From the romance of the African veld,
to the awe-inspiring ice-scapes of the Arctic and the red sands of Jordan,
three writers go in search of the holiday of a lifetime.
Inside the Arctic Circle
Midnight sun and polar bears – Nicola
Davenport takes an unforgettable trip to the frozen north
‘Walk in a straight line, directly behind
me. Three metres between each person. Do not lag behind!’
Polar
bears outnumber humans up here
You tend to do as you’re told when you’re
trekking across an ice floe towards a seal basking in the Arctic summer
sunshine, in prime hunting territory for hungry polar bears. And when those
orders come from an ex-Norwegian army sniper, loaded rifle at the ready, you
follow them to the letter.
We’re on the island of Spitsbergen in the
Svalbard archipelago, where just weeks later British expedition student Horatio
Chapple will be tragically killed by a polar bear. Despite their protected
status, polar bears (estimated population 3000) outnumber people (2000
inhabitants), and for this reason, we’re forbidden from venturing outside our
Scandi-chic lodgings at Basecamp Isfjord Radio without an armed staff member.
It’s advice we happily follow as we squelch
our way across the ice on high alert. We’re clad in unwieldy survivals suits
with integral wellies that make a quick escape impossible, and every step
creates a footprint that rapidly fills with water. It’s a joy and a privilege
to tread slowly through this pristine wilderness like nowhere else on the
planet, the sun bright, the air crisp, and the water sparkling beneath a
cloudless sky.
the
island of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago
We’re just an hour’s flight north of the
Norwegian mainland, but exactly halfway between Tromso in northern Norway and
the North Pole, at 78010’N, staying in the most northerly hotel in
the world. Originally a base for trappers and miners, Longyearbyen now hosts
mainly geology and climate scientists – and is the starting point for husky –
sledging tours, for those who fancy an adrenaline-charged tour of the island.
On arrival, we voyaged 28 nautical miles
out of Longyearbyen to the far western edge of Spitsbergen, bouncing across the
deserted glassy waters of lsfjorden sea fjord past spooky barely-populated
Russian mining settlements. Along the way, we spied cliffs packed with nesting
guillemots, and flocks of the different seabirds of the Arctic – bobbing
puffins, swooping fulmars, terns and little auks, which are like the Northern hemisphere
equivalent of penguins.
My trip of a lifetime moment, though, has
to be watching the pair of walruses, impressively tusked old men of the deep,
who surface just metres from our boat in the bay outside our snug, stylish
hotel Isfjord Radio one morning, their huge speckled pink faces calmly starting
at us as we gasp at the sight. It’s hard to go to bed when you’re in the land
of the midnight sun – the sky is blue, the sun high day and night – and you
never know when another amazing bird or creature will loom into view. From my
bedroom window, I spot the distinctive blow patterns of basking blue fin whales
on the horizon. Wild white reindeer graze their way past, snow buntings peck in
the perma-frosted scrubby vegetation, eider ducks guard nests on the tundra.
Binoculars aren’t just handy, they’re essential.
hotel
Isfjord Radio
A refreshing pre-breakfast dip in the
Arctic Ocean is the perfect pick-me-up. No wetsuit – we were told to travel
light, as space is tight in the boat – so it’s a dash into the water, then a
matter of how long before the chill forces us out. My lungs freeze, it feels
like someone is sticking icy needles into my skin, and I can’t feel my feet.
But the sense of achievement is massive: how many people can say they’ve swum
within touching distance of the North Pole?
The
white reindeer
Without doubt, it’s the trip of a lifetime,
but I know one thing for sure: I’ll do everything I can to make sure I return.
