|
Day 1 (AMR08 ) Kangerlussuaq
After flying in to Kangerlussuaq we embark the ship.
Day 2 Hunde Ejland - Kronprinsens Ejland Archipelago
The island groups of Hunde Ejland and Kronprinsens Ejland, in the mouth of the Disko bay, are surrounded by rich waters which attract both seabirds and whales. We intend to call at the small settlement on Hunde Eijland where old dwellings of Greenlands,’s Thule culture (dating from the 11th century) and graves from 18th century whalers can be seen. Later we will make our first zodiac excursions in the beautiful narrows of the Kronprinsens Ejland archipelago.
Day 3 Disko Island - Engelskmandens Havn - Qeqertaq Island
On Disko Island we will ask permission to visit the Arctic Station near Godhavn, where scientists will introduce us into their work in Greenland. An interesting area is Engelskmandens Havn, where there are hot springs. Along the south-facing cliffs of Qeqertaq Island (Diskofjord), home to thousands of Fulmars, we make an excursion along the shore.
Day 4 Svartenhuk Halvø - Lille Fladø
We reach Svartenhuk Halvø, where we land at Svartenhavn. We will walk on an extensive tundra, dotted with lakes, where we will encounter ducks and geese and Muskoxen. Later we land at Lille Fladø, where a big colony of Arctic Terns and small colonies of Puffins, Black Guillemots and Little Auks survive.
Day 5 Melville Bugt - Svartenhavn - Upernavik - Lille Renland
At the southern end of Melville Bugt we land at Svartenhavn, the northernmost settlement of the Upernavik district. Later we land at Lille Renland, where Reindeer have been found. Here we can walk on the Greenland ice-cap. In this area we may encounter our first sea ice and, if so, there is a chance of spotting Polar Bears hunting seals at the ice edge. The shore here is dominated by the vast Greenland ice cap which reaches the sea as a series of enormous glacier fronts, the largest outside Antarctica.
Day 6 Melville Bugt - Meteor Island - Savigsivik
Today we sail to the western side of Melville Bugt, calling at Cape Melville and then continuing into Meteor Bugt where the shoreline mountains teem with Little Auks. On Meteor Island we land at Savigsivik, the southernmost Thule settlement. It was on this island that the famous York meteorite provided the Inuit with a source of iron - until Peary removed it and sold it to an American museum.
Day 7 Saunders Island - Booth Sound
At the west side of Saunders Island we will cruise below cliffs on which nest 150,000 Brünnich’s Guillemots, together with Kittiwakes and Fulmars, making it, perhaps, the largest seabird colony in Greenland. In Booth Sound we make a trip inland to visit an area of High Arctic tundra. There are many lakes here, with a breeding population of ducks and geese.
Day 8 Cape Alexander - Smith Sound -
Humbold Glacier
If ice conditions allow, we sail past Cape Alexander into Smith Sound towards the Humbold Glacier. Here we have the best opportunities to meet sea-ice and Polar Bears.
Day 9 Cape Chalon - Siorapaluk - Inglefield Bredning
We land at Cape Chalon, where we visit old houses of the Thule culture. Then we sail to Siorapaluk, the northernmost Greenlandic village where the people still depend on the hunting of Polar Bear, Narwhal, seals, seabirds and wildfowl. Later we sail into Inglefield Bredning where there the icebergs are carved into fantastic shapes by the natural forces of wind and water.
Day 10 Thule - Northumberland Island - Upernavigssuak - Hakluyt Island
Today we call at Thule (Quaanaaq) the main settlement of the area. In the 1950s the inhabitants of Old Thule (Dundas) were forced to move to Quaanaaq when NATO created an air base at their village. We land on the southern coast of Northumberland Island to visit Upernavigssuak, a deserted village, then continue to Hakluyt Island to view a large colony of Brünnich’s Guillemots. At this time of year the young are jumping from the ledges into the sea to start their southward migration.
Day 11 Parker Snow Bugt - Crimson Cliffs -
Cape York
Just east of Parker Snow Bugt we visit again some colonies with Brünnich’s Guillemots and cruise below the spectacular, ice-capped Crimson Cliffs to reach Cape York where, in 1818, the Inuit and White Men first met when Royal Navy ships under John Ross arrived. Today the small settlements on the eastern side of the Cape are deserted, though the mountains behind the shore are still home to thousands of Little Auks.
Day 12 Melville Bugt - Cape Seddon - Read Head
We sail south through the immense Melville Bugt, admiring again the awesome Greenland ice cap to the east. We will sail as close to shore as we can and hope to land on Cape Seddon near the remains of a Thule culture village, and on Read Head, from where we will have a splendid view on the Greenland Ice Cap.
Day 13 Kingigtorssuaq - Hvalø - Søndre Upernavik - Suvdlua
Depending on the weather and ice conditions we will keeping watch for whales and try to land on Kingigtorssuaq, where the northernmost Rune inscriptions from the Norsemen were found in a cairn, built in the 13th century. Alternatively we land on Hvalø near an accessible colony of Puffins. Then we sail past Søndre Upernavik, where in the mouth of Suvdlua there is a good chance to see big whales.
Day 14 Nuussuaq Peninsula - Björnefaelden
At the western tip of the Nuussuaq Peninsula we will try to land near the remains of a Norse settlement, called Björnefaelden.
Day 15 Ilulissat - Ice Fjord
In the early morning we arrive at Ilulissat, famous for its Ice Fjord which is packed by large icebergs calved from the Jakobshavn Glacier to the east. We disembark in the morning ready to catch the flight home.
Back to Top News
|
