Arctic Cruise: High Arctic Explorer

Itinerary

Day 1: Embarkation, Resolute, Nunavut

Your will be transferred to Akademik Ioffe.

Day 2: Prince Leopold Island

The overpowering limestone cliffs of Prince Leopold Island are a well-known wildlife habitat. If the pack ice is close, there may be walrus and polar bears – the two icons of the Arctic. The island’s cliff faces are nesting grounds for murres, kittiwakes and gulls.

Days 3-4: Devon and Coburg Islands

Devon Island is a polar desert with a massive ice cap. You’ll visit Dundas Harbour on the south shore, an abandoned outpost that was manned by the Hudson’s Bay Company and subsequently the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Nirtjutiqavvik is Coburg Island’s National Wildlife Area and home to a profusion of birds. You’ll cruise in Zodiacs along the cliffs to watch thousands of murres and kittiwakes flying to and fro.

Day 5: Melville Basin

You’ll sail across Melville Basin, known to be the habitat of the endangered bowhead whale. While at sea, your Expedition Team will deliver a series of illustrated presentations that prepare you for the shore landings in Greenland.

Day 6: Qaanaaq, Greenland

The heroine of the novel Smilla’s Sense of Snow was said to be born in a small village in the northern portion of the municipal region of Qaanaaq. The tiny village of 600, which you visit, is the municipality’s commercial center.

Day 7: Cape York

The ice and weather conditions associated with Cape York (Kap York in Greenlandic) combine to create a friendly environment for narwhal and seals. The presence of seals and pack ice may draw hungry polar bears. Have your binoculars at the ready.

Day 8: Baffin Bay and Pond Inlet

Your heading will be south and west on the journey across Baffin Bay. Your destination will be Pond Inlet (Mittimatalik) on Baffin Island. While there you will attend a cultural demonstration that will include drumming, throat singing and dancing. The local artisans carve sculptures in stone that are collected around the world.

Day 9: Cape Hay Migratory Bird Sanctuary

The majestic cliffs of Cape Hay, Bylot Island, are breeding grounds for murres, guillemots and kittiwakes. You’ll cruise in Zodiacs along the base of the remarkable seabird colony. Bylot Island is situated where the waters of Baffin Bay mix with the water of the Arctic archipelago, creating a rich feeding ground for seals, whales and seabirds.

Day 10: Devon Island

Your return to Devon Island may include a hike across an apparently barren landscape. We’ll encourage you to look more closely. A rich variety of wildflowers grow clost to the ground on the tundra, an adaptation that allows even the most fragile flowers to survive.

Day 11: Beechey Island

A proper High Arctic expedition must include mention of Sir John Franklin’s fatal attempt to find the Northwest Passage. The first to die were buried on Beechey Island in 1845. Their grave markers still stand. The fate of their crew mates, who continued westward remains a mystery, although it is assumed all hands were lost.

Day 12: Resolute

Disembarkation is in Resolute on Cornwallis Island in the territory of Nunavut.