Expedition Cruise to Svalbard: Part 8 – Ashore in Van Keulenhamna

by Lizzy | 22 July 2023

Our first wet landing with the zodiac boats was in a small bay on the west coast of Svalbard.

Van Keulenhamna Bay on the map of Svalbard.

Our route from Ny-Ålesund via Frambukta to
Van Keulenhamna on the Vessel Finder app.

The daily program for June 27.

Van Keulenhamna is a bay at the beginning of the Van Keulenfjord on the west coast of Spitsbergen. This 30 km long fjord is named after the Dutch cartographer and publisher Gerard van Keulen (Amsterdam, 1678 – 1726).

After breakfast, we would go ashore in groups in Zodiac boats for our first wet landing. This meant that we would be stepping into the water from the zodiac, so we had to put on the rubber boots we were given on board. We were in group 5 and would be the fourth group to land, the groups rotated with each landing.

We put on our waterproof pants, the Helly Hansen wind-jackets we had received from Hurtigruten, with several layers of warm clothing underneath. Warm hat on, gloves on and the camera in a waterproof backpack. And, of course, the life jacket. It was quite an undertaking each time to put everything on, especially since it was very hot on board. Luckily there was a 10 minute warning for each group and then we quickly put on the last things and headed down.

The photo shows us in full gear. Not in Van Keulenhamna but in the snow on a later day.

The morning began cloudy again and veils of fog hung low over the hills. Fortunately, it did not hinder the landing. The expedition team went ashore first to scout the landing site and check for the presence of polar bears. We hiked in the area controlled by the expedition team. “Leave nothing behind, only your footsteps” was the decree. Trample as little as possible, pick up nothing and take nothing. Except for plastic or other trash you find on the beach, you could turn that in at the collection point.

The lone figure of an armed expedition member keeping watch over us.

It was not easy walking with those rubber boots on the pebbles, nor was it really the most exciting landscape. But with an eye for the small details, there were still a lot of interesting and beautiful things to be found in this desolate landscape.