Wonderful Greenland
Flying with an Airbus 330 over the white strange country for a long time my husband and me arrived in Kangerlussuaq.
We had a break in the sun sitting, looking at the Inuit people waiting for the flight to the small city Maniitsoq.
Maniitsoq is situated on an island, with 3000 inhabitants and the area is characterized by a large number of long, deep fjords and a large archipelago.
We were picked up at the airport, after having gained four hours (time difference from central Europe is -4hour) and we had still time for a guided walk around and discover the city.
Wooden houses in different kinds of bright colors, we had private accommodation in a turquoise house. In the museum we saw old fishing equipments, harpoons and kayaks. The cemetery outside the city had white crosses filled with an abundance of colorful flowers … in plastic. The vegetation is scanty, no trees only small bushes and grass. The small city and there were only few kilometers of roads. We made a short brake at a local café, overlooking the harbor, where we watched people buying fish and whale’s meat.
Would the whales appear, yes they did at the first day we saw them from our window. We got more opportunities to see them very close to the boat. It was so amazing sailing near those wonderful creatures. It was miraculous catching photos of, those characteristic remarkable tail fins. We were lucky, all the week the whales appeared again and again. As a souvenir we bought the beautiful handmade wale tales made of soapstone.
Bird cliff with thousands of birds, and deep green valley’s was passed by on the route.
We visited the small traditional village Kangaamiut with only 300 inhabitants. A very pretty place starched along the coastline with houses in colures of the rainbow and 1,4km road. We were close to the Inuit culture and on first hand we experienced the worm and kind people there. We were served homemade musk ox and smoked sea trout and other delicacies at a local Greenland family. Very delicious. We also saw her handicraft made of sealskin polar fox and musk ox wool, and bought earrings made from Narwhale tooth. On the way there, we went fishing at sea, and caught a lot of cods, big nice ones.
We had time for a guided tour in the mountains overlooking the icebergs from the mountain. But even more exiting was to sail amongst them and thinking about the 90% of the iceberg that we could not see under the surface. The colures was so clear and beautiful, the air so fresh and the life so relaxing.
The last day we went to meandering fjords surrounded by mountains and we stopped and walked up the river Qoqqut. We had small boat to take us into the river. I started to sit on the top of the mountain reading a book with many mosquitoes swirling around my head, but they did not bite. Looking down in the river I saw my husband and our company catching something. The book was not so interesting after having seen the activity down by the river. I ran down to see the others catching so many big trout I have never seen in my life. They were big too. It took more time to take them off the hook than catching them. We stopped because we could not either use or carry more. The day is long and the night is not dark, so we could stay out for a long time. The staff was very helpful and carried most of the catch, but we wanted to gut and clean the fish too. We put it in the freezer and we brought it back home.
Greenlandic. What a language, impossible to read or just to try to pronounce a word so incredible long and complicated. It is impossible just to guess the meaning of one single word.
We were accompanied by Major hunting on their Nature and Culture 8 day’s trip.
We had plenty of activities on the water, in the boat going around whale watching, birdlife at the bird cliffs fishing in the sea and river. We were taken care of all the time, always coffee and some snacks and good traditional meals. They knew were to take us, we were tourist but we did not meet other tourists, we had a good feeling of being in a friendly place.
This was an exciting and impressing week, well organized with friendly and supportive staff. This is the tail.
Monica Ingemarsson
Norway
monica.ingemarsson@statped.no
Musk ox hunt at the edge of Ummivit River in Kangerlussuaq.
August 2007 I attended along with two other Danish hunters on a combined reindeer and musk ox hunt in Sønder Strømfjord/Kangerlussuaq.
I came by boat to Kangerlussuaq along with our two local guides Tobias and Niels Jørgen, while the other hunter Dan and his wife Susanne, flew directly from Denmark on the same day.
The weather was fantastic, clear blue sky and the sea like a mirror. We had a fantastic trip, but with a little headwind in through the 180km long Sønder Strømfjord. A single trip total of 250km which took approx 6-8 hours plus a stop in Kangaamiut and a few lunches break en route.
In Kangerlussuaq, we fetched the other two remaining members of the hunting party. They had arrived by plane from Denmark on the same day. We crossed the bay and sailed bit up the river before we found tenants for the night in a plain overlooking both the bay and up the river where the hunt would take place the following day.
Tenant consisted of a large heated assembly tent and two smaller sleeping tents where we slept well on luxury mattresses. We had everything we could dream of equipment.
After a well-don breakfast in a peaceful and clear late summer morning, the hunters and guides went up the river in two brand new rubberboats with large outboard motors. A short distance up the river where the valley again spread out, the hunters went ashore on the south side of river.
Already after short time Dan was aware of a giant Musk ox about 9-10år. At first glance, he had not seen it since the most of all looked like a big stone block.
