By Paul Bryers, September 2, 2025

• Murray Island, Nunavut, Arctic Canada

Murray Island, next to Edinburgh Island, is a small, uninhabited island, home to Arctic hare and the remains of caribou and fox.

The stone cliffs were fragmented by constant seasonal freezing and thawing, resulting in a unique, cuboidal coastline reminiscent of Fingle’s Cave on the Isle of Staffa, Scotland, and the Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland.

Our group’s kayaking excursion was a highly anticipated event, and we were thrilled to embark on this adventure in such an extraordinary location.

We disembarked from the ship on zodiacs, launching our kayaks from the mother ship and towing them behind our zodiacs, much like goslings following their mother goose.

The sea conditions were favorable, with waves reaching approximately 0.7 meters (2-3 feet) in height, allowing us to cruise comfortably close to the rocks.

I teamed up with Jonas from Sweden who proved to be an excellent Captain of our kayak, Kal-El The Kayak.

We paddled for ~ 3-4 km (2.5 miles)..

We did not see any wildlife other than a large jelly fish but hidden in the depths below us would have been Kelpies, Jörmungandr and Hafgufa.

Later in the day, we smelt woodsmoke and the pleasant but unusual smell grew as we cruised West. This was apparently due to wild fires in the NE Territories – which are around 1000 km away ( 625 miles).

This woodsmoke combined with a local mist, resulting in a slightly yellow fog…