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WildWings, 577 Fishponds Road, Fishponds, Bristol. BS16 3AF.UK
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Client quote: “ Excellent leader, very sociable and helpful, professional and capable” M.J. July 2007
Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, is only 600 miles from the North Pole. About the same size as Ireland, its name means 'pointed mountains'. It is the summer home for an abundance of special birds, mammals and plants in a land of spectacular scenery and fascinating history.
This tour will appeal to all who have a spirit of adventure and who love wild, remote and peaceful places. The bird and mammal list is small, but very special. From the spectacle of teeming colonies of thousands of Brunnich's Guillemots and Little Auks, to the grace and beauty of Ivory and Sabine's Gulls; with colourful Grey Phalaropes and drake King Eiders alongside breeding Purple Sandpipers and Snow Buntings; with nesting Pinkfooted and Barnacle Geese and Arctic and Long-tailed Skuas; and where Ptarmigan and Red-throated Divers' calls echo across the tundra; Spitsbergen has a very special appeal to the birder. Add Polar Bears, Walruses, Minke Whales, Arctic Foxes and Reindeer, and over 170 species of flowering plants, and its appeal is irresistible to any naturalist.
The tour is based on the Russian expedition ship Grigoriy Mikheev (48 passengers) for 2008 and the Maryshev (48 passengers) for 2009. In this roadless remote archipelago, sailing is really the only way to visit the fjords, glaciers, mountains and tundra. Sturdy inflatable Zodiacs make twice daily landings where weather and ice conditions permit, and several hours are spent ashore on each of these, with good opportunities for walking and birding.
WildWings has been running tours here for over ten years now and all have all been very successful, each seeing most of the wildlife described above. No two years are the same in the Arctic, and the unpredictability of ice conditions and consequently wildlife make for an exciting and unique trip every time. With a well-run and comfortable ship, a very professional expedition team, and generally settled weather with light winds and sunshine, one could not ask for more. The 2007 tour was typical in it’s variety. We enjoyed an hour-long close encounter from a Zodiac with a foraging Polar Bear, over 100 Walruses hauled out at two sites, Harp, Bearded and Ringed Seals plus Minke and our first Humpback Whale in these waters. The usual bird list was swelled by a vagrant drake Steller’s Eider and an even rarer Red-throated Pipit.
Join Tony on this rewarding trip to the Land of the Midnight Sun and the Kingdom of the Ice Bear to experience for yourself the magic of Svalbard and its special wildlife.
Holiday Information
Dates: 21st – 29th June 2008
Tour Leader: Tony Marr and the ship’s expedition team .
Cost: From £2499 per person sharing a twin cabin
Single supp: on request
Deposit: 10%
Group size: The maximum number of WildWings participants will be 20 plus the leader
Cabin Cost
Sharing a twin with washbasin £2499
Sharing a twin with private facilities £2899
Sharing a superior twin with private facilities £3149
Dates: 21st – 29th June 2009
Tour Leader: Tony Marr and the ship’s expedition team
Cost: From £2799 per person sharing a twin cabin
Single supp: on request
Deposit: 10%
Group size: The maximum number of WildWings participants will be 20 plus the leader
Cabin Cost
Sharing a twin with washbasin £2799
Sharing a twin with private facilities £3249
Sharing a superior twin with private facilities £3499
Price includes: Economy class air travel, all airport and port taxes, transfers in Longyearbyen, hotel accommodation at Oslo airport with breakfast, accommodation and all meals on board the vessel, Zodiac shore landings accompanied by naturalist guides, lectures aboard ship, services of WildWings tour leader and ship’s expedition team, WildWings evening log call sessions, pre-tour information pack and WildWings daily checklist of birds and mammals.
Price excludes: Travel insurance (from £16.22), drinks, laundry, souvenirs and other items of a personal nature, crew and staff gratuities (suggested Euro 10-15 per passenger per day onboard ship) and optional excursion in Longyearbyen (approx £5). Allow £40 per person for dinner and drinks at Oslo Airport.
Itinerary
Day 1: Fly London Heathrow to Oslo and overnight. If time permits, optional birding in local woodland.
Day 2: Morning flight from Oslo to Longyearbyen. Transfer to ship and sail early evening.
Days 3-8: The itinerary is subject to weather and pack ice conditions. We will sail up the west coast of Spitsbergen and if possible round the northwest tip and along the north coast. The principal places we hope to visit include: Ny-Alesund - the northernmost town in the world - Ivory Gulls, Grey Phalaropes, Glaucous Gulls; Fuglesongen - a large colony of Little Auks; Moffen - for Walruses and Sabine’s Gulls; the pack ice - Polar Bears, seals, auks, gulls and skuas; the tundra - walks through breeding habitat of skuas, waders and Barnacle Geese –plus beautiful flowers and plants ; Blomstrand - breeding place for Red-throated Divers, Ptarmigan, Long-tailed Skuas and Snow Buntings; the islands - landings for more wildlife adventures.
Day 9: Disembark at Longyearbyen early morning. Explore the settlement on foot or optional birding excursion by bus. Fly Longyearbyen via Oslo back to London Heathrow arriving late evening.
