Expert-guided tours and self-drive adventures in spectacular Iceland

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cloud9Inspiration for unforgettable holidays | July 2013
ICELAND • POLAR • AUSTRALIA • SWEDEN • NEW ZEALAND • CANADA • FINLAND • ALASKA • NORWAY
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inside
3 WINDOW SEAT
3 Suite sensations: ice
work at 2013/14 ICEHOTEL
4 Bright forecast: book
early for aurora holidays
5 Wild thing: fabulous new
holiday in Finnish Lapland
6 Sale on: still time for
savings to New Zealand
7 Polar bound: new 2014
Arctic Voyages Collection
8 ICELAND
Five new trips, from 4WD
adventures to following in
the footsteps of elves
14 BEARS UP CLOSE
Close encounters with the
polar bears of Churchill,
plus the bear essentials to
wildlife holidays in Canada
18 GOLDEN DAYS
Nine great ideas for
holidays to take this
autumn, from Lapland to
New Zealand
interactive
How to get the most
from this digital
edition of Cloud 9
Seeing red? Give it a
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more. Throughout Cloud
9 you’ll find links to our
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panels, video clips and
opportunities to
enter competitions
and share with
family and friends.
William Gray,
Editor
Following last winter’s pixel-tastic displays of the
aurora borealis, it’s perhaps not surprising that
a photo of the northern lights has won our Cloud 9
cover competition. Congratulations to Tamara Shiner for her dramatic
shot of the aurora in ‘full glow’ over Skaftafell in Iceland. With NASA
forecasting another peak of solar activity for the 2013/14 season, we
can look forward to more sights like this. Don’t forget to book your
northern lights holiday early (see page 4), as demand is sure to be sky-
high. Another natural spectacle that should be on everyone’s wishlist
is the annual gathering of polar bears near Churchill in Canada (page
14). Also in this issue, you’ll find inspiration for everything from Arctic
voyages to hiking in Iceland and touring New Zealand. Happy travels!
COVER:auroraatSkaftafell,Iceland,BYTamaraShiner

l British artist Marcus
Dillistone’s design ‘Mind the
Gap’ celebrates the 150th
anniversary of the London
Underground
8 discover-cloud9.co.uk 3Subscribe to Cloud 9 and our e-newsZ
A London Underground platform will be one
of the new suites at this year’s ICEHOTEL
window seat
From a total of 200 designs submitted for the 2013/14
ICEHOTEL in Swedish Lapland, 11 themes have been
chosen for special guest suites, including the London
Underground, a Frankenstein-esque science lab and
pole dancing polar bears – all crafted from ice and snow.
Discover the World offers ICEHOTEL breaks from
£1,164 per person, including one night in a Snow Room,
two nights in heated accommodation, morning sauna
and breakfast, plus return direct flights between
Heathrow and Kiruna with in-flight meal and transfers.
MarcusDillistone
Ice station
Find out more
about holidays at
the ICEHOTEL
l PURE GENIUS! NEW ART SUITES AT THE ICEHOTEL
win!
a £500 voucher
Click here to enter

Click here
for details of our
Killer Whales &
Northern Lights trips
Don’t leave it too late to book your northern
lights holiday – demand is likely to be high
NASA are predicting another dazzling season for displays
of the aurora borealis as the solar cycle enters a ‘double
peak’ towards the end of 2013. Don’t miss out on a chance
to view this incredible phenomenon – our northern lights
holidays are already in high demand so you need to book
early, especially for key dates and locations.
Discover the World offers numerous options for
viewing the northern lights, from short breaks based
at Abisko and the ICEHOTEL to escorted or self-drive
holidays in Iceland combining auroras with orcas.
l Abisko in Swedish
Lapland (above left) is one of
the best places in the world
to see the northern lights,
due to its often clear skies
window seat
Lights on
l BOOK EARLY FOR NORTHERN LIGHTS HOLIDAYS
here to find out more
about our northern
lights holidays
Click
rosen-media.seARCTICIMAGES

Click here
for more
pictures
See lynx, wolves and moose up-close on
this exciting new family holiday in Lapland
Just south of the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland,
Ranua Wildlife Park is home to some amazing wildlife,
and on this new seven-night holiday – ideal for families
– you get unlimited entry, including a chance to join the
park ranger on his rounds! You will also be able to try
family-friendly cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing
in the snow-clad forests, and join a snowmobile safari.
A day trip to Rovaniemi, with its museums, stylish
shops and Santa Village is also included, while optional
activities include husky sledging and reindeer safaris.
RANUAWILDLIFEPARK
Click here to find
out more about
this new holiday
Cool for cats
l Accommodation is in
comfortable two-bedroom
villas just across the road
from the Ranua Wildlife
Park. Each one sleeps
up to four adults and two
children and is equipped
with a Finnish sauna
l BRAND NEW! ARCTIC WILDLIFE AT RANUA IN FINNISH LAPLAND
from
£1,498
per adult,
£1,072
per child

