Itinerary

Day 1: Kangerlussuaq (Sondre Stromfjord), Greenland

Arriving into Kangerlussuaq on our chartered flight from Toronto, it is possible to see the largest ice cap in the world from your airplane window. Boarding the Adventurer in the afternoon, we will make our journey down spectacular Sondre Stromfjord.

Day 2: Itilleq

A small town with a population just over 140, Itilleq became a trading station in 1847. Primarily a fishing community, its residents are closely tied to the land and surrounding seas for their food and livelihood. Located right on the Arctic Circle, Itilleq is the southernmost point for dog sledding in Greenland. The colourful buildings charm visitors as we engage the local soccer team in our annual match.

Day 3: Ilulissat (Jakobshavns Isfjord)

With a population of just over 4,000 people, Ilulissat is Greenland's third largest town. The harbour is a picturesque mishmash of icebergs, fishing boats, hovering gulls and friendly faces. Once ashore we will learn about the inhabitants of Ilulissat and West Greenland at the museum and cultural centers. Art lovers can look for their very own Tupilak, a small carving, characteristic of the area, meant to ward off evil spirits. After our community experience we will walk to the ridge of the Ilulissat Icefjord, an awe inspiring setting where we can hear the fast moving glacial ice-stream and grumbling as the massive icesheets and bergs make their way out into the harbour set on a course for Newfoundland and beyond.

Day 4: Crossing Davis Strait to Isabella Bay

While crossing Davis Strait, we'll relax and enjoy onboard lectures and opportunities to watch for wildlife from the ship's decks.

Isabella Bay is a late summer and fall feeding destination for many Baffin Bay/Davis Strait bowhead whales. We were lucky enough to find a pod of 60 bowheads in this area in 2005.

Day 5: Clyde River

Perched on a floodplain surrounded by soaring mountains, Clyde River offers excellent views of glacial action. Once an important trading post, the area is home to various species of seal and the polar bears that prey on them. It is known as the "Gateway to the Great Fiords", and there are 10 fiords within a 100-kilometre radius of the hamlet.

Day 6: Buchan Gulf

We'll investigate the rugged coastline and towering fjords of the Buchan Gulf and Northeast Baffin by Zodiac. Virtually unknown to modern travellers, these fjords are known for dog-tongued glaciers that spill into the sea and mountains that have been sculpted by the ancient Laurentian ice sheet which once covered North America.

Day 7: Bylot Island

Nestled in the northeastern corner of Baffin Island, at the entrance to Lancaster Sound, Bylot Island is part of the recently declared Sirmilik National Park and is one of the largest bird refuges in the world. It is prime habitat for seabirds including Thick-billed Murres and Black-legged Kittiwakes. Here we also find bold, rugged coasts, calving glaciers and towering hoodoos.

Day 8: Pond Inlet and Cape Hay

This bustling Arctic community is surrounded by one of the most beautiful landscapes in the Eastern Arctic. We will have a chance to explore the town, as well as enjoy a cultural presentation at the Nattinnak Centre.

Cape Hay
The steep cliffs along the ocean at Cape Hay provide prime nesting habitat for large numbers of seabirds. As many as 320,000 Thick-billed Murres and 50,000 Black-legged Kittiwakes utilize these cliffs. Polynyas and floe edges in the marine waters off the island provide rich foraging grounds for seabirds and marine mammals.

Day 9: Maxwell Bay

Maxwell Bay is a body of water in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, off the southern coast of Devon Island and was named by William Edward Parry in honor of Sir Murray Maxwell. Like Croker Bay to the west, it is an arm of Lancaster Sound and Barrow Strait and offers us a chance to find seals, walrus and polar bears among the persistent ice.

Day 10: Prince Leopold, Somerset Island and Beechey Island

The tall cliffs of Prince Leopold Island are one of the top bird sites in the High Arctic both during the breeding and summering seasons. It is a breeding site for Thick-Billed Murre, Black-legged Kittiwake, Northern Fulmar, Glaucous Gull, and Black Guillemot. It was beneath these tall cliffs, that Sir James Clark Ross, perhaps the greatest polar explorer of the 19th century, was based in 1848-49. Ross's 1848-49 expedition in search of the Franklin expedition was not successful; they spent a frustrating winter locked by ice in Port Leopold on the northeast coast of Somerset Island and returned to England the following summer. It was also from this area that Sir John Ross (James's uncle) escaped in 1833 after abandoning the Victory and spending four harrowing winters in the Arctic.

Beechey Island
This island is best known as the epicentre of the Franklin search, for it was here that the lost expedition spent its first winter (1845-46). The only record of the expedition, and subsequent explorers making it to Beechey, is the remains of three storehouses, workshops, a washhouse, many empty meat tins, and of course, three eerie graves.

Day 11: Qausuittuq (Resolute Bay)

Arriving in Resolute early morning, we disembark the Adventurer and have a chance to visit the community before our charter flight flights to Ottawa.

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