(All Meals included while on the Ship)
Day 1
Overnight in Ottawa
Since we will be departing in the early morning for Resolute Bay, our journey will begin with an overnight stay in an Ottawa hotel. This will serve as our rendezvous for the early morning bus pick-up that will take us to the airport. You will be notified of these arrangements prior to departure.
o/n Hotel in Ottawa
Day 2
Charter Flight to Resolute
Today we’ll have an early departure from Ottawa on our charter flight to Resolute. Our flight north will cross the lush green fields and mixed forests of southern Canada and then change gradually to the lakes, boreal forest and barren rocky exposures typical of Labrador. As we cross Hudson Strait and approach Baffin Island, we’ll see a dramatic change, as the tundra and ice of the Arctic becomes more apparent. After a refueling stop in Iqaluit, we’ll reach Resolute Bay, a remote high Arctic community on the shores of Cornwallis Island, at the western end of Lancaster Sound.
On arrival we will be met by the expedition staff and transferred to the ship. On the way, if time permits, we will stop at the remains of a remarkably well-preserved Thule settlement and discover some of the fascinating facts about the ancestors of the modern day Inuit.
Once on board the
R.V. Akademik Ioffe, we’ll be shown to our comfortable cabins after which we’ll meet the expedition staff. After a detailed briefing, we’ll take part in a lifeboat drill as we sail along Lancaster Sound. We’ll head directly for Peel Sound where your Arctic adventure begins in earnest. Part of the briefing will include a discussion on the ice conditions, which as always, will determine our route.
Day 3
Lancaster Sound / Beechey Island / Prince Leopold Island
Today, our first day at sea, we’ll sail east in historic Lancaster Sound to Beechey Island, the last known major location of the Franklin Expedition, which wintered over on this remote spot in 1845-1846. This British Expedition, in search of the Northwest Passage, was renowned for its mysterious failure, in which all its men were lost, as well as for the number of rescue missions triggered by its disappearance. Beechey Island, a bleak spot to contemplate staying for an Arctic winter, is not really an island and consists of a narrow isthmus exposed at low tide and several raised gravel beaches trapped between 120 metre cliffs and the shoreline. Today, some remains of Franklin’s Expedition, can still be seen on the island. The story of what actually happened to Franklin’s men is still shrouded in mystery and the search for them has never been officially called off. Many of the expeditions sent to discover the fate of the Franklin Expedition stopped here, and the remains of these expeditions are visible in the outlines of the ruins of Northumberland House.
There are also four graves, three of which are from the Franklin Expedition. While this place is desolate, it is a site that commemorates the determination of the British to explore and open up the Arctic, no matter the cost, and it stands as a marker to the courage of all the people that have died exploring this vast and fascinating land.
After exploring Beechey Island, we’ll sail to Prince Leopold Island. This famous bird sanctuary, with its dark and foreboding cliffs, is one of our highlights and is home to over half a million sea birds. We’ll cruise along the bottom of the cliffs of this sanctuary and marvel at the myriads of sea birds filling the sky above us with their raucous cries. We may still be in time to see recently fledged Thick-billed Murres join their fathers on their epic swim to winter off the coast of Southern Greenland and Newfoundland.
Day 4
Bellot Strait / FortRoss
When we reach the southern end of Somerset Island today, if our ice luck holds, we will explore Bellot Strait and perhaps sail its entire length. This strait separates Boothia Peninsula, the most northerly part of mainland Canada, from Somerset Island to the north. The strait was discovered in 1852 and named after the young French naval officer who was second-in-command of Captain William Kennedy’s search for remains of the 1845 Franklin expedition. Later, Francis McClintock wintered in the shelter of the strait in 1858-59, while on another search for the Franklin Expedition. Bellot Strait is narrow (3-13 km wide and only 48 km long), and was missed by John Ross when he explored the area in 1829. The channel scenery is quite spectacular, with the southern shore rising to over 750 m in some places and the northern shore reaching almost 500 m. As usual we'll be keeping an eye out for the seals and whales that occur in these waters.
