Expedition leader Martin knocked on our cabin door just after 3.00 am.
“Polar Bear, we have a Polar Bear”.
A mad scramble followed, thermals, (how many layers?), waterproofs, boots, gloves and a woolly beanie.
Grab the camera gear and rush up to the deck to join 10 other photographers, all trying to catch sight of the first polar bear of the trip.
We were above latitude 82 degrees North; it was full daylight and cold.
And there was the bear.
We were on Joshua Holko’s Polar Bears of Svalbard expedition, 10 days on a small ice hardened expedition ship. As well as the lifetime experience of seeing Polar Bears up close on sea ice, we also had close encounters with walrus and were able to watch Arctic Fox cubs at play.
A memorable holiday.
