Butterfly Bay
All were happy to find the morning dawned with blue skies and sunshine. Straight away there was a brief sighting of a bowhead whale, something many of us were keen to see. The ship turned and slowed but the elusive whale was never spotted again. Next, we were on to Butterfly Bay on the Southeast tip of Baffin Island.
Hikes ashore were planned but as we pulled into the anchorage three polar bears were spotted along the shore. Two wandered away but the third stayed to enjoy a whale carcass on the beach. All the ships Zodiacs were used for a group tour to get a closer look at the bear. As a group we slowly motored closer to shore, finding the bear happily munching on bones. Photos were constantly being taken as we all silently watched, awed by this close viewing of the ice bear. Finally, it was time to turn back to the National Geographic Explorer. We had all had an amazing observation of a polar bear, but we had other adventures planned for us in the afternoon. The ships anchor was heaved and we headed south.
Once again the ever useful Zodiacs were lowered and we set out on cruises around Monumental Island. Instantly, two polar bears were spotted high up on the cliffs. A circumnavigation of the island found us a group of walrus swimming together, always touching. The second round of Zodiac cruising resulted in a cruise to a nearby island where there was a larger group of walrus hauled out on the rocks. Making an attempt to approach from downwind we smelled this group of walrus long before we saw them. The ship weighed anchor and met us at the end of our Zodiac tour where we all daringly braved the rolling swell to climb back into the ship. A lovely sunset was the perfect ending to a rather perfect wildlife day here in Baffin Island.
All were happy to find the morning dawned with blue skies and sunshine. Straight away there was a brief sighting of a bowhead whale, something many of us were keen to see. The ship turned and slowed but the elusive whale was never spotted again. Next, we were on to Butterfly Bay on the Southeast tip of Baffin Island.
Hikes ashore were planned but as we pulled into the anchorage three polar bears were spotted along the shore. Two wandered away but the third stayed to enjoy a whale carcass on the beach. All the ships Zodiacs were used for a group tour to get a closer look at the bear. As a group we slowly motored closer to shore, finding the bear happily munching on bones. Photos were constantly being taken as we all silently watched, awed by this close viewing of the ice bear. Finally, it was time to turn back to the National Geographic Explorer. We had all had an amazing observation of a polar bear, but we had other adventures planned for us in the afternoon. The ships anchor was heaved and we headed south.
Once again the ever useful Zodiacs were lowered and we set out on cruises around Monumental Island. Instantly, two polar bears were spotted high up on the cliffs. A circumnavigation of the island found us a group of walrus swimming together, always touching. The second round of Zodiac cruising resulted in a cruise to a nearby island where there was a larger group of walrus hauled out on the rocks. Making an attempt to approach from downwind we smelled this group of walrus long before we saw them. The ship weighed anchor and met us at the end of our Zodiac tour where we all daringly braved the rolling swell to climb back into the ship. A lovely sunset was the perfect ending to a rather perfect wildlife day here in Baffin Island.
