South Greenland

Packrafting trip from Narsarsuaq to Aappilattoq

By World Wild Places

November 15^th, 2018

After spending one month in North Greenland, we flew from Ilulissat to Narsarsuaq to starting moving south from there all the way to Aappilattoq and then to Nanortalik. It took 30 days during witch we had all kind of weather from warm and sunny days to wet and cold; from lush green fields to amazing foliage colors and snow at higher altitudes.

There is not as many icebergs and animals in South Greenland as it is in the North. But what makes the area stand out are the sharp mountain peaks and narrow fjords. There are much more vegetation here than in the north. Some areas are even forested with some birch and pine trees. This made the walking progress not as fast and smooth, but still nothing terrible as I had at Newfoundland’s Devil Bay.

Qarqupkua

The second day we left Natarsuasaq, my drone had hit the wall of the ice cave and it have drowned under the glacier. It was unfortunate to loose a week of footage on my memory card and missing the upcoming footage from the south. Kilogram and a half of drone batteries on my back, was a good reminder for the next month that something is missing.

With caution, walking the glacier is faster and easier than pushing through loose moraine rocks. For me, this kind of experience was for the first time. Seen waterfalls going down and disappearing in the glacier was one of the main highlights of this trip in South Greenland.

In the South, people are farming sheep and it would be the most common animal to see. In one particular valley the musk oks has been introduced, but other than foot prints and lost “fure” we did not have luck to spot them.

Sioralik Fjord

Getting to Sondre Sermilik Fjord via Sioraglip Qorua

Crossing to Tasermiut Fjord

Tasermiut Fjord

This mountain with 800 meter cliff is probably one of th most photogenic spots here

Uilutkua

During the nights, South Greenland is one of the best locations to watch aurora light. A few nights the light and the dance was so strong that even 1/3 of a second exposure was to long to capture it. I can’t imagine aurora can be stronger and crazier than this.

Tupassat

The hills in the end of this Fjord are up to 60 meters high, they are mounds of sediment called cames.

Nuk

Prince Christian Sound

Aappilattoq

Ivssugtussaq

It is snowing outside of my tent. There are already a few inches of snow powder on the ground and I am not sure how much more snow is going to fall. The night was not that cold, I did not even get up at night to inflate my air mattress witch has a hole and hold air only for about 10 minutes. To bad all my socks are wet and I am thinking of using plastic bags as out layer for the shoes to go outside. It was already cloudy when we get here yesterday to our camping spot. For a short time it was possible to see through the clouds and the view is very promising.