The Realm of the Polar Bear

Winter 2011

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your travel magazine

travel budget tips

Rent a chateau in France Around the world cakes Japan’s snow monkeys

a right

royal hotel

Kuching Sarawak’s amazing city

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arctic circle

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Contents

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05 Travel Watch Travel updates, what’s happening in the industry and the best deals on offer.

06 Cruise News Where the ships are sailing to, special packages and cruise tips.

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08 Kuching, Malaysia Different from the other cities in Borneo, Sarawak’s post colonial capital city is laid back, displaying a feline personality.

12 The Arctic Circle Cruise to one of the last refuges of the polar bear and witness these magnificent animals in their natural environment.

island – and that’s the ambulance.

20 France How about renting a chateau in Provence with some friends?

20 14 Goring Hotel, London It’s had the Royal stamp of approval, so step inside!

16 Japan Excellent ski runs, hot spring bathing and snow monkeys make for a holiday with a difference.

18 Lamu, Kenya Laid back Lamu has only one car on the

22 The Traveller’s Choice Expert agents talk the talk.

23 Travel Smart Budget tips for canny travellers.

24 Food Touring The noble pursuit of searching for the best cakes around the world – we let you in on some cake secrets.

26 Agent Listing

CRUISING A giant leap of faith.

The realm of the polar bear Cruise to one of the last refuges of the polar bear and witness these magnificent animals in their natural environment. Roderick Eime did just that.

T

he Zodiac comes to rest on the stony shore.

Twelve of us at a time, climb out on to the beach, our guides already well ahead of us, scouting for sightings of the world’s largest terrestrial carnivore.

It’s 320km north of the tip of Norway on the island of Spitsbergen, one of just a handful of the remaining polar bear hotspots in the world. With a world population of this majestic mammal perhaps as low as 20,000, a real urgency exists among adventure travellers to see this creature in its native habitat. With climate change and poaching, some biologists predict children born today will not have this special privilege.

With loaded rifles at the ready, our guides are well ahead of us to make sure we don’t surprise any unseen or sleeping beasts. But scary encounters are rare and my guide, Sue, tells me neither she nor any of her staff

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Travellers Choice 1300 78 78 58

have ever fired a shot. But safety is paramount.

At 78deg. north, we are squarely in the realm of Ursus maritimus and our circumnavigation of Spitsbergen is an outstanding success with a tally of 20 sightings including mothers and cubs feeding on the scraps of a fin whale carcass.

The wildlife catalogue extends to Arctic fox, walrus, reindeer, seals and myriad seabirds wheeling and squealing overhead. On one occasion, we entertain several thousand tiny guillemots gathered around us with whistles. It’s hilarious when the entire throng whistles back on cue. Humpback, minke, fin and even blue whales are regularly sighted in these frigid waters.

During the closing stages of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, explorers took balloons, airships and aircraft to Spitsbergen to take advantage of the high latitude to launch expeditions to the North Pole; Byrd, Amundsen and Nobile among them.

Spitsbergen (from the Old Dutch for ‘sharp peaks’) is the largest of the Svalbard archipelago islands, 1800km north across the Barents Sea from Norway. At the frosty latitude of 80deg. Svalbard should really be encased in ice but the warm Atlantic currents create an artificially temperate climate and summer temperatures can reach as high as 10deg.

While the landscape is largely bleak and rocky, occasionally interrupted by vast glaciers, it is coloured here and there with shades of rich green thanks to plenty of bird droppings beneath the towering cliffs.

Foxes scamper about feeding on the many chicks that topple from the crowded ledges. Bears also occasionally wander in when slippery bearded or ringed seals are scarce on the ice.

photo: chrissie goldrickw

«andExplorers took balloons, airships aircraft to Spitsbergen to take advantage of the high latitude to launch expeditions to the North Pole.»

Our vessel, the 1750 ton, 71m Polar Pioneer, may be at the smaller end of the world’s growing expedition fleet, but she’s a tough little customer. Although not an icebreaker in the strictest sense, she’s sliced through light sheet ice beyond 81deg. and bumped small bergs aside with ease. Built in Finland for Russia in 1982, she’s comfortable, capable and an ideal vessel for the task.

There are numerous ships operating in this far north wildlife wonderland, but often the most capable are the modest Russian-built vessels purpose-built for these waters. Unlike some Antarctic oceans, the icy seas are not usually rough, so these vessels can capitalise on their small ‘footprint’ and access every nook and cranny around the coast, slicing through thin ice when required. Enriching enhancements such as sea kayaking, extended hikes, camping or even scuba diving under the ice is possible.

More and more, travellers are demanding rich, life-changing experiences as part of their vacation.

Spitsbergen and the Arctic wilderness deliver this in spades.

Fjords & North Cape

Contact your Travellers Choice agent.

Fact file Getting there: Thai International Airline flies 40 times a week from Australia to Bangkok: double daily from Sydney and Melbourne, daily from Perth and five times a week from Brisbane, with daily non-stop connections to Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm.

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