and pray that there's intelligent life somewhere out in space
Icy ramparts towered above us.
Ice bergs calved from mighty glaciers.
Ice formed on the ship,
and on the surface of the water.
Wind and current could quickly bring the pack ice around the ship.
Freya could carve a path through thin ice …
but larger bergs required respect.
I rearranged the deck chairs and told no-one I was a musician.
The call came at about 2am. First encounter …
The time has come,the Walrus said, To talk of many things: Of shoes and ships and sealing-wax Of cabbages and kings And why the sea is boiling hot And whether pigs have wings. Lewis Carroll
The seals and their allies are grouped as the Pinnipedia consisting of three families, the Phocidae – True or Earless Seals with about 18 species; the Otariidae – the Eared Seals, about 15 species; Odobenidae – the Walrus sole member of its family.
A newborn Walrus weighs about 55kg. Around Svalbard a fully grown male will be about 3 metres long and weigh about 900kg. Add about 10% to that for Pacific specimens.
They reach this impressive size mainly on a diet of clams which they identify with their sensitive whiskers, clear the shell of covering substrate with a jet of water from their mouth and then suck out the contents with a powerful piston-like movement of their tongue. Under no circumstances insert any part of your body into a walrus’s mouth.
They dive to a maximum depth of about 80 metres and generally do not stay submerged for more than about half an hour. As pinnipeds go this is small beer.
The Atlantic population plunged almost to extinction in the 19th century due to hunting for blubber and ivory. It is now on the way up again.
You may not find walruses particularly handsome but this one finds himself adorable. I nicknamed him Narcissus …
It is reported that their eyesight is poor. After watching them at a haul-out for a couple of hours I am amazed that any still have eyes at all.
I have about 3 000 photographs of Walrus. You may see more.
The sun was shining on the sea, Shining with all his might: He did his very best to make The billows smooth and bright-- And this was odd, because it was The middle of the night.
We were not about to head for the open ocean. Our interests lay on or close to land. The scenery could wait until tomorrow but wildlife encounters could not. And as Lewis Carroll had told us the sun would not be setting on this cruise. We retired to our cabins knowing that we could be called from our beds at any time.
We acquired some new avian companions as soon as we sailed …
There is a great variety of tube-noses, Procellariiformes, in the southern oceans but north of the equator there are only a few species. The Northern Fulmar would be the only representative of the family we would see around Svalbard, but we would see plenty of them.
On the other hand there are no Auks down south and plenty north of the equator. We would see several species and millions of individuals.
The Americans call this bird the Thick-billed Murre, the Poms prefer Brünnich’s Guillemot (even though they are an umlaut-deprived people). Morten Thrane Brünnich was a Danish zoologist, if he were alive I suspect he would also prefer the latter. Since the demise of the Great Auk this is the largest of the Alcidae.
And the scenery was magnificent …
The news in Melbourne on my return was, of course, all doom and gloom. Amongst the lesser disasters though was this …
… an ornate, custom-made whisky decanter in the shape of Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir, was allegedly stolen from Viking-referencing bar and restaurant Mjølner in Melbourne’s CBD.
Thankfully, the Norse God of Thunder will be reunited with his hammer after investigators found the decanter at Melbourne Airport this morning …
Shortly after the hammer was found a 52-year-old Western Australian man from Mindarie presented himself to Perth Police Station. The man is currently assisting police with their investigation. (Broadsheet)
It’s rumoured that he has a hell of a hangover.
Not the first time that Thor’s hammer has gone missing. In the Norse original it was stolen by the giant Prymr who demanded the beautiful Freya’s hand in marriage for its return.
Freya was not about to help out in this matter so Freya’s wedding was held in her absence. Thor dressed up as a woman and presented himself to Prymr who was delighted. Despite eating an ox at the wedding feast Thor managed to keep up the pretense until that part of the ceremony where Mjölnir was placed in his hand.
The bride was widowed moments later.
Time to join the very comfortable expedition ship Freya …
This was to be a Pete Oxford Expeditions expedition. I’ve known Pete for many years and have been looking forward to traveling with him ever since he formed his own company not too long ago. Pete is an outstanding photographer, a passionate conservationist and a very generous human being. Put him in front of a wildlife photo-op and his face lights up like a five year old.
On the other hand I doubt he could organise a trip to the supermarket without his wife Renee Bish. If Pete is all charisma then Renee is all hard work but just as gorgeous. I’d caught up with them at Oslo Airport and flown the last leg to Svalbard with them a few days earlier.
Just as well there were a few days to spare because their luggage stayed in Oslo and it took two more days for it to arrive. Pete is a foot taller than me … he looked really cute in my parka.
