The morning started with a breathtaking sunrise over the
snow covered mountains in the National Park. Our first landing was planned in
Hvalrosodden. The name was given in 1906 by the Denmark expedition when they
shot 11 walrus here as they needed the meat for the dogs. Our expedition team
went at shore at 8:00h and as they did not find a Polar bear or anything else
that could be dangerous for us we could land shortly afterwards. We had time
enough to stretch our legs on a little hike and to explore the two huts you can
find at this place. The bigger hut was built in 1919 by the East Greenland
Company and was in use by trappers until the 1960s. The second hut, a very
small one, belonged to Alwin Pedersen. He has been the zoologist during the
Mørkefjord expedition under Eigil Knuth in the 1920s. He was one of the first
who wished the protection of the wildlife in this region. In 1974 his dream
came true when the North East Greenland National park was established.
During lunch we sailed with FRAM further into Mørkefjord.
And here we found him, the king of the Arctic, our first Polar bear. Most of us
expected to see a Polar bear on the ice, but this was walking along the hill,
next to the shore line. Now we know the “white teddies” are still there; and of
course we still hope to see more of them.
Our daily program said that we should cruise with FRAM in
Dove Bay during the afternoon. But our expedition leader Anja had a nice
surprise for us. In a little bay with some huge icebergs we could join a PolarCircel
boat cruise. It was fantastic to see the icebergs directly from the sea-level.
After a delicious dinner we enjoyed the view over the
landscape from the Observation lounge, but most of us went to bed early. The
next morning landing will be early again and the days are always so full of new
impressions that we are really tired in the evening.
