In the far north of Norway legend has it that on the same day each year, at 5.45pm precisely, puffins — hundreds of thousands of them — return to their breeding ground, a steep craggy island off the fishing hamlet of Gjesvaer. Last year they were 25 minutes late, so just in case they were early this year, there we were, a crowd of locals and tourists, binoculars pointed out to sea and necks craned for the first siting.

As the minutes turned to hours, the support act kept us entertained. With a backdrop of neat rows of gannets huddled on cliff ledges, four pairs of sea eagles soared, circled and performed cartwheels in the air. They were close enough for us to see the fingers of feathers at the ends of their long, broad wings. On the water and rocks were razorbills, guillemots and cormorants.

I got chatting to a woman who has been coming back to welcome the puffins for ten years. She told me it was an extraordinary and moving experience. “You see them coming like a huge, black cloud, you hear their wings beating, and there are puffins everywhere, in the water, up the rocks, the sky is covered in them.”

Puffins have a delightful way of crashlanding on water, sticking their big, webbed feet out in a comical way, and landing like clumsy parachutists on solid surfaces, knocking other puffins for six as they tumble over. I had been enchanted by them in the Farne Islands ten years ago, and couldn’t wait to see them up close again.

Then a voice piped up, “Velkommen!” and a low cluster of black dots appeared in the distance. I looked at my watch and it was just gone a quarter to six . . .

The return of the puffins was to be the climax of a voyage north along the coast of Norway from Bergen on the Hurtigruten (“fast-route”). This is a daily ferry service that visits 34 ports on its 2,930-mile (4,716km), 11-day route up to Kirkenes near the Russian border and back. I had joined a group on one of Norwegian Coastal Voyage’s themed cruises, escorted by Solbjorg, our young Norwegian tour manager, and John Chardine, an ornithologist and research scientist with the Canadian Wildlife Service, who gave us lively lectures on birds and the environment.

From these, I learnt that of the four species of puffin, the Atlantic puffin – that jolly, beaky, orange-footed fellow on the covers of our favourite children’s books – is the only one to inhabit the northern hemisphere.

Norway has about three million puffins, and there are 400,000 nesting pairs at Gjesvaerstappan nature reserve.

For more than half the year they are out at sea, but in spring adults come to land to breed, building their nests in burrows. Our small group of three couples and two lone holidaymakers had chosen the trip for their love of wildlife and the outdoors — none felt they would normally be cruise holiday types.

Although it offers cruise packages, the Hurtigruten is no ordinary cruise — it feels more like a relaxing voyage on a top-notch car ferry. Cabins (apart from six suites) are clean and comfortable but no frills. There are no entertainments, no casino or spa. Dinner was a simple affair — wall- to-wall woollies and fleeces in the dining room — with a set menu. The Richard With (named after a 19th-century captain who pioneered the route) carries up to 690 passengers and has plenty of places to sit — a comfortable panorama lounge for reading, laptopping and looking at the view, a library, bar and cafeteria. There are two outdoor hot tubs, and his-and-her saunas. The play area was a hit with small children travelling short distances with their parents.

Unlike resort ships, these vessels (14 of varying sizes) are an important means of local transport: people, cars and freight come on and off, sometimes in fishing hamlets, other times in historical towns such as Trondheim and Tromsø. I loved looking at the eager faces of local people waiting for friends and family to come down the gangplank to joyful reunions.

Another delight is getting off for only a few minutes for a walk along the quay at tiny ports, sometimes long enough to drink a very expensive beer on a sunny bench outside a bar. Or for half a day, with time to go round the town or take an excursion. We spent a lovely afternoon in Alesund, where a walk up the hill offers a marvellous view of this Art Nouveau town and the surrounding coast, and a morning in Trondheim, with its Gothic cathedral and attractive old wooden warehouses on the River Nid.

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As for the puffins, the main group were late this year, arriving at 20 to midnight on April 14. But we did see the early arrivers — John assured me that we had seen “at least 100 pairs”. After seven months at sea, to be less than six hours behind schedule isn’t bad at all.

Need to know

Caroline Hendrie travelled with Norwegian Coastal Voyage (020-8846 2666, www.hurtigruten.co.uk). A six- night voyage north, leaving Bergen between July 25 and August 29, costs from £1,275pp, including full board, flights and transfers. The bird-watching excursion to Gjesvaer costs £76.

When to go: From now until September — the puffins are particularly visible until mid-July. Next year’s Return of the Puffins escorted tour, with an onboard ornithologist, leaves on April 9, 2007. The cost, from £1,800 per person, includes the six-night voyage, one night’s half board at a hotel in Honningsvag, onboard lectures, Gjesvaer bird-watching trip, North Cape excursion, flights and transfers.

Reading: Norway (Lonely Planet, £12.99).

Kites, cranes, condors . . .
by Caroline Hendrie

The Galapagos Islands have 26 endemic species, including the waved albatross, Galapagos penguin and swallow-tailed gull. A two-week tour, including two nights in a cloud forest lodge, leaving July 12, is £3,399pp with Wildwings (0117 965 8333, www.wildwings.co.uk).

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