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Cloud Ridge Naturalists
Polar Bear
  Realm of the Ice Bear
 

WalrusTHE REALM OF THE ICE BEAR:
THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST AND
WRANGEL ISLAND
August 4-18, 2009 15 Days/14 Nights

Audrey Benedict, Rodney Russ and the Heritage
Expeditions Staff, and the Russian Crew
of the Spirit of Enderby

The essence of Chukchi shamanism is a belief in the unique relationship between humans, nature, and the world inhabited by spirits. In our culture, there are no shamans to remind us how rapidly global warming is impacting human cultures and ecosystems throughout the circumpolar Arctic. A late summer voyage to the Russian Far East—the realm of polar bears, walrus, bowhead, beluga, and gray whales, seals, millions of seabirds, and the traditional homeland of the Chukchi people— is a gift made possible by melting sea ice and by the fall of the Cold War “Ice Curtain” that once separated the Russian Far East and Arctic Alaska. This amazing expedition begins with an easy charter flight on Bering Air from Nome, Alaska to Anadyr, located at 65°N in Russian Chukotka, where we board the 48-passenger Spirit of Enderby, an ice-hardened Russian owned ship under charter to New Zealand-based Heritage Expeditions. Aboard our comfortable ship and using zodiacs for shore landings, we’ll head north along the Chukotka Peninsula, navigating the legendary “Whale Alley,” which is delimited by the beautiful and uninhabited islands of Arakamchechen and Yttygran. Once a center for ritualized whale worship, these islands are most famous for their spectacular whalebone structures.

Walrus - courtesy of Heritage ExpeditionsContinuing on towards Cape Dezhnev, we’ll visit the Chukchi village of Uelen, where villagers still make their living by hunting walrus in traditional ways. The Chukchi are unusual among Arctic peoples in having two distinct cultures: the village-based marine mammal hunters (ankalyn) and the nomadic reindeer herders (chauchu) of the tundra interior. They are a handsome people, famous for their boat-making skills, especially their walrus-skin umiaks, their exquisitely beaded and decorated skin clothing, and for their expertise in domesticating reindeer. The Uelen Chuckchi are also renowned for their superb fossil mammoth and walrus tusk ivory scrimshaw and sculptures. The Chukchis endured mass imprisonment and multiple attempts at cultural genocide at the hands of the Russians and were among the last groups to resist the eventual conquest of Siberia. Today, they have largely returned to a traditional, subsistence-based lifestyle. Our final landing in the area will be at spectacular Kolyuchin Island, now a wildlife sanctuary known for its seabird nesting cliffs and walrus haulouts.

Traveling through the Bering Strait, we cross the Arctic Circle and sail into the icy waters of the Chukchi Sea—to our most northerly destination, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Wrangel Island, located at 71°14´N. Wrangel is frequently referred to as the “Polar Bear Maternity Ward” because it has the highest density of polar bear dens in the world. In fact, polar bear biologists regard Wrangel Island as the single most important refuge for the increasingly threatened Alaska- Chukotka polar bear population. The timing of our trip should afford us some wonderful observation and photographic opportunities. Mountainous Wrangel Island is extraordinary for its biodiversity, with more than 400 plant species, 160 migratory bird species, the world’s largest population of Pacific walrus (up to 100,000 in recent years), musk ox, Siberian reindeer, and Arctic fox.

AuckletsCruising south to Cape Schmidt, we launch our zodiacs at the mouth of the Amguema River and explore tiny Lena Island. Continuing along the coast, we’ll visit wildlife-rich Kolyuchinskaya and Belyaka Inlets before heading to Provideniya, situated at the head of a picturesque fjord. Here, we’ll travel inland, driving across the tundra in sturdy Russian-built trucks (called Urals), to visit a group of nomadic Chukchi reindeer herders at their encampment. Spending a night in a reindeerskin tent, or yaranga, is an experience never to be forgotten. Please join us for this amazing, oncein- a-lifetime voyage to the Russian Far East!

Group Size: 10
Trip Rating: 3

Price and Availability: We are currently full and can only accept wait-list reservations at this time. Please call or email us for information on space availability. Land/cruise prices quoted below are per person based on double occupancy and according to the cabin category available. The cost does not include possible fuel surcharges to be determined by Heritage Expeditions, Russian visas, alcohol or other items of personal choice, gratuities to the ship’s crew, pre- or post-trip accommodations in Anchorage or Nome if desired, roundtrip airfare to Nome from your point of departure, or the roundtrip Bering Air charter flight.

(1) Main Deck Cabin: $8,271.
Lower deck location, two lower berths, porthole,
desk, washbasin, and shared bathroom.

(2) Superior Cabin: $8,872.
Middle Deck location, window, upper and
lower berths, desk, settee, and private bathroom.

(3) Superior Plus Cabin: $9,344.
Middle or Upper Deck location, two lower
berths, window, desk, settee, and private bathroom.

Map
photographic images on this page are courtesy of Heritage Expeditions

Registration form 2009 (PDF) |  Trip Information Page

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