Sorgfjorden - Spitsbergen
After circumnavigating Nordaustlandet, something this ship never has done before, we arrived again to the largest island on the archipelago – Spitsbergen. The plan today was to stretch our legs after few days on the ship looking at polar bears.
The tundra in this area is now dry in August and offers good hiking. We started off walking to the monument erected on Eolus point. This was previously named “Grave Point,” because of all the graves from the whaling period in the 17th century. Looking at this gravesite, we can only imagine how hard their life must have been. Hunting large whales like the bowhead whale from small boats must have been a risky job, and on top of it all, they battled scurvy, which, at that time, had no cure.
There were a number of reindeer on the tundra, but these reindeer seemed to be more aware of people than they usually are. Since the reindeer have no predators (polar bears very seldom hunt reindeers) they tend to come very close when you approach slowly and give them time to get to know you.
On the way back, we walked along the beach where everyone took a part in cleaning up any garbage lying around. The fishing industry in this area seems to dump most of their garbage overboard, and the Gulf Stream also brings some up from Europe. The Governor’s office in Longyearbyen started a project called “Clean Up Svalbard” and there is a competition among the locals in Longyearbyen to take part in this, as they get a free helicopter trip to the governor’s ship.
Most of the cruise ships in the area also help, and with the environmental policy that Lindblad Expeditions has, they were among the first to participate in this project. As a Norwegian, I am very grateful for all the help today with cleaning up our beautiful Svalbard. Thank you!
After circumnavigating Nordaustlandet, something this ship never has done before, we arrived again to the largest island on the archipelago – Spitsbergen. The plan today was to stretch our legs after few days on the ship looking at polar bears.
The tundra in this area is now dry in August and offers good hiking. We started off walking to the monument erected on Eolus point. This was previously named “Grave Point,” because of all the graves from the whaling period in the 17th century. Looking at this gravesite, we can only imagine how hard their life must have been. Hunting large whales like the bowhead whale from small boats must have been a risky job, and on top of it all, they battled scurvy, which, at that time, had no cure.
There were a number of reindeer on the tundra, but these reindeer seemed to be more aware of people than they usually are. Since the reindeer have no predators (polar bears very seldom hunt reindeers) they tend to come very close when you approach slowly and give them time to get to know you.
On the way back, we walked along the beach where everyone took a part in cleaning up any garbage lying around. The fishing industry in this area seems to dump most of their garbage overboard, and the Gulf Stream also brings some up from Europe. The Governor’s office in Longyearbyen started a project called “Clean Up Svalbard” and there is a competition among the locals in Longyearbyen to take part in this, as they get a free helicopter trip to the governor’s ship.
Most of the cruise ships in the area also help, and with the environmental policy that Lindblad Expeditions has, they were among the first to participate in this project. As a Norwegian, I am very grateful for all the help today with cleaning up our beautiful Svalbard. Thank you!
