Polar Bear Expedition in Svalbard – Part 4

We made out way south to the most southern fiord Hornsund and had a long nights travel to the south. It sounds so strange to say night seeing that the sun never sets and it is daylight 24 hours a day. That took quite some getting used to and one was never really sure what time it was. We reached the south early in the morning and entered the fjord traveling east now. It did not take us long till we spotted the first polar bear very far away on the fast ice in front of a glacier. We were very excited but it was just a speck in the distance. But as luck would have it the bear was walking towards us and made his way slowly closer to us. Eventually we saw him close and could get some pictures of the king of the north. Later in the afternoon we took to the zodiacs and got really close to the bear. Great shots and what an experience. The following day we did a landing at another bird cliff and it was very nice to be on land again and stretch the legs. There was a cold wind blowing which freshened up to quite a breeze. We had a very wet and wild ride back with the zodiacs and got back to the ship drenched. In the afternoon the wind was now so strong that we could not do another landing and had so spot the wildlife off the ship. We saw some more polar bears but very far ways and they were just white spots in the distance. But as luck would have it, and we were lucky many times this trip, the mother bear with her cubs approached us and came right up to the edge of the fast ice. We were so close and it was an experience of a lifetime. The excitement on board as so great and it was off course the topic of discussion the rest of the day.