The remaining participants were members of Birdlife International. I was traveling with a group who collectively had done an amazing amount of good for the world’s birds. Including Renee and Pete there were thirteen of us. Two local guides were with us to make sure we found what we were after and keep us safe whilst we did it. The ship’s crew were outstanding, the food was great, the beds were comfortable. There was plenty of space.
There was one thing missing from the group which I’ll try to remember to tell you about at the end of the trip. For now though just concentrate on Pete and Renee expertly helping strangers become friends.
Let go the ropes, we’re away.
The weather and the sea will be kind to us but this is the Arctic. These photographs were taken on the first day just thirteen minutes apart …
Flew Emirates from Oslo to Dubai and then to Melbourne. Their entertainment system is the best. Since I would be arriving in Melbourne at bedtime I decided to tough it out without sleep and hopefully get into the time zone with a flying start. I would recommend some good movies if I could remember what they were.
Overnight in Melbourne then picked up the dog. It came as a great relief that after 8 weeks she still loves me. The pick up was carefully timed so that the kids of the house she was staying at were at school – they love her too and will miss her.
Thirty millimetres of rain in the gauge and a green veneer in the paddocks. The Victorian Goldfields are looking great. Soon had a fire going in the stove. Went to bed at quarter time in the Friday night footy. Carlton were up at that stage. I’m writing this at 1am, so much for the strategy of staying awake on the plane. Carlton were still up at half time, just. Done by thirty in the end. Poor Carlton, it’s not going to be their year … again.
I will get around to writing about Bhutan but I think it makes more sense to finish up the Arctic sojourn first. So Polar Bears and Walruses coming soon to a blog near you. If you are reading this as email please remember that your web server supports features that email does not.
Polar Bear, Ursus maritimus and glacier
After Barentz put Svaalbard on the map in 1596 hunting of whales, seals and walrus soon followed. Because of over-exploitation populations and profitability soon declined. From about 1715 the Russians began trapping for the fur trade. Norwegians soon followed. Coal mining began soon after 1900, one mine is still in operation. Tourism is now the main driver of the economy.
As you walk around Longyearbyen the various threads of its history are still apparent. Old mine buildings are dotted about, you can buy furs or even a stuffed polar bear. If you are going off the beaten track you should take a rifle but please don’ take it into the post office …
The buildings are modern, there are several hotels, some restaurants, a small but fairly busy port. There is a supermarket, tourist shops and sporting goods stores. It is snowing heavily at the moment but in the valley the ground is mostly free of snow, the snow mobiles are parked now and unlikely to be used until summer is over. It’s after 10.30pm but it’s as light as it was at midday.
It is a very strange mix of a place, it’s the furthest north that people live and work but it doesn’t remind me of Greenland, Iceland, Alaska or northern Canada. It’s polar frontier meets Europe. I feel about as far from Australia as it is possible to get.
Click on any of the pictures to enter a little gallery put together over the last few days …
High mountains and high latitudes are harsh places. There are not a lot of creatures that can make a living.
I have arrived in Longyearbyen a few days early for a cruise that will take me further north in the archipelago and have been wandering around the outskirts of town with my camera. It isn’t wise to go too far because one of the animals around here is quite happy to eat the adventurous.
Whilst I have seen only a small number of species I have had the time to get some photos …
17th of May is the day that Norwegians celebrate the signing of their constitution in 1814. In Svaalbard the celebration kicked off with a service at the Kirk …
and then continued with a march around town.
The band was resplendent, some wearing gloves …
Considerably more people marched than attended the church service.
National costume proudly on display.
The parade finished with speeches and cannon fire. Then the celebrations really started. There will be some sore heads tomorrow.
Comes as a bit of a shock after sunny Spain.
Half way between Norway and the north pole and well inside the arctic circle there is an archipelago discovered and named Spitsbergen by the Dutchman Willem Barentsz in 1596. He failed to recognise that it was a group of islands. Since the 1920s Spitsbergen has been the name of the largest island, the archipelago as a whole is known as Svaalbard and is politically part of Norway.
It was a true terra nullius when Barentsz found it but it is now the world’s most northerly full time settlement. There is some mining, tourism and it is the home of the world famous seed bank. Wikipedia tells us that soccer is the most popular sport and that there are three football pitches. It’s not surprising then to find that the population is only small. In July 2017 it was estimated to be 2,583. The population growth rate is -0.03%, they won’t be needing an extra soccer pitch any time soon. The largest town and administrative centre is Longyearbyen. It is a free trade and demilitarised zone.
The climate is described as
arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year.
About 60% of the land surface is glaciated.
Tourists obviously don’t come to buy ice cream and football boots. Mostly they come to see polar bears, whales, walruses and sea birds, reindeer and the northern lights. The latter will not be in evidence until the sun sets next …
bobmcgee 