This trip is dedicated to my mother Gill who has been a keen traveller all her life and coming up to 80 years old she told me that she had come to the end of her bucket list. As a keen traveller myself I didn’t think there was any way that you could reach the end as there is always somewhere else of interest, when you tick something off the list you always seem to add 3 more things to it. So it became my mission to find somewhere that she hadn’t already been (that was the difficult part) that … [Read more...]
Arctic Express: Greenland’s Northern Lights
September 2018 Arctic Express: Greenland's Northern Lights Hike and cruise the wilds of Greenland on this in-depth Arctic adventure, flying in and out of Reykjavik. Taking in both the world’s largest national park and its longest fjord system, this trip makes no compromise on size as far as nature is concerned. And with return flights in and out of Greenland from Reykjavik, you’ll be seeing as much of it as possible in a relatively shorter space of time. Arriving in Constable Point, you’ll … [Read more...]
Day 1: Copenhagen to Reykjavik
15 September 2018 Today is just a travel day but is officially Day 1 of our Arctic Express trip and we get our expedition gear and instructions this evening. It has rained heavily overnight and the wind is cold so we decide not to go for a morning walk. Gill has sprained her ankle so she isn’t keen on walking anywhere. We start with breakfast downstairs and make a sandwich to take with us on the flight. Despite being very close to the Central Station, we take a taxi to save Gill’s foot. We … [Read more...]
Day 2: Reykjavík to Constable Point, Greenland
16 September 2018 Today is another travel day. Our day starts earlier than we would have liked as we haven’t adjusted to the new time zone and then we get an unrequested wake up call. Our transfer to the boat in Greenland will be done in two groups - we are in the second group so don’t have to meet in reception until 9.15. But as we are awake anyway we have showers and go down to breakfast (somewhat unadvisedly as it turned out as it was jam-packed with the earlier group (and the rest of the … [Read more...]
Day 3: Scoresby Sund: Frederiksdal & Nordvestfjord
17 September 2018 After the storm last night I am amazed that I had a wonderful night’s sleep and woke up feeling great. Then I opened the curtains to the most amazing view of a glacier. We have sailed overnight and stopped at Frederiksdal - in the longest, deepest fjord in the world (Nordvestfjord). It is breath-taking scenery and a brilliant clear day without a breath of wind and at a balmy 3C. Breakfast is at 7.30 and then we prepared for our first shore expedition heading out at … [Read more...]
Day 4: Scoresby Sund: Nordvestfjord & Ingmikortilaq
18 September 2018 We had travelled a little further up the fjord to a finger of land called Ingmikortilaq that sticks out with the intention of being able to climb up and watch the sun rise over the hills. This isn’t as bad as it sounds because the sun takes quite a long time to come up over the sides of the hills. Breakfast is at 7.00am and then we are boarding the zodiacs again at 8.00am. We are in our walking groups and once we are on land, the chargers head off straight up the hillside … [Read more...]
Day 5: Scoresby Sund: Eskimobugt & Immikkeertikajik
19 September 2018 We have travelled overnight so that we wake up in the morning at a bay called Eskimobugt on the north side of inner Nordvestfjord, southern Nathorst Land. After a relatively early breakfast we set off on the morning’s expedition to the shore. This excursion is a bit different from others in that it is a ‘perimeter walk’: the crew have staked out an area and have sentries stationed at strategic spots with their rifles on polar bear watch, and we are free to wander at our own … [Read more...]
Day 6: Scoresby Sund: Danmark Island & Vikingsbugt
20 September 2018 Today we wake up next to an island at the mouth of Fonfjord. It has been snowing overnight and the mountains look stunning with contrasting horizontal stripes of white and dark grey. We see our first other ship dwarfed against the icebergs. After breakfast we head out in the Zodiacs to Danmark O (Danmark Island) - an important hunting site for both Paleo and Neo Eskimo cultures. Occupation dates back to more than 4000 years ago and continued through the Thule culture … [Read more...]
Day 7: Scoresby Sund: Cap Hope & Ittoqqortoormiit
21 September 2018 It doesn’t look like we will be able to leave Scoresby Sund and travel further north as per the original plans for this trip. We hear that it is still 30 knot winds in Hurry Harbour near Constable Point where we flew into. Although we have a schedule for the day, this has changed even before we have breakfast! We were scheduled to go to Cap Tobin but ended up at Cap Hope instead because there is too much swell for us to land safely on the beach. As it is, it is an … [Read more...]
Day 8: Scoresby Sund: Steward Island
22 September 2018 After the spectacular northern lights showing, the Ocean Nova sets sail heading out of Scoresby Sund to the open sea and then down the southern coast to Steward Island. Unfortunately even though she is a very good ice breaker, the Ocean Nova has no stabilisers and it is a very uncomfortable night for those of us who get sea sick. I could probably sleep if it is an even rocking but the motion of this ship is very uneven, rolling in different directions and with a corkscrew … [Read more...]