Espen Bergersen is a wildlife photographer based in
Tromsø, who shot a series of photos of whales off the city last
November. He tells us how he got the perfect shot
I fondly remember the day I took this photo. It was the last
day of November and I had plans to go out with a friend on a
hired boat to take photographs, but the weather forecast had
predicted terrible storms. I was close to cancelling, but I’m
lucky I didn’t – the forecast was completely wrong. It was a
beautiful day and the light was amazing. I would have been
mocked mercilessly if I hadn’t gone out and my friend had
returned with amazing photos.
It’s become very normal to see humpback whales in the
Tromsø region around October and November – sometimes they
swim really close to the shore while they hunt for herrings – but
it’s rare to get that combination of proximity to the whales and
the perfect light. We were out on the boat, around 500m from
land, and we spotted some whales in the distance. We moved
towards them very slowly so we didn’t scare them. We saw
they were coming towards us so we stopped the motor and just
waited. Before long we had three humpback whales swimming
around the boat.
As soon as I took the shot I realised I had something a bit
special. I’ve been fascinated by nature since I was a child and
whales have always seemed mysterious, mystic creatures. I got
a good feeling immediately and, really, it was one of the best
days ever.
naturgalleriet.no
Now it’s your turn
Visit Tromsø has a series of whale-watching
trips that run in late October and November, with prices from
NOK950.
visittromso.no
Norwegian flies to Stavanger, Athens, Grenoble, Marseille,
Nice, Corsica, Madeira and Tromsø. See norwegian.com for
more information
Journalist Oliver Thring tells us
about canyoning in Madeira
Canyoning – or canyoneering
in the United States – has only
become popular in the last
10
or 15 years. You start near
the top of a hill and follow a
river, clambering over its rocks,
jumping into its pools, abseiling
down its waterfalls, swimming,
falling and splashing your way
exhaustingly to the bottom.
Madeira is covered in very
steep hills, the highest of
which is almost 2km and
plunges into the Atlantic a
few miles away. The island
WHAT IT FEELS LIKE…
To abseil down
a waterfall in
Madeira
reared from the ocean five
million years ago and grew
progressively over the ages.
After a gentle clamber over
the slippery rocks through the
water, we reach our first abseil,
a steep but short waterfall with
rocks spiking all the way down. I
swing out with my harness, and
it feels like I’m being sucked
into a washing machine as the
river rushes down the neck of
my wetsuit and into my mouth.
I kick the rock to my side and
push my head into the damp air
next to the waterfall. In the end
I manage to slip and shimmy
my way to the bottom, plunging
into the rippling pool below and
yelping at the thrill and relief of
it. But after the first couple of
abseils, fear gives way to a kind
of wary joy. The mix of activities
in canyoning – swimming,
climbing, abseiling, finding
a path between the rocks –
works almost every muscle in
your body. At the end, after
four or five hours, we peel off
our wetsuits, weary and happy
after the unique, elemental
thrill of it.
Now it’s your turn
Madeira
Adventure Kingdom runs
canyoning adventures for
beginners at Ribeiro Frio for
€60 per person.
madeira-adventure-
kingdom.com
WHAT IT FEELS LIKE…
To get up close to
humpback whales
near Tromsø
TOM ROBINSON, ESPEN BERGERSEN
