Orcas and humpback whales in the waters north of Tromsø, and a loving reminder that nature is perfect as it is.

Amundsen!, I shouted. I’ll take a photo of-, but I never did, because right then and there the sky lit up in green. The northern lights were shining in the dark.

The view of Adventfjorden just off the main road in Longyearbyen became ‘my own Svalbard view’ from the very first time I glimpsed it, and it was truly mesmerising. So I kept going back to it.

I loved every second of sun and clear skies I was so lucky to have in Svalbard. But there was something about the snow that morning: something special, something I can’t explain.

A one-day boat tour down Billefjorden, north of Longyearbyen, through Sassenfjorden, toward Pyramiden; a walk on the fjord ice; wildlife sightings; our guide Hans.

25 April 2023 was the happiest day of my life. When the polar bear materialised before us on the rocky slope, I remember thinking just that.

Sea ice is life. It’s our life, it’s everyone’s lives.