Onboard the Akademik Ioffe
We celebrate the centenary of the first successful voyage
through the Northwest Passage by attempting to repeat
the journey completed by the world’s most successful
polar explorer, Roald Amundson in 1905. Aboard the Akademik Ioffe, we believe our expedition will be the first
Australian voyage travelling from east to west through
the Passage, and it promises to be as much a journey
of discovery as was Amundsen’s exploration.
We’ll travel the northern coast of mainland
Canada, challenging the vast expanses of sea ice as
we sail through the Arctic Archipelago on the lookout
for the plethora of wildlife that flourish in the
region from polar bears to whales. Here we’ll
find evidence of the European legends of discovery,
including the most notorious of all, the ill-fated
Franklin expedition of 1845.
The journey begins in the small community of Resolute
and from there, our route takes us south to Bellot
Strait, where Point Zenith on Boothia Peninsula marks
the most northerly point of Canada’s mainland.
We continue through Franklin Strait, and then sail
west through Coronation Gulf attempting to touch the
waters of the Beaufort Sea to complete the full extent
of the Northwest Passage. Then we turn back making
our eastward voyage back to Resolute. At the conclusion
of our expedition, we’ll hope to travel further
east and explore the last known winter camp of the
Franklin expedition at Beechey Island. Here, we end
our journey paying tribute to all of the Arctic explorers
that shared the spirit of adventure before us.
Note:
Weather, ice, or other conditions may necessitate
changes to our itinerary and alteration to certain
shore excursions.
Itinerary
Day 1 Charter flight from Ottawa
to Resolute, and board vessel. The journey begins
Day 2 Sail south to Peel Sound
Day 3 Bellot Strait and Franklin
Strait
Day 4 Attempt to land at Victory
Point Cairn on King William Island
Day 5 Queen Maud Gulf and Cambridge
Bay
Days 6 - 9 Coronation Gulf to the
Beaufort Sea and back to Cambridge Bay
Day 10 Icebreaker Channel
Day 11 Larson Sound and the Boothia
Peninsula
Day 12 Peel Sound or Prince Regent
Inlet, ice and weather permitting
Day 13 Lancaster Sound and Beechey
Island
Day 14 Return to Resolute to meet
charter flight back to Ottawa
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
23
AUG 2007 |
4590 |
6190 |
6490 |
6950 |
7450 |
7850 |
8350 |
25
AUG 2008* |
4600 |
6200 |
6500 |
6950 |
7450 |
7900 |
8400 |
06 SEP 2008* |
4200 |
5600 |
5950 |
6400 |
6800 |
7200 |
7600 |
Air
Charter 2007 |
1350 |
1350 |
1350 |
1350 |
1350 |
1350 |
1350 |
Air
Charter 2008 |
1650 |
1650 |
1650 |
1650 |
1650 |
1650 |
1650 |
Kayaking
Option |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
Availability Key
|
Available
|
Limited
|
Waitlist
|
| * One less night onboard. ALL PRICES USD. |
Onboard the Akademik Ioffe
We begin in Iqaluit, exploring the southeast coast
of spectacular Baffin Island. As we turn and cross
Baffin Bay towards Greenland, we’ll be watching
for whales, polar bears, seabirds and icebergs. The
next days are spent exploring the spectacular coast
of Greenland to Illulissat, to cruise among the gigantic
icebergs along the ice front created by Jakobshavn
Glacier, the fastest-moving glacier on earth –
about 15 to 25 metres a day! We'll also stop on the
Greenland coast at Uummannaq, a picturesque village
set in the shadow of a red gneiss mountain, some of
the oldest rock in the world.
Heading west, back to Canada we visit Milne Inlet,
the breeding ground for the rare narwhal and we may
have them surfacing around us as we cruise in the
Zodiacs. Another stop is Pond Inlet, famous for its
soapstone carvings. From here, we can hike to the
ancient site at Salmon River to see the remains of
Thule houses built in deep pits with rafters of whalebone.
We cross Lancaster Sound – the ‘wildlife
highway’ – and hike in the solitude of
beautiful Navy Board Inlet on the north coast of Baffin
Island.
We'll visit Beechey Island, which gives us an historical
perspective on the centuries-long quest to find the
Northwest Passage and a new trade route across the
top of the world. We hike to the graves marking the
winter camp of the ill-fated 1845 Franklin expedition.
In search of the Northwest Passage, all 132 men died
after their ships were crushed by the ice. At Prince
Leopold Island, we cruise in the Zodiacs beneath cliffs
teeming with birdlife, including thick-billed murres,
northern fulmars, black-legged kittiwakes, and black
guillemots.
Note: Weather, ice, or other conditions may necessitate changes
to our itinerary and alteration to certain shore excursions.
Note:
Weather, ice, or other conditions may necessitate
changes to our itinerary and alteration to certain
shore excursions.
