Life under the Midnight Sun - North Iceland's ... - Land og saga

BlönduósHvammstangiWWho’s Watching Whom?Seal watching from the seaAtreat for children and adults alike, thissummer it will be possible to take anunforgettable seal watching tour with SealWatching ehf. From the decks of their mostrecent acquisition, the Brimill, you will get achance to observe seals at one of the very bestseal watching locations in Iceland, Miðfjörðurfjord, along the Vatnsnes Peninsula.Seals are one of the star attractions ofaqua-parks and zoos around the world withtheir graceful swimming and cute antics.It’s one thing, however, to see them incaptivity and quite another to see them intheir natural habitat. Playful and curious bynature, the seals often swim quite close tothe boat for a better look at you! Then it is aquestion of who is watching whom?Seal watching tours are offered twice-dailyfrom June through August at 10:00 and 13:00.Sightings ranging anywhere from 12 to 95seals are possible and, as the boat approaches,the captain will turn off the engines, gettingyou within about 45 metres of the seals, muchcloser than is possible on land. Puffins, as wellas other migratory birds, inhabit the area everysummer and are also great to watch. Othertours on offer are a 3 hour sea angling tourand a 2 hour ‘midnight cruise’ which starts at23:00. (from 10th June to 20th July only)A few surprising facts...With puffins and whales grabbing manyheadlines in recent years, it may come asrather a surprise to fi nd that Icelandic coastsare home to about 12,000 Common sealsand 4,000 Grey seals—the two native sealspecies that are thought to rarely leave theIcelandic shelf. The Common seal, being themore outgoing and curious of the two species,congregates in small groups on skerries androcky beaches and is more easily spotted thanthe shyer Grey seal. Solitary vagrants such asHarp seals, Ringed seals and Hooded sealsare sometimes seen during the winter, whileBearded seals and Walruses are very rare.(Information courtesy of the Icelandic Ministry ofFisheries and Agriculture)Sealwatching ehf is located in thesmall village of Hvammastangi, onMiðfjörðurfjord, on the west side of VatnsnesPeninsula. The village is easily accessible, just7 km off the main ring road, about half waybetween Reykjavik and Akureyri.Selasigling–EMVHöfðabraut 13 • 530 Hvammstangi+354 897 9900selasigling@simnet.iswww.sealwatching.is201