Sea cruise to Chukotka

Day 1 Anadyr

All expedition members will arrive in Anadyr; depending on your time of arrival you may have the opportunity to explore Anadyr, before getting to know your fellow voyagers and expedition team on board the Spirit of Enderby. We will depart when everybody is on board.

Day 2 Anadyrskiy Bay

At sea today, there will be some briefings and lectures. It is also a chance for some ‘birding’ cetacean watching and settling into ship life. Late this afternoon we plan to Zodiac cruise some spectacular bird cliffs in Preobrazheniya Bay.

Day 3 Yttygran Island and Gilmimyl Hot Springs

Yttygran Island is home to the monumental ancient aboriginal site known as Whale Bone Alley. Whalebones stretch along the beach for nearly half a kilometre. Gray Whales are frequently seen around the island. 

This  afternoon we intend to make a landing at the Gilmimyl Hot Springs. They are a short walk from the coastline, but well worth the effort. There will be a chance to explore the tundra for birds, plants and animals. After a soak in the springs we will re-join the ship for a relaxing evening.

Day 4 Cape Dezhnev and Lavrentiya Village

Dropping anchor in beautiful Lavrentiya Bay, we expect to spend the morning exploring its historically and culturally rich village. We plan to visit the Lavrentiya museum and meet local elders.

Sea conditions permitting, we will land at Cape Dezhnev in the afernoon. The north-eastern most point of the Eurasian continent, it is sometimes possible to see the coast of America from this remote and lonely outpost. On the cape there are a lighthouse, a monument and the remains of a Border Guard base. A short distance south of the cape is the former Inuit settlement of Naukan. 

Day 5 Kolyuchin Island

This small island was once an important Russian Polar Research Station and one of a number dotted across the Arctic. Near the derelict buildings are some of the most spectacular bird cliffs in the Arctic where puffins, guillemots and gulls can be observed and photographed up close.

Day 6 to 10 Wrangel and Herald Islands

Ice and weather conditions permitting, we will spend the next few days on Wrangel Island and we will also attempt to include a visit to nearby Herald Island. There are many landings that we can make to search out wildlife, wild flowers and Arctic landscapes. Polar Bears will be high on our list of animals to see and with a little patience we should be rewarded with a number of encounters.

We also have a chance to visit Dragi Harbour where the survivors of the Karluk which was crushed by ice in 1914 scrambled ashore and lived until they were rescued.

Wrangel Island is a Russian Federal Nature Reserve of international significance and importance particularly as it is a major Polar Bear denning area. Also each summer thousands of birds migrate here to breed, including Snow Geese, Snowy Owls, skuas, Arctic Terns, Ross’s, Sabine and Ivory Gulls.

Day 11 Kolyuchin Inlet and North Siberian Coast

Kolyuchin Inlet is so huge that it is visible from satellite photos, this inlet contains vast numbers of waterfowl and migratory waders. We concentrate our visit on the Belaka Spit near the mouth of the inlet. It is a wild, desolate landscape that is strangely beautiful. We search the dunes and tidal areas for birdlife including Emperor Geese and Spoon-billed Sandpipers. Gray Whales frequent the area and are sometimes spotted feeding only metres offshore.

Bounded by narrow sand ridges with numerous lagoons and inlets, this area offers plenty of places to land and explore this extensive coastline. We will be on the lookout for whales, walrus and other wildlife. We will see Chukchi villages whose residents survive in an unforgiving climate, hunting seals and whales just as their ancestors did.

Day 12 Diomede Islands and Chukotka Coast

Early morning we will pass through the Bering Strait, the only gateway between the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, and one of the world’s most nutrient-rich stretches of water. Each spring it is the scene of one of the planet’s largest wildlife migrations. Beluga, Bowhead and Gray Whales, walrus, Polar Bears, Ringed and Ribbon Seals and numerous seabirds are all known to frequent the strait.

Here we will pass between the Diomede Islands, sometimes called Tomorrow Island and Yesterday Isle because they straddle the International Date Line. It is an important island for birdlife with spectacular numbers of Black-legged Kittiwakes, Common and Brunnich’s Guillemot and Horned and Tufted Puffin. Later this afternoon we make an expedition landing on the Chukotka coast, our last chance to enjoy the wildlife and tundra landscape.

Day 13 Bukhta Penkingney and Arakamchechen Island

This morning we will be launching our Zodiacs with a planned landing at Bukhta Penkingney, a long fiord cut into the coastline by glaciers and popular spot for whale watching.  Exploring this scenic location we will be looking for Arctic Ground Squirrels and Pikas, Willow Ptarmigan, Sandhill Cranes and brown bears attracted by the berries and salmon-filled river.

This afternoon we plan to cruise over to Arakamchechen Island, just north of Cape Chaplino and separated from the Chukotka mainland by the 8-kilometre wide Senyavina Strait. On Arakamchechen Island we aim to explore the lush tundra and, if they are present, view the walrus haul out from the cliffs

Day 14 At sea

While the boat crosses the Anadyr Bay, you will have free time to relax in the library or bar. In the evening you will be invited to a farewell dinner.

Day 15 Anadyr

After breakfast it will be time to say our farewells. There will be a complimentary transfer to the airport or to a central downtown hotel.