Arctic Cruise : Northeast Greenland - In the wake of German explorers, 13 days / 12 nights
Designed as an ice-strength vessel, the Molchanov was built in 1983 as an oceanographic research ship. Since then, the ship has been transformed into a passenger vessel great for polar exploration. You will be accompanied by an excellent staff of nature and hictorical lecturers which will fill you in both on the ship and during your many landings and wildlife sightings.
Triple with Shared Facilities
Located on Deck 3 with two lower and one upper berth, a desk, a small washbasin, storage and hanging space and portholes. Shared shower and toilet facilities are conveniently located on the same deck.
Triple Occupancy
$5540.00
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Northeast Greenland is among the most isolated, sparsely populated and scenically superb parts of the island. Fortunately, from the wildlife enthusiast’s point of view, they are also the most rewarding regions with regular sightings of Musk Oxen, Arctic Hares, Narwhals and a variety of birds, including Gyrfalcon, Snowy Owl, Barnacle and Pink-footed Geese.
Day 1 :
Arrive in Longyearbyen, on Spitsbergen, the administrative capital of the Spitsbergen archipelago of which West Spitsbergen is the largest island. Before embarking there is an opportunity to visit this former mining village. The Parish Church and the Polar Museum are well worth visiting, while in the country around the village more than 100 species of plant have been recorded. In the early evening the ship will sail out of Isfjorden. We try to have an evening excursion in Tryghamna near a 17th century English whaling station.
Days 2 & 3 :
At sea, on our way to Greenland, we may see the edge of the East Greenland Ice. We keep watch for whales, and also for migrating seabirds.
Day 4 :
If the ice conditions allow we will try to get to Shannon Island, where at Kap Sussi there was a German weather station in World War II. Alternatively we may get to Kuhn Island with Schwarze Wand and Kap Hamburg.
Day 5 :
On Sabine Island we will try to land in the Hansa Bugt, where during World War II the Germans had the weather station “ Holzauge”. Further we will sail to Germania Havn, where in 1869 the members of the 2nd German North Pole Expedition under Koldewey spent the winter. In the following summer they were the first Europeans to enter the Kaiser Franz Josef Fjord.
Day 6 :
We sail through Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord, a magnificent fjord with towering mountains on both sides, its inner reaches choked with huge icebergs. An alternative is Sofia Sund, which is much narrower, and where we can see Muskoxen from the ship. We will land at Blomster Bugt to view the beautiful geological formations. Arctic Hares are usually seen here, and there is a lake with Great Northern Divers with young. In the afternoon we sail along Teufelschloss.
Day 7 :
The first half of the day we spend in Alpefjord, a spectacular fjord with glaciers and ice-bergs. From there we have good view on the high Petermann Berg.
Day 8 :
Today we reach the Scoresby Sund and sail in the morning along the coast of Jameson Land. We try to reach the site where Alfred Wegener erected a small station ( Tyskit Nunat ) as support for one of his planned crossings of the Greenland Ice-cap.
Day 9 :
We land near Sydkap to view the remains of the Thule culture winter houses. As many as 20 people lived in these tiny houses, hunting Greenland Whales and using their vertebrae to build the houses. In Northwest fjord in Scoresby Land we encounter huge icebergs, some over 100m high and more than a kilometre in length. Most of the bergs are grounded as the fjord is only about 400m deep here. Alwin Pedersen explored this area as the first European.
Day 10 :
We sail either west or east of Milne Land, where we may land at Charcot Havn or Danmarks Ø, where there are remains of an Inuit settlement abandoned about 200 years ago. In the vening we continue along the ragged Volquart Boons Kyst.
Day 11 :
Today we land at Illoqqortoormiut, the biggest settlement in the Scoresby Sund with about 500 inhabitants. At the post office you can buy stamps for your postcards, or just wander around to see the sledge dogs and the drying skins of Seal, Musk Ox and Polar Bear.
Day 12 :
We are the whole day at sea and will have splendid opportunities to see large whales and seabird migration and, in the night, the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).
Day 13 :
Arrive in Akureyri (North Iceland) and transfer to Reykjavik by chartered bus.
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