Itinerary
Day 1 Charter flight from Ottawa
to Iqaluit, the capital of Canada’s newest territory:
Nunavut
Day 2 Exploring the East Coast of
Baffin Island
Days 3 - 4 Crossing Davis Strait
to Greenland
Day 5 Sisimiut
Day 6 Illullissat
Day 7 Qeqertarsuaq / Uummannaq
Days 8 - 9 At Sea. Baffin Bay
Day 10 Visit Pond Inlet, Canada
Day 11 Revel in the diversity of
northern wildlife as we reach Prince Leopold Island
Day 12 Beechey Island, Canada
Day 13 Disembark at Resolute to meet
return charter flight to Ottawa
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
22
JUL 2008 |
4500 |
5990 |
6500 |
6900 |
7500 |
7900 |
8500 |
Air
Charter |
1350 |
1350 |
1350 |
1350 |
1350 |
1350 |
1350 |
Kayaking
Option |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
Availability Key
|
Available
|
Limited
|
Waitlist
|
|
* All prices in USD. |
Onboard the Akademik Ioffe
Our first stop is likely to be Beechey Island, which
gives us an historical perspective on the centuries-long
quest to find the Northwest Passage and a new trade
route across the top of the world. We hike to the
graves marking the winter camp of the ill-fated 1845
Franklin expedition. In search of the Northwest Passage,
all 132 men died after their ships were crushed by
the ice. At Prince Leopold Island, we cruise in the
Zodiacs beneath cliffs teeming with birdlife, including
thick-billed murres, northern fulmars, black-legged
kittiwakes, and black guillemots.
Heading east, we cross Lancaster Sound – the
‘wildlife highway’ – and hike in
the solitude of beautiful Navy Board Inlet on the
north coast of Baffin Island. Milne Inlet is the breeding
ground for the rare narwhal and we may have them surfacing
around us as we cruise in the Zodiacs. Pond Inlet
is famous for its soapstone carvings. From here, we
can hike to the ancient site at Salmon River to see
the remains of Thule houses built in deep pits with
rafters of whalebone. As we turn and cross Baffin
Bay towards Greenland, we’ll be watching for
whales, polar bears, seabirds and icebergs. Our first
stop on the Greenland coast is Uummannaq, a picturesque
village set in the shadow of a red gneiss mountain,
some of the oldest rock in the world. The next days
are spent exploring the spectacular coast of Greenland
to Illulissat, to cruise among the gigantic icebergs
along the ice front created by Jakobshavn Glacier,
the fastest-moving glacier on earth – about
15 to 25 metres a day! We cross back to Canada exploring
the southeast coast of Baffin Island.
Note:
Weather, ice, or other conditions may necessitate
changes to our itinerary and alteration to certain
shore excursions.
Itinerary
Day 1 Charter flight from Ottawa
to Resolute, deep in the High Arctic. Board vessel
and depart
Day 2 Beechey Island, Canada
Day 3 Prince Leopold Island, Canada
Day 4 Visit Pond Inlet, Canada
Days 5 - 6 Sailing Baffin Bay towards
Greenland
Day 7 Visit Uummannaq, Greenland.
Day 8 Visit Ilulissat and Jakobshavn
Glacier, Greenland
Day 9 Sisimiut / Qeqertarsuaq
Days 10 - 12 Crossing Baffin Bay
to Baffin Island, exploring the east coast of Baffin
Island
Day 13 Disembark at Iqaluit to meet
return charter flight to Ottawa
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
05
SEP 2007 |
4290 |
5690 |
6050 |
6450 |
6890 |
7250 |
7750 |
Air
Charter |
1350 |
1350 |
1350 |
1350 |
1350 |
1350 |
1350 |
Kayaking
Option |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
Availability Key
|
Available
|
Limited
|
Waitlist
|
|
* All prices in USD. |
Onboard the Akademik Ioffe
The High Arctic Explorer is truly a voyage of adventure
and discovery. We will sail out and have some fun
investigating the area that challenged the famous
explorers of the past. This beautiful but extreme
environment is still remote and wild, and to get the
best out of it, we will relax and ‘go with the
floe’. Travel in this region relies on understanding
sea ice, and as many explorers before us have found,
is truly a ‘moveable feast’. We will be
visiting an area that overflows with history, and
is also renowned for its rare and spectacular wildlife,
including polar bear, narwhal and walrus. This is
wilderness at its most extreme and beautiful, with
towering cliffs and glaciers, flowing tundra and ice
in all its forms. We will explore both the eastern
Canadian High Arctic and the northwest coast of Greenland,
travelling to places that very few people have ever
seen, exploring new areas and the discovering new
lands. We will also visit some of the world’s
most remote communities, where we will be shyly welcomed
by local Inuit and introduced to both the modern and
ancient aspects of their culture. This basic itinerary
represents an idealised plan and will change in order
to take advantage of the best opportunities that the
ice and weather present.
Note:
Weather, ice, or other conditions may necessitate
changes to our itinerary and alteration to certain
shore excursions.
Itinerary
Day 1 Charter flight from Ottawa
to Resolute, deep in the High Arctic. Board the vessel
and depart
Day 2 Wellington Channel and Beechey
Island
Day 3 Croker Bay and Dundas Harbour,
Devon Island
Day 4 Jones Sound and Grise Fjord
Day 5 Cobourg Island National Wildlife
Area
Day 6 Qaanaaq, Greenland
Day 7 Kap York and Melville Bay
Day 8 Baffin Bay
Day 9 Pond Inlet
Day 10 Navy Board and Cape Hay Migratory
Bird Sanctuary
Day 11 Port Leopold and Somerset
Island
Day 12 Arrive in Resolute and connect
with charter flight to Ottawa
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
03
AUG 2008 |
4300 |
5700 |
6000 |
6500 |
6900 |
7300 |
7900 |
14
AUG 2008 |
4300 |
5700 |
6000 |
6500 |
6900 |
7300 |
7900 |
Air
Charter 2008 |
1650 |
1650 |
1650 |
1650 |
1650 |
1650 |
1650 |
Kayaking
Option |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
395 |
Availability Key
|
Available
|
Limited
|
Waitlist
|
|
* All prices in USD. |
