24 Aug 2017

SHO: Bound for Murmansk

Sadly we departed Franz Joseph Land early this morning bound for Murmansk and the end of the Northern Sea Route (or the beginning whichever way you look at it). There were many many highlights, it is hard to single one out as being better than the others. For me personally, because of my interest in Arctic history and exploration, there were two that I really enjoyed.

Cape Tegethoff on Hall Island. There is a memorial here commemorating the expedition of  Julius von Payer and Karl Weyprecht who discovered Franz Joseph Land in 1873 plus the relics of the Walter Wellman expedition of 1898-1899. 

Cape Flora on Northbrook Island is synonymous with almost all the early Franz Joseph Land expeditions, it is sometimes referred to as the Arctic Crossroads as it was visited by virtually all expeditions to and from Franz Joseph Land.

One of the more infamous expeditions to winter here was British Expedition under the leadership of Fredrick Jackson. Jackson’s book “A thousand days in the Arctic”, published in 1899, is a great account and should be in the library all Polar fanatics.

©Heritage Expeditions