window seat
l Air New Zealand’s
Premium Economy
cabin offers customers
more space and privacy
with its state-of-the-art
Spaceseat™ as well as
inspired food and wine and
gate-to-gate entertainment
There’s still time to book a New Zealand
holiday before the end of our summer sale
Discover the World’s New Zealand Summer Sale ends on
31 July 2013, so don’t delay in booking your once-in-a-
lifetime holiday to this spectacular destination. You can
save up to 15% on self-drives, including a superb 13- or
20-night motorhome itinerary. There’s up to 10% off
escorted tours, such as the 15-night Highlights of New
Zealand holiday, while luxury expedition cruises are
up to 20% off. Fly with Air New Zealand and you can
upgrade to Premium Economy – recently voted best in its
class at the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards.
Flights of fancy
Start planning
your holiday to
New Zealand
l NEW ZEALAND SUMMER SALE NOW ON! BOOK BEFORE 31 JULY 2013

View more
spectacular
photos
Take your pick from no less than 13 Arctic
expedition voyages in our 2014 collection
From Spitsbergen to the Canadian Arctic, Discover the
World’s 2014 Arctic Voyages Collection is brimming with
adventure. You can even voyage to the North Pole aboard
the icebreaker 50 Years of Victory. New additions include
a weeklong Introduction to Spitsbergen – perfect if
you have limited time but still want to seek out the polar
bears, glaciers and seabird cliffs of Svalbard. Also new,
the Baffin Island Explorer follows in the wake of early
explorers deep into the Canadian Arctic, with great
opportunities to see polar bears, belugas and walruses.
RAYMONDPLATTS
Click here for our
full range of 2014
Arctic Voyages
Go with the floe
l Venturing from your
mothership, zodiacs take
you for breathtaking close
encounters with Arctic
wildlife and head-spinning
views of glaciers and
mountains.
l NEW! 2014 ARCTIC VOYAGES COLLECTION

IcelandIceland
Click here to view
our huge range of
Iceland Holidays
4WD Highland Adventure • Footsteps of the Elves • Iceland Winter
Escape • Beyond the Wall • Icelandic Northern Lights Odyssey
spectacular new trips in
55

Located in Iceland’s spectacular Highlands, the
Hrauneyjar Centre is your base for this unique
and exclusive three-night self-drive adventure.
Available year-round, get off-road and off-the-
beaten track in your high clearance 4x4 SUV
or Superjeep, with expert local advice and
briefings on routes to lava fields, volcanoes,
canyons, waterfalls and hot springs.
4WD Highland Adventure from £355pp
Find out more! Visit website
11

22
Limited availability for August & September
Iceland’s very own Middle Earth, Borgarfjordur
in the East Fjords combines epic landscapes
with intriguing folklore – the perfect setting
for Discover the World’s new seven-night,
expert-guided walking holiday. With moderate
hikes and comfortable hotel accommodation
throughout, the trip also includes visits to Lake
Myvatn and thundering Dettifoss.
In the Footsteps of Elves from £1,069pp

Availability for August • Book early for 2014
This five-day self-drive adventure follows in the
footsteps of the cast of hit TV drama Game
of Thrones and takes you to Iceland’s mighty
wall of ice, Vatnajokull. You’ll also explore other
filming locations like the eerie volcanic plains
of Hofdabrekkuheidi and south-coast fantasy
landscapes such as Skogafoss and the glacial
lagoon of Jokulsarlon.
Beyond the Wall from £620pp
33 RAGNARTHSIGURDSSON
trek across ancient ice fields or
ride like the Dothraki on a
pure-bred Icelandic horse

This action-packed three-day break is based
in Reykjavik and includes glacier hiking and ice
climbing on Solheimajokull, lava caving in the
Leidarendi Cave, a tour of the Golden Circle
(Gullfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir), a dip in the
Blue Lagoon and an optional northern lights
excursion. Departures September to May.
A six-night version is also available.
Iceland Winter Escape from £460pp
44

Maximise your chances of seeing the northern lights
on this seven-night, small-group tour, available
October-March. Travelling with an expert guide, you’ll
stay in prime aurora-viewing properties like Hotel
ION (pictured) and visit incredible landscapes – from
the Eastern Fjords and Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon to
Skaftafell National Park and the 2010 eruption site of
the volcano Eyjafjallajokull.
Icelandic Northern Lights Odyssey from £1,265pp
55

Cloud 9 Editor William Gray gets nose to nosewith the ice bears of Churchill, Manitoba
up close
here to find out about
our full range of Polar
Bear holidays
Click

