Franz Josef Land Explorer

Arrive in Kirkenes, Norway, located on the border with Russia. Join a pre-arranged half day excursion or activity prior to boarding the Greg Mortimer in the late afternoon. Airport transfers will be included if arriving on preferred flights into Kirkenes.

You’ll have time to settle into your cabin before your important briefings. Sail the scenic Bokfjord to reach the Barents Sea on your way to Murmansk in neighboring Russia.

After sailing overnight into Russia, stop in Murmansk, to undergo formalities to enter Russia. During clearance procedures, you may go on a city of Murmansk visiting the monument to the soldier of WW2 and also the first nuclear icebreaker Lenin.

Over the next two days at sea, enjoy informative and entertaining lectures from your expert expedition team including naturalists, historian, and geologists.

Novaya Zemlya archipelago was once an important nuclear research site during the cold war, and today only a few places in the north are accessible to visitors. These islands offer stunning rugged Arctic landscapes - enormous extinct volcanoes, jagged cliffs and the most isolated mountain range in the Baltic Sea. For wildlife lovers, Novaya Zemlya boasts a great variety of flora and fauna, many of which are on the brink of extinction.

You can hope to visit Inostrantseva Bay, which has one of the most picturesque glaciers in the entire Novaya Zemlya archipelago. The bay offers breathtaking panoramic views of Arctic wilderness. The fog can be quite thick here and the swell can be high, but the expedition team will attempt to launch Zodiacs to explore the bay and photograph the stunning icy landscape. If you’re able to land, enjoy hiking along the coastline and observe some of the endemic species of Arctic flora and fauna.

Just north of the northern tip of Novaya Zemlya Archipelago is Oransky, a group of several small inshore islands, located within the Russian Arctic National Park established in 2009. The islands themselves are not inhabited by humans, but remnants of early hunting activity are visible. At the nearby Zhelania Cape, situated at the northeastern-most tip of Northern Island a manned weather station was operated as well as a military base, but both were closed in the 1990s. On Oransky Islands Brünnich’s guillemots, black-legged kittiwakes, glaucous gulls, black guillemots, Atlantic puffins and great skuas can be found breeding. You may get a chance to see a massive walrus rookery, various species of whale, and the Novaya Zemlya reindeer. If we’re very lucky we may also see polar bear, and the ones found at Novaya Zemlya are considered to be a genetically unique sub-species.

Franz Josef Land is a stark yet beautiful world of glaciers, mosses and lichens. Approximately five million seabirds nest on the archipelago every year, with the Brünnich’s guillemot accounting for approximately twenty percent of the population. Other seabirds such as fulmar, kittiwake, black guillemot and little auk, are common throughout the archipelago. On the flat tundra, nest species such as common eider, purple sandpiper, arctic skua, glaucous gull, ivory gull, arctic tern and snow bunting can be seen. Franz Josef Land is home to two arctic giants – the polar bear and the walrus. The waters of Franz Josef Land are visited by whales, including humpback, bowhead, narwhal and white beluga whale. Possible landings may include Prince George Land, Alexandra Land, Bell and Mabel Island, Champ Island and Cape Flora (Northbrook Island).

The return crossing of the Barents Sea offers some good opportunities to encounter whales, perhaps the elusive bowhead whale if you’re lucky, and certainly plenty of opportunities to photograph seabirds.

Arrive in Murmansk in the morning, bid farewell to your expedition team, crew and fellow expeditioners as you all continue your onward journeys, hopefully with a newfound sense of the immense power of nature. A transfer to downtown Murmansk or the airport is included in the cost of the voyage.