Bear Island is a nature reserve that can only be entered with official authorisation. We have obtained the relevant paperwork from the Svalbard Sysselmesteren (area administrator) and set sail by dinghy from the Dagmar Aaen to the fragments of a concrete pier in the north of the island.

The only houses on Bear Island stand on a hill. A total of 11 buildings, all painted in Swedish red. There are also four antenna masts the height of a skyscraper, set up in a square. Norway operates a weather station here at 74 degrees 30 minutes north.

Eight people live in the wasteland, each for six months. A well-paid job. Just two weeks' training in Tromsö is enough to cope with the tasks at the station, Amalia S. Nyheim, a 25-year-old student, tells us. It's not about scientific work, but about collecting weather data. Twice a day, a helium balloon is launched, which measures temperature and air pressure up to an altitude of 3000 ft and sends the results to the station. A daily weather report is compiled from the data and broadcast to the shipping industry by radio at 12.05 am and 00.05 am. There is nothing else to do. We cannot judge whether the military is also active in the background.

One member of the eight-strong team is responsible for maintaining the technical equipment. There are two tractors and two generators, one of which is constantly running. There is a 3000 tonne diesel tank in a hall. There is enough fuel to heat the station and supply it with electricity for 18 months. There is hardly any heating at the moment, explains Roger Ravlo-Losvik, because the weather is exceptionally good and the sun shines 24 hours a day. July was a completely different story, as there was a month of fog typical of the polar regions with correspondingly cold temperatures.
Roger is also here for six months. The 47-year-old comes from Oslo, normally works for the military and is happy about the good extra income. The only change for the station crew are visitors like us.
Amalia shows us the small boutique where you can buy souvenirs of Bear Island. And then our visit is almost over, because there's dinner at the station at 5.00 pm on the dot and nobody wants to miss it.

As a parting shot, we learn that the last polar bear on Bear Island was sighted in 2022. It probably arrived on a massive ice floe drifting southwards from the winter sea ice belt of Svalbard. The island never actually lived up to its name. The Dutch navigator Willem Barents, who discovered the island in the 16th century, is responsible for the name. After a hunter from his crew killed a polar bear, Barents promptly named the island Bear Island. After an interesting day, a delicious dinner awaits us, as we had some wise fishing luck and caught two large cod.

The next day we weigh anchor and leave the northernmost point of our voyage heading south. We drop anchor off Kapp Duner and send an expedition team out to explore for the last time. Marie, Uli, Richard and Thomas cross over with the dinghy and explore the western part of the island. In the afternoon, we weigh anchor for the last time and set sail for the return journey.

In wonderful sunshine, we experience a real natural spectacle: suddenly we see one blow after another around the ship. A blow is when a whale exhales and takes a deep breath. We recognise the gigantic animals by their typical dorsal fins: they are fin whales, which can grow up to 22 metres long. The cameras click every second.

The return journey has now begun for us. Our next destination is now in the south - Norway.

Matze & Thomas

Position: 74.504092, 18.998365