Inside an extraordinary 'polar bear' cruise to the top of the world: Traveler films trip around remote Svalbard archipelago (with sauna and hot tub on board to keep her warm)
Jo Kessel filmed her journey on the Hurtigruten Expeditions ship MS Spitsbergen See below for exclusive footage of Jo being attacked by an Arctic tern. The boat reaches the “ice edge” of the North Pole, where guests kayak. READ MORE: Couple share 15 breathtaking photos of their exotic globetrotter
Travel writer Jo Kessel filmed the ultimate polar bear cruise aboard the ship 220-passenger expedition boat from Hurtigruten Expeditions (HX). MS Spitsbergen. The film shows what life is like on an expedition, with passengers exploring on foot and in inflatable zodiac boats in search of wildlife and glaciers. Plus, there's exclusive footage of Jo being attacked by an Arctic tern, kayaking on the ice edge of the North Pole and finding a very well-fed polar bear.
There are many animals that most of us expect to see in a David Attenborough documentary, such as tigers, gorillas and marine life from the depths of the ocean.
For me, polar bears were firmly on that list, but then I heard about an expedition trip organized by the cruise line Norwegian Hurtigruten Expeditions. One of its routes circles the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway, home to polar bears.
And with a sighting of an individual virtually guaranteed, it was too exciting an opportunity to pass up.
The remote wilderness of Svalbard lies halfway between Norway and the North Pole. The cruise makes a round trip from its capital Longyearbyen, the northernmost city in the world, located a three-hour flight from Oslo. This is where I meet the 220-passenger MS Spitsbergen, my home for the next ten days.
Travel writer Jo Kessel filmed the ultimate polar bear cruise aboard the ship 220-passenger expedition boat from Hurtigruten Expeditions (HX). MS Spitsbergen. The film shows what life is like on an expedition, with passengers exploring on foot and in inflatable zodiac boats in search of wildlife and glaciers. Plus, there's exclusive footage of Jo being attacked by an Arctic tern, kayaking on the ice edge of the North Pole and finding a very well-fed polar bear.
There are many animals that most of us expect to see in a David Attenborough documentary, such as tigers, gorillas and marine life from the depths of the ocean.
For me, polar bears were firmly on that list, but then I heard about an expedition trip organized by the cruise line Norwegian Hurtigruten Expeditions. One of its routes circles the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway, home to polar bears.
And with a sighting of an individual virtually guaranteed, it was too exciting an opportunity to pass up.
The remote wilderness of Svalbard lies halfway between Norway and the North Pole. The cruise makes a round trip from its capital Longyearbyen, the northernmost city in the world, located a three-hour flight from Oslo. This is where I meet the 220-passenger MS Spitsbergen, my home for the next ten days.
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