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Far Frontiers Travel
Far Frontiers Travel specialises in tailor-making bespoke travel to Central Asia, China and Mongolia, the Far East, Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas, Indochina, Middle East, North Africa and Europe, Russia and South America.
Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya expedition (by icebreaker) | 13 - 15 days
Weyprecht and Payer discovered Franz Josef Land, an archipelago of 191 islands, in 1873. It became the scene of several expeditions which sometimes led to dramatic and tragic events. It was here that the historic meeting of Nansen and Jackson took place at Cape Flora on Northbrook Island in 1896.
On Bell Island there is the hut built by Leigh Smith in 1881 and at Cape Norway on Jackson Island there are the remains of the shelter and memorial wooden post where Nansen and Johansen spent seven months during the winter of 1895-96. In 1899 two members of the Welle expedition wintered at Cape Heller on Wilczek Island and, in 1901, Alger Island was the winter refuge of the Baldwin expedition.
We intend to visit walrus rookeries on Stolichky and Appolonov Islands, the seabird colonies on Hooker Island and the majestic cliffs and ice-capped mountains of Champa Island. Polar bears, beluga whales and narwhals are often seen around these islands which were closed to foreigners from 1928 to 1990.
Ship: Kapitan Dranitsyn
When: Franz Josef Land Expedition 17 – 29 July 2012, Novaya Zemlya Expedition 27 July – 9 August 2012
Guide price:From £8,290 per person based on triple cabin (private facilities) for 16 July departure and from £10,255 per person for 27 July departure
Clients’ comments
“As Marion promised, I attach a copy of the log from our recent trip to Franz Josef Land. The photos in the log illustrate the quality of the polar bear encounters! Dense sea ice is definitely the place to see bears at close range, and we couldn’t have got into the middle of it without an icebreaker. In one twenty-four hour period we had fourteen bear encounters. Often with two in view at the same time. (That 14 count involved some repeat visits by the same bear, who seemed fascinated by the ship).”
Grant Hutchison and Marion McMurdo, Franz Josef Land, July 2011