12 Night Cruise sailing from Anadyr to Petropavlovsk aboard Spirit of Enderby.

The eastern seaboard of Russia dominates the North Pacific and yet very few people know anything about it, let alone have experienced it. Its isolation has protected one of its most valuable assets - its wilderness and to some degree, its wildlife.

During spring and summer the region will have been a hive of activity. The thousands of birds that migrated here to take advantage of the phenomenal abundance of food will be preparing to leave. The reindeer and Mountain Sheep will be feeding in preparation for the harsh winter while the Brown Bears, which will have fed extensively on berries in the early summer, will be concentrated on the rivers and creeks and feeding on salmon. Late summer/early autumn is one of the best times to discover this wilderness. The late summer sun and the onset of the autumn colours will make the landscape look like a picture postcard.

With an option of joining from Nome, Alaska, our expedition begins in Anadyr, the administrative centre of the Chukotka Autonomous Region. We then travel south along the Koryak and Kamchatka coastlines to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy. Along the way we will make numerous landings, including two full days at the Commander Islands.

Day 1: Anadyr
All expedition members will arrive in Anadyr, the administrative centre of the Chukotka region, before embarking the Spirit of Enderby.

Day 2: Bukhta Gavrilla
This coastline is rich in marine mammals and one creature we will be looking for, in particular, is the walrus.

The bukhta (or bay) was named after Commander Vitus Bering's ship, the St Gabriel, of the First Kamchatka Expedition. Behind the expansive beach there is a lagoon we can explore for waterfowl and waders.

Day 3: Pika River & Meinypil'gyno
We start the day with a visit to the delta of Pika River - a well known walrus haul-out and one of the few places in the southern part of the range that still get thousands of animals coming to rest on the beach.

Later in the day, we visit Meinypil'gyno, a small settlement located on a 40 kilometre long shingle spit. It is a traditional village although renovated under the recent Chukotka government.

Day 4: Bukhta Natalia
Along the Koryak Coast there are many beautiful fiords (bukhtas or bays) and none are more beautiful than Bukhta Natalii. This fiord has two smaller fiords that drain into it from the south; called Bukhta Pavla and Bukhta Petra (named after St Peter and St Paul by Commander Vitus Bering).

Day 5: Tintikun Lagoon
Much of the southern Govena Peninsula was recently made into a State Reserve. There are a number of fiords included in the Reserve; one of the most spectacular is Tintikun Lagoon.

Day 6: Koryakskiy Reserve & Verhoturova Island
We will start the morning in Brown Bear country, an undisturbed habitat within the Koryakskiy Reserve, where we will go bear watching and Zodiac cruising along the coast. Brown Bears come down to the sea coast and into the nearby hills very frequently, and the area is completely protected and rarely visited.

Day 7: Karaginskiy Island
A few miles to the south from Verhoturova Island is the much larger Karaginskiy Island. Here we encounter some of the first 'forests' of the voyage. This is a change from the tundra that we have seen so far depicting a sure sign that we are getting further south.

Autumn is the best time for the wild berries and we can marvel at the richness of the local flora, as many of them would be at their best.

Day 8 & 9: The Commander Islands
The wildlife-rich Commander Islands were first discovered by Commander Vitus Bering when his ship was wrecked here in 1741. He perished on the island along with many of his men. The reports from those that survived led to a 'fur rush' and the settlement of the islands.

There are two large islands (Bering and Medney) with two smaller islands Ariy Karmen and Toporkov. These islands are located at the western extremity of the Aleutian chain. We intend to explore the islands through a combination of landings and Zodiac cruises.

Day 10: Olga Bay
Olga Bay is a part of the very large Kronotskiy Reserve, which also includes the world-famous Valley of the Geysers. The habitat is quite different to what we will have been experiencing before with lush Kamchatka forests coming right down to the beach line.

The area around Olga Bay is frequented by large numbers of Grey Whales that are usually quite friendly to the visiting boats.

The rising volcanoes in the background will provide a beautiful setting to explore real Kamchatka wilderness.

Day 11: Zhupanova River/ Bukhta Bechevinskaya
This morning we make our way along the Zhupanova River by Zodiac. This journey allows us to explore a river habitat which is common in Kamchatka.

Day 12: Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy
During the night the Spirit of Enderby will enter Avacha Bay which is one of the greatest natural harbours in the world. On the shores of the Bay is Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, the capital and administrative centre of the Kamchatka Region.

We end our expedition today, however due to outbound flight schedules we are pleased to be able to offer two disembarkation options:

a) Disembark the vessel today (15th Sept*).

b) Disembark the vessel on day 13* (16th Sept*). If you select this option, day 12 will be free for exploring and we will be offering a number of optional excursions including a trip into the world-famous Valley of the Geysers, an excursion to one of the nearby volcanoes or a day exploring the city, including the museums and markets.

Day 13: Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy
For passengers who stayed on board, we will disembark the ship after breakfast.