By Caitlin Fitzsimmons

The ice cliffs gleamed platinum blue and towered above us as high as a 50-storey skyscraper. We floated in our kayaks, cold even in our drysuits but enthralled. Every few minutes, the glacier calved, sending newborn icebergs out into the fjord.

A loud crack and a deep rumble, then a huge sheet of ice dropped into the sea. A little close, we braced for the wave, inhaling the salt spray as we rose and fell with the swell.

Chastened, we paddled back into the fjord. I felt the sun warm my face as we emerged from the shadow of the glacier. Everything sparkled in the sunlight and our paddles scraped and crunched through the ice. We passed a giant iceberg, sailing like a swan in stately splendour, a flock of kittiwakes perched on its head.

I heard a plop and in the water before us was a round face, with huge eyes and whiskers. We lifted the paddles and glided in silence. “A ringed seal,” whispered our guide in the next boat. Curious, the seal swam alongside the kayaks for a few moments, before retiring to sunbathe on a floating chunk of ice.

Soon I would become blasé about seals, saving my excitement for an uglit of walruses, lying on the beach next to the bones of their ancestors. Or the enormous bird cliffs streaked pink with guano, home to about a million black-and-white guillemot. Or the minke whale, breaching by the stern of the ship.

The polar bears were the biggest thrill of all. We approached them only in motorised dinghies and kept a respectful distance. Once we attracted the attention of an old male, his fur yellowed and gouged with scars. He stood on the pebbled beach and sniffed us, then plunged into the water and started swimming towards us. Thankful we had an engine not just an oar, we beat a hasty retreat.

Need to Know
Spitsbergen is in in the High Arctic north of Norway. Flights depart from Oslo, from where you join a tour or hire a licensed guide. I travelled with Aurora Expeditions. More.

This article was first published in the Make the Most of Your Time on Earth book in September 2007. All rights reserved - please contact Caitlin Fitzsimmons for permission to reprint.