Kirkenes at 69N, is often described as the end of the earth. It is as far east as Istanbul and lies 15km from the Russian border at the end of the E6 highway from Oslo. It has a frontier feel where it is said that the local fishermen who can speak Russian get a better

At 05:45 we made a short stops en at Hammerfest which developed from Kvaloya,  ‘Whale Island’ and at 70.39.48 N is possibly the world’s most northern town.  Approaching Honningsvag we sailed through a narrow channel with, to the north the island of the North Cape and to the south the mainland of Norway.  Honningsvag at 70.59.48

We made good progress northwards overnight with short stops en route and in the early afternoon arrived in Tromso. At 400km north of the Arctic Circle it was , n the past, a centre for seal hunting, trapping, fishing and later a ‘launch-pad’ for several Arctic expeditions with some led by Roald Amundsen. We docked

We had an early start as at 07:50 we crossed the Arctic Circle (66.3N) and entered the Arctic/Far North. Here we have reached the southernmost extent of the Arctic/Far North. North of here there is darkness in winter as the sun shines mostly on the Southern Hemisphere. In summer it is the opposite as daylight

Tuesday 13th October 2026 We made good progress northwards and our principal purpose today was to use our stopover in Trondheim to find the remains of the German U-boat Bunkers (Pens) of WW2. Largely intact, because they were built of virtually indestructible 5m thick concrete, they have been integrated into an industrial estate. One of

The first major town on today’s journey was Alesund, the headquarters of today’s fishing industry. Evidence of the past importance of cod is to be found in the remains of the Bryggen on the waterfront. This was only a brief visit and we returned later in the day to enable us to leave the ship. 

During the morning we toured the old town with remnants of the time of the Hanseatic League when the Bryggen was the centre of the fishing industry. As a transshipment hub fish from the fishing grounds of the far north and Lofoten Islands was forwarded to mainland Europe and England. A Hop on Hop off

Photographs to follow when the technology allows. We arrived in Bergen in the early evening after two flights, delays and lengthy EU Immigration queues. Following dinner we ambled around the harbour with views of the Bryggen.

Today saw the start of the journey home. At 16:10 we caught the first of two flights over the next 24 hours to get us initially, to Singapore. The first flight was on board a Singapore Airlines A380 Jumbo, brought out of retirement to service this busy route. We departed northwards and therefore had great

More good progress was made overnight on a flat, calm sea. At 12:30 a.m. we rendezvoused with the pilot at South Head, the outer entrance to Sydney Harbour. By 01:00 we were on approach and slowly passed Potts Point, the Opera House and under the Harbour Bridge at what was then low tide. At 07:00