02.07.2011 – 02.07.2011  6 °C

Our final day on board the MS Expedition started off gloriously, almost no wind and a temp of 7 deg!! Hopped into the zodiacs and zoomed on to shore to see a pack of walruses! About 7 walruses were sleeping on the beach and it was so great to finally see such a large animal up so close! We were lucky because the animals got a little active so we were able to see them roll around, waddle down to the water and swim around! We probably spent a good hour just watching the walruses do their thing! Just great! The other things that made this morning so special was that we were able to see Minki whales swimming just a little way back from the shore and the surrounding fjord was absolutely spectacular! I could have spent hours just drinking in the landscape.. Gosh Svalbard is one really pretty landscape!

After lunch we jumped back in our zodiacs and headed to a place near to Longyearbyen where we were able to walk around and see reindeer. I was really lucky as I was in the first group which meant we were able to get really close to the reindeer. In fact, the reindeer came right up to us to see what these weird looking rocks were that had suddenly sprouted out of the ground!

Our last day was potentially the highlight of the whole trip.. walruses and reindeer just amazing! We finished off the day by partying on until the wee hours of the morning whilst we were anchored off Longyearbyen. Awesome ending to an absolutely incredible holiday! Off the boat first thing tomorrow morning back for Longyearbyen.