Safari in Snow and Ice

In Antarctica it was all about the penguins. We saw them by the thousands, and moved amongst them during landing hikes and zodiac tours.  And the only primary predators were the whales.

It’s very different here in the Arctic, where the polar bears and walruses are the star attractions, and we could become ‘prey’.  This is much more like an African safari.  Crew and staff have their eyes peeled all along the way, and a sighting could come at any time.  When there is a ‘find', the ship approaches slowly and quietly, so as not to spook the animals.  And the captain plows into the ice at times to get us a vantage.  As a precaution, our guides do carry pistols and rifles, loaded with both warning flares and bullets, when we go ashore. 

All of those penguins were fantastic, and so much fun!  But there’s an entirely different excitement here, as we search for ‘big game’ amid the ice and snow.