Date: 30th June
Latitude & longitude: 78.23°N, 15.59°E
Course: —
Wind speed: 20km/hr
Wind direction: NW
Barometer: 1017 hPa
Air temperature: 7°C
Sea temperature: 5.7°C

Good news, everyone! We’ve arrived on board the Greg Mortimer!

Today was a lovely day of sightseeing and historical discovery in and around the town of Longyearbyen, organised for us by Aurora Expeditions. We woke early for a delicious buffet breakfast provided by the hotel as part of our Aurora Expeditions deal.

At 2pm, we were picked up by a tour bus and taken to Camp Barentz, a cabin created to honour the discoverer of Svalbard — Willem Barentz. We learned about some of the fascinating Longyearbyen history and the story of Barentz’s trek through the Arctic.

At the camp we also got to meet the huskies and learn about dog sledding across the snow-covered tundra.

After Camp Barentz, we were taken for a trip to the Svalbard Museum. It was rich with historical artefacts and we spent an hour taking it all in.

Finally, it was time. Time to head to the ship. To embark, we first had to board the mini Zodiac boat at Longyearbyen port, to take us across the water to the Greg Mortimer.

We embarked the ship in a state of wonder — it was so much bigger than we had imagined, and equally as luxurious! We were met with welcome drinks and some important briefings, including a mandatory lifeboat drill — safety first, people!

After settling into our cabins, we headed for dinner and spend the rest of the evening talking and laughing in disbelief …

One more sleep till we get to make our first trip out to sea!

See you tomorrow and thanks for reading!

Love from the A Team
Tanya, Gavin, Richard & Graeme