Itinerary

You can join this expedition either in Anadyr (see ‘Getting to and from the Russian Far East’) or you can join in Nome, Alaska. Those starting in Nome will fly by a Heritage Expeditions charter flight to Anadyr where you will join the ship and the expedition members who have travelled direct to Anadyr.

Day 0
Those departing from Nome Alaska should arrive in Nome before midday and preferably the previous night. On arrival, you should check in with Bering Air at the Nome Airport who will have details of our charter flight.

During this flight you will cross the International Date Line, arriving into Anadyr on Day 1 of the expedition. You will clear Russian Customs and Immigration.

Day 1: Anadyr
All expedition members will arrive in Anadyr. If you are travelling direct to Anadyr and require pre or post cruise accommodation or excursions, please contact us. Depending on your time of arrival time you may have the opportunity to explore Anadyr before boarding the Spirit of Enderby.

Day 2: Anadyrskiy Bay
We will depart Anadyr Harbour early morning and you are invited to join the Captain, officers and the expedition staff on the bridge. The Anadyr estuary is renowned for its Beluga whales. Today as we sail across Anadyrskiy Bay towards the Bering Strait there will be briefings, introductory lectures and a chance to relax or enjoy some “birding” with our naturalists.

Day 3 - Yttygran, Nuneangan and Akamchrchen Islands
On Yttygran Island Russian anthropologists discovered an ancient aboriginal site nicknamed “Whalebone Alley”. Whalebones stretch along the beach for nearly half a kilometre. There are many meat pits used for storage and other remains of a busy whaling camp that united several aboriginal villages at a time. In one location, immense Bowhead whale jawbones and ribs are placed together in a stunning arch formation. Grey whales are frequently seen around the Island. After landing at “Whalebone Alley” we will take the Zodiacs on a whale watching excursion. We will also cruise close inshore of neighbouring Nuneangan Island (Bird Island) where a large number of seabirds nest. On nearby Akamchrchem Island there is a prominent walrus haul-out; if the animals are present we will land and walk across the tundra to view them from the cliffs.

Day 4 - Cape Dezhnev / Uelen Village
Sea conditions permitting, we will land at Cape Dezhnev early this morning. This is the north-easternmost point of the Eurasian continent as well as an historic landmark named after the Siberian Cossack Semyon Dezhnev, who in 1648 became the first European to sail from the Arctic to the Pacific. A steep scramble from the beach brings you to an abandoned Border Guard base, a monument to Dezhnev and another to all the sailors who have sailed these seas. Eighty-nine kms across Bering Strait is Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska.

A few nautical miles to the west of Cape Dezhnev we visit Uelen Village; the most north-eastern village in Russia. Archaeological work has revealed that walrus, seal and whale hunters have lived here for over 2000 years. Today the population is predominantly Chukchi, with some Russians and Inuit. Hunting is still very important but the village is also one of the largest centres for traditional Chukchi and Inuit art in the world. Sculptures from the bone-carving workshop in Uelen can be found in most of the major museums in Russia. We will be entertained by villagers and visit the bone-carving workshop during our visit.

Day 5 - Kolchyn Island
This small island was once an important Russian Polar Research Station, and for good reason. The place fairly teems with life. Near the abandoned station at the western end of the island are some of the most amazing bird cliffs in the entire Arctic. Puffins, guillemots, gulls and cormorants can be seen from just meters away. Activity is intense, with birds continuously wheeling and circling. At the eastern end of the island is a walrus haul-out. A relatively easy scramble from a landing beside a walrus hunter’s camp brings us to a great observation point overlooking the scene.

Days 6-10 - Wrangel and Herald Islands
Ice and weather conditions permitting, we will spend four days on Wrangel Island, an outstanding High Arctic nature reserve just recently opened to tourism. Wrangel was formerly a large weather station with a staff of over 80, and for a few years indigenous people grazed reindeer. Today it is a Russian Federal Nature Reserve, sometimes referred to as a polar bear maternity ward on account of the large number of cubs born each year. Local Rangers will accompany us during our stay.

Our activities will be determined by the weather, sea and ice, but there are many landings that we can make to search out wildlife and wildflowers. 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 – hopefully including females with cubs. Muskoxen and reindeer were brought to the Island long ago, and we hope to see these in various locations. There is also a great number of bird species breeding here, including the Snow Goose, which breeds nowhere else in Russia. Other species include the Snowy Owl and Skuas.

We will also visit a number of historic sites like Dragi Harbor, where the Karluk’s crew overwintered in 1914 after their ship was crushed by ice. And if conditions permit, we will explore the Herald Islets to the east of Wrangel Island home to one of the largest walrus haulouts in this part of the world.

Day 11 - North Siberian Coast
Although well mapped and charted, there have been very few expedition cruises in this area and consequently there is a lot of scope for expedition landings. Depending on weather and sea conditions we will attempt an expedition landing today. There are several choices. At Cape Vankarem there is reputedly a large walrus haul-out that we would like to visit. The area around the Cape is bounded by narrow sand ridges with numerous coastal lagoons and inlets; nearby there is a small Chukchi village whose residents still make their living hunting walrus, seals and whales. There is another smaller Chukchi village called Nutepelmen which is situated on a spit at the entrance to Pyngopikhin Lagoon which is further west of Cape Vankarem. Depending on weather we may visit any one of these places.

Day 12 - Kolyuchin Inlet
Today we explore the coastal area of the Kolyuchin Inlet. This is a 100 kilometre-long bay substantially separated from the Arctic Ocean by a mouth only 2.8 kilometres wide. It is a wild, desolate region that has a strange beauty about it. The sand dunes and tidal areas around the mouth of this Inlet support a rich variety of birdlife, including Emperor Geese and Spoon-billed Sandpipers. Grey Whales frequent the area and are sometimes spotted feeding only meters offshore.

Day 13 - Big Diomede Island (Ostrov Ratmanova)
In 1867 when the USA purchased Alaska from Russia the new boundary was drawn between Big (Russian) and Little (USA) Diomede Islands. This makes Big Diomede Island Russia’s eastern-most possession. The island was originally inhabited by Yupik Eskimos but after World War two the native population were relocated to the mainland. Today there are no permanent residents but the Russians maintain a Border Guard station there.

It is an important island for birdlife with good numbers of Black-legged kittiwakes, Common and Brunnich’s guillemot and Horned and Tufted puffin. The Island is the northern-most known colony of auklets. We visit the island, and subject to permission, will land.

Day 14 - At Sea
Join the staff for an expedition recap and a disembarkation briefing, then simply relax as we sail across Anadyrskiy Bay towards Anadyr.

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 hotel of your choice.

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