Since we were still in a valley and the hunt had just begun, we chose to bypass the animal and continue further up the valley. The river was too big for the musk ox to cross and slopes too steep for the musk ox to be to climb. If we started shooting down here in the valley we would also scratch any animals in the vicinity, especially the reindeer would quickly disappear up the valley. The plan was to hunt any possibly animal higher up the valley and shoot the big bull when we came down again.
We therefore continued the journey up the valley. Truly after only half an hour walk, we found a large reindeer, a handsome young male. Not the perfect trophy, but it was just what we were looking for, a musk ox and reindeer on the same trip.
The reindeer did not have a chance. Two hunters took aim, and it was killed with a pair of lung/heart shot.
The animal was cutup and transported down to the rubber boats/musk ox.
Niels Jørgen, one guide continued with the meat directly to rubber boats while two hunters and a guide went for the musk oxen. The enormous Musk ox had sought further down the valley and was spotted as it stood in a beautiful siluett against the afternoon sun. After a brief maneuvering, we found a small cliff where Dan and Tobias placed themselves. The musk ox was hit by two shots witch got the big bull to fall before it could move.
The evening went to shine and break up the musk ox. A very time spending work with a 375-400kg musk ox, and even with two rubber boats, it was too much to get it down to the tenant by the evening. Therefore, we used the following morning to transport the last parts down to the tents.
The last days of hunting were used to divide up into two teams for hunting and one team for photo safari. The outcome of the day was a magnificent specimen of a trophy caribou and two nice caribou. There were several musk oxen within rifle range but it was late in the day and when all hunters was more than satisfied with their game, the idea of the extra work was not tempting.
The guide Niels Jørgen showed us occasion how a real Inuit can carry two adult reindeer at once, with just one string as a headband on his forehead. And it was miles and miles in between stones and rocks. Probably between 70 and 80kg on the forehead.
After three wonderful days hunting in the magnificent scenery under the clear late summer sky, served with lovely and tasty food, the hunt was over.
The guides Tobias and Niels Jørgen sailed us into the airport in Kangerlussuaq where we three tourists/hunters flew home.
Everything was as anyone could wish for.
Service and knowledge of the aria was very very good. Equipment was all new and top quality. Food was don form the best ingredients and from the bottom.
Everything was very well organized in every detail.
Best of all, we got what we came for. A huge 9-10 year perfect equipped musk ox, one huge rein deer and 3 very nice rein deer.
I can guaranty you that these outfitters can give you a hunt of a lifetime.
Sincerely
Richard Jensen
Odensen, Denmark
rhj@live.dk
To Tobias, Jesper, Tønnes and Aqqalo.
In August 2009 we were 8 men in the upper middleage from Norway, Denmark and Sweden who went to Greenland for sight-seeing, fishing and perhaps hunting of reindeer and musk ox. The trip was arranged by Major Hunting ruled by Tobias and Jesper with Tønnes and Aqqalo as coworkers.
The travel started not so good according to some problems with the aircraft on scheduled flight to Kangerlussuaq to Maniitsoq so we had to stay overnight in Kangerlussuaq.
Major Hunting organized that we could go by boat the following morning from Kangerlussuaq to Kangaamiut which in fact was a fantastic trip much better than flying.
When we came to Kangaamiut it was organized a lunch at a local family where we tried different typical Greenland dishes. Then we went to our first camp on a very nice desert place in the nearby fjord “Evighedsfjorden”. The equipment was perfect with new, modern tents, chairs and beds. We also had delicious dinners cooked by Tobias and his friends. The next day we went for a spectacular sightseeing where we were told about the history of Greenland, looked upon icebergs and the result of the change in the climate. We also had 100000 years old ice in our 40 years old whisky.
Then we went for fishing in the river “Qoqqut” south of Maniitsoq the camp was raised on a very nice place with sea view and also a view along the river valley.
When you came to the river you could not imaging the amount of fish. It was a fantastic view to see all these beautiful colored fishes. Some of us were fly fishers and some anglers. It did not matter; you had a big fish on almost every time it went out. I have never in my life participated in fishing like that. Of course we released most of the fishes.
Our intention was also to go for some hunting but the fishing was so fantastic that we all decided to go on with the fishing.
The week went to an end far too quickly. But the fantastic scenery, the outstanding fishing, and the perfect organized trip by Major Hunting will be a memory of a lifetime.
So once again thanks for a fantastic week.
If you would like to go to Greenland for holiday with fishing and hunting, I can strongly recommend Major Hunting. They organized a splendid tour, besides they all are very nice guys.
If you need further information you are welcome to contact me on my mail
smulan.johansson@gmail.com
Owe Johansson
Angler and Orthopedic Surgeon
smulan.johansson@gmail.com
