DAY 4 | AT SEA: CROSSING THE DENMARK STRAIT As we sail north across the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland, your Expedition Team will prepare you for the exciting adventures ahead—both on and off-ship. Our team of polar experts will present on a wide range of topics, including Arctic history, wildlife, geology, and climatology. The team will also search for seabirds soaring about the ship—and they’ll most certainly alert you whenever there’s a whale sighting. DAYS 5 & 6 | NORTHEAST GREENLAND: EXPLORING KANGERLUK KONG OSCAR AND COUNTDOWN TO THE ECLIPSE Navigating within the boundaries of the Northeast Greenland National Park—the planet’s largest national park at 972,000 square kilometers—we will sail into Kangerluk Kong Oscar, also known as King Oscar Fjord, on the northern border of Scoresby Land peninsula. This major fjord system, poplar for its famously
bright sandstone, stretches 110 kilometers long and 10 to 25 kilometers wide. When conditions allow, guests will have the opportunity to hike in Skipperdal Valley, where mineral deposits have painted the hills red and magenta—so landscape photographers take note. As we prepare to position the ship in order to maximize views of the solar eclipse on Day 7, we’ll also have the opportunity to visit Blomsterbugten (also known as Flower Bay) on Ymer Island. The floral name was chosen by noted archeologists Gunnar Seidenfaden and Arne Noe-Nygaard during the Lauge Koch expedition in 1929 upon discovering an abundance of specimens for their botanical collection. Blomsterbugten is also home to a little hut known as “Varghytten” (the wolf hut). Built in 1929, the small hut is still used by the Sirius Patrol, a specialized military unit of the Danish Armed Forces. It’s possible we’ll also hike to the seldom-visited Noa Lake.
There will be a palpable sense of excitement in the air as anticipation builds for our much-awaited eclipse viewing. Behind the scenes, your Expedition Leader, guest eclipse cartographer Michael Zeiler and the Ship Captain will work closely together— monitoring sea and ice conditions and atmospheric forecasts—to strategically position Ultramarine in the best location possible to maximize your views of the solar eclipse. Relatively few humans get to experience the awe of a polar expedition—but even fewer get to combine the wonders of an Arctic expedition with a solar eclipse viewing. Expect presentations by our two special guests, eclipse experts David Baron and Michael Zeiler, in the lead- up to the August 12 Solar Eclipse. (See profiles, page 20). These veteran eclipse enthusiasts will draw on their vast knowledge to ensure you have an eclipse viewing like no other.
Call your Travel Professional or a Quark Polar Travel Adviser at 1.888.892.0073 | Visit QuarkExpeditions.com for additional details
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