My travels in Svalbard - an Arctic cruise with Audley Travel

Audley Specialist Megan ventured to The Arctic and recorded this amazing footage using a GoPro. This is what she had to say about her adventure.

The Arctic: one of the last frontiers on Earth, home to colossal glistening icebergs and vast arrays of wildlife.

With a brief stop in Oslo, one of Scandinavia’s most stylish cities, I flew north to the small town of Tromso. The remote town is nestled on the far northern coastline of Norway. Discussions with locals show Tromso is clearly proud of its location, situated comfortably inside the southern edge of the Arctic Circle. The town has a distinct yet unfamiliar charm, with friendly residents and some impressive architecture making the stop an unexpected highlight.

From Tromso my twelve night expedition voyage to Svalbard began, via reindeer-herding Norwegian Sami tribes and the misleadingly titled Bjørnøya (Bear Island). A Polar Bear sighting is in fact a near impossibility here outside of the impassable winter months, but the rugged cliffs are a much more popular destination for millions of nesting sea birds.

On approach to Svalbard’s main island of Spitsbergen, the vast expanses of ocean unhurriedly transform into sea and drift ice. During the next nine days it became clear to me why Svalbard is a high priority destination for the wildlife enthusiast. Most notably the area has the world’s highest concentration of the usually elusive polar bear, and after multiple sightings on both land and ice there was no disappointment. If that wasn’t enough, the frequent polar bear sightings were interspersed with lounging walrus colonies, timid groups of reindeer, predatory arctic foxes and swarms of frantic seabirds.

After soaking in the spectacular surroundings and scenery on foot, by kayak and zodiac cruise, we arrived at the departure point. The once thriving mining town of Longyearbyen is the perfect place to try out husky-sledding, which is certainly one of the most exhilarating and unique methods of transportation I have had the pleasure to undertake!

Time to go home.