Natural Treasures of Russian Far East

Day 1 Otaru / Embark

Otaru is one of Hokkaido's key ports, primarily servicing the nearby city of Sapporo. Otaru is famous, amongst other things, for its Sushi, although it is noted as being some of the most expensive Sushi in Japan!

The city is centerd around a picturesque canal which was once a central part of the city's busy harbor in the first half of the 20th century. Large vessels offshore would unload their cargo onto smaller boats, which then transported the goods to warehouses along the canal. Modern port facilities which allowed for direct unloading of larger vessels rendered the canal obsolete. A local “citizens' movement” were successful in lobbying for a part of the canal to be beautifully restored in the 1980s instead of simply being used as landfill. The warehouses lining the canal were transformed into shops, cafes, museums and restaurants to add to the restoration of the canal area. Local artists present their works to people strolling past along the banks of the canal.

Day 2 Korsakov

Korsakov is the main port for the Russian island of Sakhalin. Just beyond the port is the town of Yuzhno – Sakhalinsk where the majority of Sakhalin’s population live. Today Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is a modern city with well-developed economy and with high level of social, political and cultural life although the city does reflect the Soviet era still, with rows of drab shops, so typical of that time period.

Day 3 At Sea

Day 4 Chirpoy Island

Here volcanic activity will sharpen your senses. Chirpoy Island is still developing. Witness a new volcano forming in the center of the island. Orion II will try to access the large bay near the newer volcano. At Brat Chirpoy, under the supervision of a Russian Fish and Wildlife ranger, you may Zodiac cruise just offshore to view a Steller sea-lion rookery.

Day 5 Yankitcha Island & Mataya Island

Yankicha, the emergent tip of an extinct volcano, is stunning. The steep-walled caldera is broken to the south and is flooded by the sea, forming a tranquil lagoon where harlequins and sea otters show their stuff, and Crested and Whiskered Auklets nest. Near the lip of the lagoon is a gap in the beach which fills with thermal waters - a beckoning setting for a hot spring bath. A hike to the peak of the island will reward you with a panoramic view of the caldera, fringed with jagged peaks. On Matya, a different story, an abandoned Russian air base – bunkers, half-tracks, an anti-aircraft gun, rotting bacteriological-and-chemical-warfare suits, the occasional helmet, and a mound of cooked .762 ammunition.

Day 6 Skali Lavushky & Onekotan Island

Exploring the remote Kuril Islands of Skali Lavushki and Onekotan Islands, seabirds, sea lions and fur seals will greet you with a cacophonous rant as you step ashore from your Zodiacs. As you explore, be on the lookout for the Whiskered Auklets that breed here. On the volcanic island, Onekotan, look for red foxes and bird species, such as the Red-throated Pipit. Offshore, Dall’s porpoises surface along with six species of seals, including Steller sea lions, the largest of all sea lions. These giant pinnipeds hunt fish, squid, octopus and rarely, smaller seals.

Day 7 Shumshu & Atlasova Island

Shumshu is the northernmost of the Kuril Islands. The Japanese and the Russians were still fighting each other on Shumshu as late as October 1945, three months after the official end of hostilities. There are some WWII pillboxes remaining today along the shoreline, but the main reason for your visit is the wildlife. Hundreds of sea-otters, in the kelp beds just offshore make fabulous viewing from our Zodiacs, which will get you close to the otters as they go about their daily business. As an interesting side note, the beaches of Shumshu are littered with glass fishing floats, used by the Japanese to float their fishing nets in the days before plastic floats became the norm.

Anchoring at Atlasova, intend to visit Shelakova Bay, an old whaling station, where creative photographic opportunities will become apparent. Rocky ledges are jammed with seabirds. Shoreside expeditions with oyur naturalists will reveal streams and waterfalls tumbling down the hillsides to the beach - you may come across small brown bears that forage on the island’s hillsides and Asian sea otters. The beaches are all black sand from volcanic ash and rock from three active volcanoes on this island. From over the horizon you will be greeted by the 2,339 metre peak of the submarine volcano ‘Vulkan Alaid”, claimed to be more exquisitely shaped than Mount Fuji. Viewed from satellite photography, its shape is perfectly sculptured. This is the beginning of the southward track down the Kuril Island chain. Explore an abandoned Russian women’s prison near lakes which are heaving with green-snapper, surrounded by scrubland and hills of volcanic ash. Keep an eye out for Asian Rosy-Finches, peregrines and Slatey-backed Gulls.

Day 8 Vestnik Bay

Vestnik Bay is a true wilderness area in this remote land of the Russian Far East. The bay sits within the Yuzhno-Kamchatsky nature reserve on the Kamchatka peninsula, south-east of Petropavlovsk. The plan is to explore the magnificent bay and its surroundings. The scenery is very spectacular and you will have a unique chance to see various mammals and birds, including the Stellar sea eagle, arctic fox and even possibly bears.

Day 9 Zhupanova River

To the south-east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, the Zhupanova River watershed boasts one of the most productive trout rivers in the world. The Kamchatka south-eastern peninsula and river are home to the richest rainbow trout habitat. The Zhupanova drains an area of 404,685 hectares, extending into the central Kamchatka Range of volcanic mountains. The river contains exceptionally large trout, some reaching 9 kg, five species of Pacific salmon, and two species of anadromous char (Salmo alpinus L). The Zhupanova is a resting place for migratory birds. The Russian Far East has more brown bears than Alaska, and the Zhupanova, before or during the annual salmon run, is a good place to see them. The eye stopper here is the huge Steller sea eagle, the heaviest eagle in the world.

Day 10 Petropavlovsk

Good weather will unveil spectacular views of the four active volcanoes, a massive harbor, and one of the oldest towns in the Russian Far East. The explorer, Vitus Bering, laid the first foundation stone there in 1740, and later, Captain Charles Clerke, Captain Cook’s successor, was buried there. This is the crossroads of the continents and it was the jumping off point for both of Bering’s expeditions. Petropavlovsk is still home to a Russian submarine base. Weather permitting, a helicopter flight can target the Valley of the Geysers, the second biggest collection of geothermal features after Yellowstone. For those who can, it is worth it.

Day 11 Petropavlovsk / Disembark

Disembark this morning from the Orion II, and connect to your international flights home.