As an avid sea kayaker, Greenland has been a paddling dream destination of mine for several years. And as an outdoor photographer, I’m always seeking out giant open landscapes in beautiful light. Hours of low-angle Greenlandic arctic light is hard to beat.
My big Greenland kayaking dreams came true this summer with a 10 day paddling adventure to the Ammassalik area of East Greenland. Our group of nine European and American kayakers paddled 60 miles around the northern half of Ammassalik Island, starting in the settlement of Kusuluk and ending with a hike across Ammassalik Island to the town of Tasiilaq.
A fun group and perfect weather made it easy to enjoy the arctic landscape, icebergs, whales and vertical mountain scenery.
Settlement of Kulusuk
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A few colorful Danish-style houses in the settlement of Kulusuk overlook Torsuut Tunoq sound. Kulusuk provides East Greenland’s primary airport to the rest of the world, with up to two flights per day from Iceland. We packed our boats and immediately headed off to our first camp on the side of Ammassalik Fjord, where a feeding mink whale entertained us just off-shore.
Paddling on Ikaasatsivaq Fjord
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Our group of 9 paddlers in 5 kayaks (I was in the only single boat) paddled through vertical mountain scenery alongside Ikaasatsivaq Fjord. Loaded down with camping gear and food, we paddled an average of 20 km (12.4 miles) each day. I carried my SLR camera on deck in a Ortlieb Aqua Zoom camera dry bag for quick access.
Ammassalik Island mountain scenery
Enjoying an un-named glacial-fed river and mountain scenery on Ammassalik Island near our camp on Sammileq Fjord. The glaciated mountain Qimmeertaajaliip Qaqqartivaa rises 974 meters in the distance.
Time for a stretch on Ikaasatsivaq Fjord
With mountains often rising right out of the water, it is important to take breaks at any available beaches and fresh water sources along the way.
Tiniteqilaaq on Sermilik Fjord
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On Day 3, we made a quick stop in the settlement of Tiniteqilaaq to re-supply our food (and enjoy some ice-cream bars). Most settlements, even Tiniteqilaaq with a population of only around 110 people, has a decent grocery story stocked with imported and locally hunted foods. Here, we also get our first glimpse of the Greenland icecap and the iceberg-filled Sermilik Fjord, which we will be exploring for the next 4 days.
Navigating through Icebergs on Sermilik Fjord
81 km long and ranging from 5 to 14 km wide, Sermilik Fjord is full of icebergs calving from the Helheim, Fenris and Midgard Glaciers. Google Earth images show that some of these icebergs can be 1 km across. Our route took us 7 km north from Tiniteqilaaq, where we then enjoyed a day away from the kayaks to climb nearby mountains.
A Day of Hiking
Here, Si-Joe and Francesca are climbing up the ridge above camp for a view across the iceberg-filled Sermilik Fjord. The eastern edge of the Greenland Icecap is seen in the distance.
Camping with a View
Enjoying the view from camp after a refreshing mid-trip skinny-dip in a nearby pond.
Camp on Sermilik Fjord
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This has to be one of the most scenic wilderness campsites I’ve ever experienced.
Timelapse
We enjoyed watching icebergs moving with the tidal currents over our 36-hour stay at this camp. It was interesting to see them all moving at different speeds and different directions, even colliding with each other. My theory is that icebergs of various depths can get pushed around in different directions by currents flowing in different directions at different depths. Watch them dance in this time-lapse video.
Glacial Striations on Bedrock
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Much of Greenland’s edges are comprised of bare bedrock that has been exposed to multiple ice-ages of glacial activity. This leaves the rock scared by parallel scratches known as glacial striations.
More Icebergs and Fog Sermilik Fjord
After our rest day, we paddled south through thousands of icebergs along Sermilik Fjord for another 2 days. Our perfect weather never let up, though we did fight an occasional strong head wind.
Tasiilaq
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After leaving our sea kayaks with a water taxi, we hiked across Ammassalik Island and arrived in Tasiilaq, East Greenland’s largest town. With a population of approx 2100, Tasiilaq holds about half of East Greenland’s population, which is about 5% of all of Greenland’s population.
Tasiilaq
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Here we spent the next day exploring the town of Tasiilaq and its surrounding hills. On the tenth day of our trip, we then ferried back to Kulusuk by boat for our flights back home via Iceland.
Buy Prints from This Trip
Photographic prints are available from this photo shoot in a variety of formats, sizes and finishes to suit your needs. Click an image below to see your options. Find more information about our prints and print collections here.