Click here
to see more
bear photos
P
olar bears can weigh 650kg and sprint
at over 40kph. They are fearless,
powerful hunters that can smell you
coming from miles off. That’s why I’m
in a Tundra Buggy – a giant-wheeled
‘snow bus’ that provides a safe
vantage from which to observe these magnificent
beasts. Timing is crucial though. Peak period is
October-November when they congregate near
Churchill, a Canadian frontier town rubbed raw by
frigid winds that howl across Hudson Bay.
Our polar bear safari sets off at a glacial pace, the
buggy creeping across the tundra. It takes half an hour
to reach the shores of Hudson Bay (a mile away) where
a northerly wind has white-ribbed the sea and piled
spume against huge drifts of kelp. Tossed around by
the wind like loose refuse sacks, ravens twist and turn,
while tundra swans hunker down in a pond.
Our first polar bear is dozing on rocks behind the
beach. The buggy edges to within 12m of him, but the
bear’s not bothered by our presence. He barely glances
s
l Polar bears like to
check out Tundra Buggies,
but the Lazy Bear Café in
Churchill is out of bounds
JulianCremona
MAINPIC:RobertTaylor
RobertTaylor
Click play button
LEFT to watch
polar bear film

New!
Polar Bear Photo Safari
accompanied by professional
photographer Robert Taylor
5-10 November 2014
towards us before turning
back to a full pedicure of
his forepaws. Grooming
finished, he yawns, rolls
over and goes back to
sleep. To him it’s just
another day waiting for the
bay to freeze over.
This ice bear seems particularly chilled,
so we leave him in peace and trundle on across the
saturated landscape, more water than land it seems (an
appropriate haunt of Ursus maritimus). Other wildlife
found here includes arctic fox, caribou and snowy owls.
The tundra yields its natural treasures slowly though.
It’s another hour before we encounter more bears.
The first is sleepy and secretive, barely visible in a
birch thicket. But the other two, a young male and an
older male with a full Roman nose, are out in the open.
The youngster ambles towards a Tundra Buggy and
gives it a good once-over, gnawing a tyre, checking out
the suspension and straining upright on his hindlegs to
sniff at the tourists who are craning over the outdoor
viewing platform at the rear.
When this loses its novelty, he returns to the older
bear and gets him riled enough to have a play fight,
both bears taking swipes at each other, standing up
in face-offs and baring teeth. The older bear uses his
massive weight and height advantage to keep the
youngster at arm’s length, but after 10 minutes or so
he’s clearly bored with such juvenile behaviour and
finds himself a quiet patch of scrub to hide in.
The younger bear redirects his attention to the
tundra buggies, this time ambling over to ours. He rears
up and places two massive paws on the side of the
viewing platform and, for a brief moment, I am staring
into the eyes of a wild polar bear, his black muzzle
snuffling a few feet below me.
Polar bear
At home on the tundra and
sea ice of the coastal Arctic,
but very good swimmers,
using webbed front paws.
know your
three bears
Brown bear
Varies in colour from blond
to black and can weigh up to
450kg. Diet includes berries,
grasses, salmon and rodents.
American black bear
Mainly found in forests,
but highly adaptable, even
venturing near cities; cubs
leave winter dens Apr-May.

Go bear watching!
Click on the map
circles for ideas
CANADA
Churchill
Hudson
Bay
Bear essentials
Great Bear
Rainforest
Labrador
Baffin
Island
Vancouver
Island
10% offPolar Bear Kingdom Holidays in 2014
Six-day, expert-guided tour to Churchill, Canada’s polar bear
capital, including two full days bear viewing in tundra
vehicles, a dog sledding excursion and a private
tour and hosted dinner at the Manitoba Museum in
Winnipeg. Book before 30th September 2013
Alaska
2

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GOLD
pure
9 priceless tips
for great holidays
this autumn
During autumn, Abisko National Park in Swedish Lapland is a
perfect spot for walking and other outdoor activities
– with northern lights watching at night

1 Swedish Lapland
Hike the autumn-
gilded Abisko National
Park by day, search for
northern lights by night.
2 Norway
Book a fly-drive
to the Fjords – the
reflections of the autumn
colours are amazing.
3 Arctic
Join a late-season
voyage to Greenland or
the Canadian Arctic in
September.
4 Antarctica
Be one of the first
of the season to make
landfall on the Antarctic
Peninsula in October.
5 Alaska
Watch the grizzly
bears of Kodiak Island
and Katmai feasting on
salmon in September.
6 Canada
Marvel at maples
as the forests of Eastern
Canada blush crimson
and gold during fall.
7 New Zealand
Track down New
Zealand’s endangered
wildlife on a springtime
self-drive nature tour.
8 Australia
Enjoy spring Down
Under: wildflowers in
Western Australia, or the
tropical north pre-rains.
9 Iceland
Tour the south in
peaceful September,
with a chance of seeing
the northern lights.
MAINPIC:PeterRosen;2:WILLIAMGRAY;3:TomArban;
5:ATIA&ChrisMcLennan;7:ian-trafford;9:RAGNAR
THSIGURDSSON

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cloud9In the next issue:
Icehotel
Festive Breaks
Classic Antarctica
Escorted New Zealand
Writing & design William Gray | www.william-gray.co.uk
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Expert-guided tours and self-drive adventures in spectacular Iceland

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Expert-guided tours and self-drive adventures in spectacular Iceland