From the comfort of our ice-strengthened expedition ship we will travel in search of Arctic whales, Polar Bears, and other wildlife north of the Arctic Circle in Canada.  Some six hours flying time north of Ottawa lies the tiny community of Resolute, close to the Magnetic North Pole and only 900 miles from the Geographic North Pole.  It is here that we will commence our journey of exploration amongst the ice floes, sheltered bays and fjords that flank the approaches to the North West Passage. This is wilderness at its most extreme and beautiful.  Sailing past towering cliffs, enormous glaciers and spectacular icebergs, we will explore Baffin Island, Lancaster Sound and nearby Beechey, Cornwallis and Devon Islands – familiar names associated with Franklin, the famous English explorer.  We then sail east to explore the northwest coast of Greenland for a few days, before crossing back over Baffin Bay. During this arctic expedition we will visit some of the world’s most isolated communities and explore areas that very few people have ever seen.

From the ship, and the ship’s Zodiacs, we will explore these remote waters, picking our way through the sea ice in search of the whales of the far north: Bowheads, Narwhals and Beluga. We will keep a sharp lookout, from shore and from our ship, the Akademic Ioffe, which, due to its construction as an acoustic research vessel, is an exceptionally stable platform from which to observe, photograph and use binoculars and telescopes. In 2004 we saw 15 Bowhead Whales – giving prolonged and sometimes very close views, in 2005, a group of seven or so animals.  Narwhals are particularly shy and elusive and we would be extremely fortunate to see their ivory tusks that grow up to six feet long, because they seldom raise them above the water surface.  In 2004  we had distant views of around 20 Narwhals at one site, and brief views of a further three at a second site. They were present in the area in 2005, but unfortunately there were no sightings by our group.

We saw no less than 37 Polar Bears including several cubs, during our voyage in 2004, and encountered over 20 bears in 2005.  Landing by Zodiac on gently shelving beaches we will walk across the tundra to observe the fascinating and highly adapted arctic flora that blooms in the warmth of the brief arctic summer.  Here we can find grazing Musk Ox, Arctic Hares, lemmings and an occasional Arctic Fox.  During our voyage we also expect to see scores of Ringed and Bearded Seals, plus thousands of Harp Seals. Several Hooded Seals were also seen in 2004 and Walrus were seen on both voyages.

Whilst the breeding season for birds will be virtually over, we can still expect a good selection of the high arctic breeders including: Ivory, Glaucous, Thayer’s, Iceland and Sabine’s Gulls, Brunnich’s and Black Guillemots, Little Auk, King Eider, Long-tailed, Pomarine and Arctic Skuas, Red-necked and Grey Phalaropes, Lapland and Snow Buntings and maybe Snowy Owl (we saw three in 2004), or even a splendid white phase Gyr Falcon (seen both years). We will also visit some Inuit settlements, learn about their culture and have the opportunity to purchase souvenirs (but beware of ‘banned wildlife’ products!).

Being a true expedition, the exact itinerary will be subject to weather and sea-ice conditions, and most importantly, wildlife. Stopping to view great wildlife sightings means that every day the itinerary is flexible and most days will include at least one landing opportunity. Be sure to bring a full range of lenses and plenty of film (or memory), as photographic opportunities will excellent.

Additional species that we may find include Fin Whale (2005), Humpback Whale (2005), Minke Whale (2005), Long-finned Pilot and Northern Bottlenose Whales, as well as Orca, Harbour Porpoise, Caribou, Stoat (Short-tailed Weasel), Greenland Collared and Brown Lemmings.

Full previous trip reports with species lists available here or on request from us. The 2006 voyage report will be available from November 2006.

Itinerary

Day 1: Charter flight from Ottawa to Resolute, transfer to ship and sail.

Day 2: Wellington Channel and Beechey Island

Day 3: Devon Island

Day 4: Jones Sound and Grise Fjord

Day 5: Cobourg Island National Wildlife Area

Day 6: Qaanaaq, Greenland

Day 7: Kap York and Melville Bay, Greenland.

Day 8: At sea, crossing Baffin Bay.

Day 9: Pond Inlet

Day 10: Navy Board and Cape Hay Bird Sanctuary

Day 11: Port Leopold and Somerset island

Day 12: Disembark Resolute, charter flight back to Ottawa.

A more detailed itinerary is available from us.

Subject to ice and weather conditions.

Holiday Information

Dates:     1^st – 12^th August 2007

Prices:     from £2995 per person.

Leaders: Caroline Still and ship’s expedition team

Deposit: 10%

Price includes: Return charter flights from Ottawa, transfers, accommodation and all meals aboard ship, port taxes, Zodiac landings, services of WildOceans leader and ship’s expedition staff including lecture programme aboard, daily sea watching sessions and evening checklist (at sea), use of WildWings onboard library, WildWings pre-tour information pack and day-by-day checklist of mammals and birds.

Price excludes: Airfare UK – Ottawa (available from £675), accommodation in Ottawa (available from £60 per person twin share per night), other drinks, laundry, souvenirs and items of a personal nature. Crew gratuities (we suggest US$10 per passenger per day aboard ship), passport fees and travel insurance (from £71.15 per person).