Week one in Svalbard

So despite wearing seal hats as polar bear lures, no sightings so far!  Plenty of other lovely wildlife though and amazing scenery.  Here are a few photos so far...

Heading off for a day on the boat... 

The northern fulmars here are the same species as in the UK but much much darker in colour.

 

One of the glaciers near Longyearbyen

We stopped at Pyramiden which is an abandoned Russian mining town.  Here we were shown around by Denis, who was the maddest guide I have ever had.  He is an emo from a small Siberian village who decided to come and live in the abandoned village a couple of years ago.

A little auk tries unsuccessfully to take off as the boat approaches! 

 

Crozet take two!

So this year was busier than usual so I think there may be fewer photos than normal!!

Befriending a young wandering albatross didn't start too well!!

Two light mantled sooty albatross, which do their mating dance in the air

Half way through I got to go on holiday and camp in what must be the remote location yet!

  

A quiet afternoon left me time to photograph some young birds trying to choose their partner

On our night on the island, we were in a small hut near the base and had some amazing scenery and even a rainbow to walk through on our way home!

 
Geeks among you will appreciate my excitement when three shy albatrosses started circling the boat less than a day after we left Crozet - the earliest ever and highest number!

A photos of the lovely black browed albatross to finish....

 Adventures in South Africa