Belugas, Camp Millar and Midterhuken

Our last full day on board! It started well, with a sighting of a large pod of beluga whales off the port bow just as we were getting ready for breakfast. As our cabin was on the starboard side of course we grabbed our parkas and cameras and headed out to see them. They were some distance off, but the sheer numbers were impressive.

After breakfast we had a landing at Camp Millar at Varsolbukta on the north side of Bellsund.

Vårsolbukta, Bellsund

Vårsolbukta is located on the northern shore of Bellsund, at the entrance to Van Mijenfjord. The landscape is dominated by rugged mountains and beautiful scenery. Our landing will be at Camp Millar, a site where the Northern Exploration Company of England searched for gold deposits in 1910. Like many ventures in this area, they were unsuccessful. Two well-preserved huts remain from this time. The rocky slopes above the richly vegetated strandflat are home to thousands of little auks. We hope to explore the shoreline and enjoy the stunning views of the area.
From the Ocean Explorer daily programme

As previously, we joined the contemplative group, preferring the slower paced and time to take photos. We had Karl as our leader today who was excellent, telling us something of the history of this site as well as the wildlife.

From the beach we climbed a short slope to an area of tundra. Everything was so green and soft to walk on with all the lichens. There were also some pretty flowers here and there including mouse-ear and marsh saxifrage.

The ground was covered in reindeer droppings, though we only saw one of them during the morning.

We also had a brief distant sighting of an Arctic fox, too brief for photos. Kris, however, did better so I’m including one of his fantastic shots.

There were a lot of bones dotted around. Some were reindeer, some birds, but there were also some whale bones, probably left from the days when this was a major whaling site for the English and later the Dutch.

We walked up to one of the huts where Karl expanded on the history here. One of the key players involved with the prospecting was an Englishman called Ernest Mansfield, who was quite a character. A former soldier, later professional prospector, he was one of the founders of the Northern Exploration Company. They only found a little gold but did mine marble in some quantities. However it was never a successful commercial enterprise as the marble was found to crumble when exported to warmer climates.

It was here that we saw the biggest whale bone, a huge vertebra.

Continuing up the slope Karl was hoping we'd get a better fox sighting, but we were unlucky with that. And the cloud cover was too low to see the promised little auks, although we certainly heard them! However we did see a pair of skuas attacking a kittiwake (which got away) and an ivory gull. But the swirling mist made wildlife photography a challenge so for the most part I concentrated on the landscapes.

Eventually Karl said it was time to return so we made our way past the other hut and back to the beach and then to the ship. By now it was almost lunch time.

Midterhuken

Shortly after lunch Ryan announced that he was squeezing in a last (unscheduled) zodiac ride. This took us to an area on the opposite side of Bellsund called Midterhuken, with rocky cliffs partly covered in lichen and bright green streaks of scurvy grass. This gets its name from the fact that sailors, prospectors and explorers used to eat it to prevent scurvy, in the absence of access to fresh vegetables. We could clearly see the twisted rock strata showing how this land has been shaped over time. In places waterfalls tumbled down the slopes, the spill from glaciers high above us and out of sight.

We got our best sighting of an Arctic fox here, though the drizzle confused my camera a bit and my shots were disappointing.

We then rode in both directions along the shore. The first direction didn't really show us a lot apart from a few distant eider ducks. But going in the other direction brought us to cliffs with common guillemots nesting, also lots of kittiwakes.

There were more kittiwakes on rocks a short distance off shore and we spotted a couple of puffins near here too.

But all too soon it was time to return to the ship.

Last evening on board

There was a briefing soon after about the disembarkation arrangements. Then it was time to get ready for our last evening on board ship.

This was quite a festive affair. We started with the captain's farewell drinks in the lounge, with brief speeches from him and some other key crew members. All the expedition team had dressed up for the evening, with touches of a special Arctic tartan in their ties, scarves etc.

The next event was an auction in aid of the Seabirds Watch charity. Karl made a very amusing auctioneer. Lots included a bottle of water from one of the glaciers we had visited, sea salt from one of the fjords, but also some unique souvenirs such as the ship's flag and an illustrated map of the voyage. Some people spent big, with the map, for example, going for $800 and the flag for over $1000!

Sue had reserved two tables for the ten of us who had been eating together much of the time. We had an excellent dinner - I especially enjoyed my duck. Dessert was served in the main lounge and consisted of a variety of chocolate cakes, mousse, petits fours and more.

But the highlight of the evening was a slideshow of Kris's photos and videos which really captured the spirit of the trip and many of its greatest moments!

Ryan then gave a speech thanking the expedition team and Bertie gave a short one thanking Ryan. Chris and I went over to thank Ryan personally and had a few words with Kris too before heading to bed.