains and deeply scored valleys. Huge icecaps cover large parts of it, fringed by glaciers that dip into transparent fjords, calving icebergs of all shapes and sizes. Permafrost reaches hundreds of metres in depth and only the top layer of soil melts in the brief summer. Yet with 24 hours of summer daylight and at times surprisingly mild temperatures, moss, lichen and flowering plants thrive.

Traces of many former cultures can be seen in the Canadian Arctic and Greenland, a fascinating heritage of a people who understood perfectly how to thrive in harmony with their harsh environment. Today’s Inuit communities maintain strong links with their centuries old traditions, while embracing the conveniences of modern living. They still hunt, trap and fish by dog sledge and kayak, yet snowmobiles, helicopters and satellite phones ensure that life is not as isolated as it once was. Lacking the survival skills of the Inuit, early explorers struggled to penetrate the Arctic and many lost their lives. A map of the region is peppered with names like Bering Strait, Franklin Bay and Amundsen Gulf, which are linked with tales of incredible hardship, heroics and often tragedy.

As the great era of Arctic exploration took off, exploitation of the region’s rich wildlife spurred whalers, hunters, trappers and fur traders to travel and even settle there. Unlike the Inuit, whose hunting was largely sustainable, the white man’s exploitation was often thoughtless, bringing species like Steller’s sea cow to extinction and the Greenland whale to the brink. Remnants of their activities – beaches littered with whale bones, rusting blubber ovens and poignant graveyards are regularly visited in Spitsbergen. Today’s Arctic travellers can follow in the footsteps of the early explorers on our adventurous cruises, which by using ice-strengthened vessels and polar ice-breakers are able to travel safely in polar seas.

Though man has always found the Arctic a challenging environment, many forms of life are quite at home at the edge of the inhabitable world. Huge numbers of wildfowl and waders visit the region each summer, nesting in the tundra. Spectacular sea cliffs are the breeding ground for millions of pairs of guillemots, puffins, kittiwakes and fulmars, while little auks, ivory gulls and skuas each have their own preferred nesting sites. Arctic hares and lemmings graze the fragile tundra along with musk oxen and reindeer.

Most visitors to the region will hope to see the very symbol of the Arctic, the polar bear, which is as at home in the sea as on land, preying on a variety of sea mammals and scavenging on whatever else is available. Now protected throughout much of their range, these majestic predators are readily seen in many parts of Spitsbergen, Arctic Canada and Greenland. Another opportunist equally at home here is the arctic fox, which feasts on eggs and chicks, often patrolling the base of the bird cliffs, awaiting a free meal. A small population of wolves inhabits northeast Greenland but it is in Arctic Canada that they are in their element. Elusive and very shy, they are one of the more difficult mammals to observe in the wild.

It is in the marine environment that the region is richest – seas teeming in plankton and fish are a bountiful larder for bearded, ringed and harp seals and walrus, which are spotted resting on ice floes or offshore islands. The seas are particularly rich in cetaceans, and arctic species, such as beluga, narwhal and the rare Greenland or bowhead whale, can be observed. Other species, such as orcas, grey, minke and humpback whales turn up periodically in different parts of the Arctic, concentrating their summer feeding in high latitudes.

The collection of cruises offered in this brochure, have all been carefully researched to offer the very best of Arctic wildlife and scenery. Some are more adventurous than others. Some are geared towards more specific interests and choosing the right voyage is sometimes the most difficult part of the experience. If, after you’ve read about the voyages here, you still have questions, our knowledgeable team will be happy to assist and offer advice – just contact our office.