While in this area we will also attempt to visit Fort Ross at Depot Bay. This was the last trading post, built in 1937 by the Hudson's Bay Company, in Canada's Arctic. It was meant to bridge the eastern and western Arctic fur trading districts through the Bellot Strait. Rising out of the vast Arctic wilderness, Fort Ross had two buildings — a manager's house and a store — and was also home to a number of Inuit families. It was operated for some 11 years, but eventually abandoned in 1948 because ice constantly choked the strait. Fort Ross is well known for its Polar Bear population and we’ll be on the look out for these magnificent creatures.
Day 5
Victory Point, King William Island
Today we hope to stop on an island that will undoubtedly be one of the historical highlights of our trip, in a place where the mystery surrounding the notorious Franklin expedition still prevails We hope to visit King William Island, and possibly even Victory Point, today. The mystery that surrounds the Franklin Expedition is palpable around this point. It was somewhere near here that Franklin’s ships were trapped in the ice for two winters. The ships were abandoned on April 22nd, 1848, north-northwest of Victory Point.
The only written record ever recovered from the expedition was found buried in a cairn at Victory Point, by McClintock’s search expedition, 10 years after the disastrous expedition disappeared. Other traces of the expedition were found scattered along the coast of the island by John Rae, but no trace of the ships has ever been confirmed, despite numerous searches using the latest underwater search equipment. Amundsen also sailed down the west coast of King William Island, and set up scientific instrumentation in several locations and located the magnetic North Pole, then very near King William Island. He found a protected harbour in the south of the island and called it Gjoahaven, after his ship, the
Gjoa. This is now called Uqsuquqtuuq, but is still known to many as Gjoahaven. The small community takes advantage of the traditional Inuit summer caribou hunting grounds in the area.
Day 6
Gjoa Haven
We’ll sail down the east coast of King William Island and stop at the village of Gjoa Haven. This is a small Arctic village with less than 1000 inhabitants. The Inuit name for the town is
Usqsuqtuuq, which means “a place of plenty of fat”, referring to the excellent hunting and fishing grounds close to the town.
We plan to spend some time in the village and get acquainted with the locals. We’ll also visit the Northwest Passage Territorial Park interpretation centre, where we hope to learn about the European exploration of the region as well as the Inuit culture still present in the community. We will leave Gjoa Haven to sail through Simpson Strait, a shallow waterway that has challenged many ships over the years. As always our transit will depend on wind and ice conditions. We’ll be up on deck enjoying the beautiful scenery and we’ll also be on the lookout for Musk Oxen and Polar Bears
Day 7
Jenny Lind Island and Coronation Gulf
We’ll continue with our series of shipboard lectures as we head west into Coronation Gulf. We’ll keep the continent of North America on our port side and the Arctic Archipelago on our starboard. Ice and wind will dictate our activities as we search for small bays with good landing beaches to explore the tundra. Once ashore our expedition naturalists will help us identify the many beautiful Arctic plants and birds in the area. The channels and passageways between the islands of the archipelago are poorly charted, often still relying on the soundings taken by the early explorers. This fact, coupled with the constantly moving sea ice makes navigating in these waters quite an adventure. However, we’ll relax, confident in the fact that our Russian captain and crew and our Canadian Ice Captain have many years experience in the north and a full range of sophisticated navigation instrumements. This is one area, in particular, when the ice will determine our route, just as the early explorers experienced. As we continue our voyage, we’ll see remains some DEW Line stations; a system of radar sites designed to provide early warnings of potential attacks during the Cold War.
We hope to visit Jenny Lind Island, with its many bird species, curiously named after a popular 19th century Swedish opera singer.
Days 8 - 9
Holman, Northwest Territories
Our destination is the hamlet of Holman or Ulukaktok, Northwest Territories This small community, the most westerly hamlet that we visit, is well known for its print shop and the unique style of local artwork it produces. We hope to visit the print shop and meet some of the local artists while in town. Ulukaktok is also famous for the proliferation of wildlife in the hills and cliffs that surround the village. Polar Bears are common and we may see Arctic Fox and Barren Ground Caribou. Peregrine Falcons nest in the area and sometimes Barren Ground Grizzlies can also be seen.
Day 10
Smoking Hills, Northwest Territories
With good visibility, we should see the Smoking Hills from miles away as we approach the coastline. Our plan is to disembark by Zodiac and hike up into the hills to look at this phenomenon. The bituminous shale of these hills has been spontaneously burning for centuries, affecting the local tundra vegetation and the acidity of the tundra ponds nearby. Here, vast deposits of lignite, concentrations of carbon-rich shale and pyrite rich in sulphur - literally ignite spontaneously when the hills erode and the mineral veins are exposed to the air, producing a constant smoke. The local community Paulatuk (Paulatuuq, "place of soot"), is named because of the ash that has collected from the hills. In 1850 British Navy Captain Robert McClure was sent to explore the coastline of this part of the Beaufort Sea during the intensive search for the lost Sir John Franklin expedition.
At the mouth of the Horton, McClure sent a search party to investigate what appeared to be a smoldering fire in what is now Franklin Bay. The party found not flames from Franklin 's campfires, but thick columns of smoke emerging from vents in the ground. The sailors are said to have returned with a sample of the smoldering rock, and when they set it down on McClure's desk it burned a hole in the wood.
The Smoking Hills have been burning for centuries, and undoubtedly will for many more. As interesting as the hills are we will still be looking for Caribou and hopefully see some Arctic Wolves in this area.
Day 11
Pearce Point
Today we’ll turn back to the east and start to make our way towards Cambridge Bay. We will stop along the way to visit a few abandoned outposts and villages along the way. At Pearce Point, we will learn about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and their sovereignty outposts in the Arctic. This area along the coast is a great place to hike and view the tundra. Musk Ox are plentiful and, as usual, we’ll be keeping a wary eye out for Polar Bears and maybe Arctic Foxes hunting for Collared Lemmings. This area was home to the ancestors of the Inuvialuit, a distinct group of Inuit, who came from Arctic Alaska to the Canadian Arctic between approximately 800 and 1,000 years ago, according to archaeological evidence. We hope to visit a number of archaeological sites, near Pearce Point, where the earliest Inuvialuit lived.
Day 12
Bernard Harbour
As we travel further eastwards we’ll visit Bernard Harbour. The remains of a Hudson’s Bay Company trading post and an Inuit community are here, both abandoned since the 1950’s. The Hudson’s Bay post was established in 1916 along with an Anglican mission to the area. Both the Hudson Bay post and the mission closed down soon afterwards but the area experienced somewhat of a revival with the advent of the DRW Line station, only to fade again when the site was closed. The tundra around the area is rich in plant and animal life and we’ll enjoy our time ashore with our expedition naturalists
Day 13
Byron Bay / Victoria Island / Lachlan River
We will move farther east on our way to Cambridge Bay and we will stop near the mouth of the Lachlan River in Byron Bay. This is a great place to hike and view the tundra. It is a place frequented by Musk Ox and caribou. They feed on the Black Crowberry and Alpine Bilberry that grow here in profusion. Lichens of all species are to be found in great quantities and support the caribou in the winter. Grasses and sedges are also interspersed with small stands of Balsam Fir. We will marvel at the incredible number of birds in the area, particularly Snow and Ross’s Geese, all protected by the Queen Maud Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary.
Day 14
Cambridge Bay
The final destination of our expedition is the settlement of Cambridge Bay on the southern shore of Victoria Island. Cambridge Bay, also known as Ikaluktutiak, or "good fishing place", is a hunting, trapping, and fishing centre. The shallow waters near Cambridge Bay are rich in Arctic Char and support a small commercial fishery. Whale species do not venture into these shallow, isolated waters; however, the Narwhal is small and flexible enough to be comfortable in the confined area of the Gulf. Other marine mammals that do venture into Queen Maud Gulf include several seal species and the Polar Bears that prey on them. If time permits we’ll have a short tour of the community and then we’ll transfer to the airport for our charter flight to Edmonton and our hotel for the night.
o/n Hotel in Edmonton
