The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Think big in the world’s last true wilderness
With the largest fjord network on Earth and icebergs as tall as the Empire State Building, Greenland is as unspoilt as it is exciting, says Sara Macefield
There was no disguising the enthusiasm of our submersible pilot, Merel, as we descended in a plume of bubbles into the mysterious depths of the fjord. “These are some of the richest waters on the planet, with lots of light and nutrients,” she exclaimed. “It is a living landscape and no one has ever dived here before!”
I gazed, mesmerised, through the bright aquamarine expanse into the underwater world as it unfolded before us. As our seven-person craft gently floated down to the silt bed of the fjord, a lion’s mane jellyfish pulsed past us, all billowing bell and wafting tentacles, while small Arctic cod eyed us warily and soft corals drifted on the ocean currents.
And then, suddenly, there in the middle of it all was a tiny bone shard decorated with a uniform line of tiny holes. This sent Merel into rhapsodies. She excitedly pondered its origin before declaring it a possible Viking relic; an unexpected finale to our underwater exploration of Hvalsey Fjord, one of a network of intricate waterways carved into the southern flank of Greenland.
Slowly, our electric submersible rose to the surface, the waters parting biblically as it emerged into daylight. Disembarking through a hatch, we were transferred to an inflatable Zodiac boat which motored back to our ship, Seabourn Venture.
It was all seamless – but then, ever since my 20-year-old daughter Holly and I had boarded the ship a week previously, everything had gone exactly according to plan. From the service and the excursions to the hastily assembled Zodiacs, which took us closer to the action whenever a young male polar bear appeared on the shore, there had been not a drama or a hitch.
We had stepped aboard the 264-passenger vessel – one of a new generation of luxury expedition ships – in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, then sailed northwards into the Arctic Circle en route to Scoresby Sound, high up on Greenland’s largely unpopulated and unexplored east coast.
Stretching over thousands of miles, the towering cliffs separated by icy tongues of glaciers and vast winding waterways – large parts of which are uncharted – make this the largest fjord system in the world, dwarfing its better-known Norwegian counterparts.
This is hardly surprising, given the vastness of Greenland – the world’s largest island, at 836,000 square miles, nine times the size of the United Kingdom. Around 80 per cent of that land area is covered by its ice sheet. Yet with a population of less than 57,000, this Danish territory is also the world’s least densely populated region.
The Northeast Greenland National Park, which borders Scoresby Sound, is the world’s most expansive example, stretching over an area almost as large as France and Spain combined and with no permanent human settlements.
We relished these few days exploring fjords which, for much of the year, are encased by sea ice, rendering them impassable – though milder summer temperatures bring a fleeting respite, enabling ships such as ours to slip gently into this frozen inner sanctum.
When we arrived in mid-August, heavier ice floes than usual meant Seabourn Venture was the first ship of the year to access the fjords, the dramatic beauty of this stark landscape totally at odds with the swish interiors of our floating home. Each day, we would be greeted by a panorama of jagged icebergs framed by the curved floor-toceiling bow windows of our penthouse In the evenings, Holly and I would creep up to The Club lounge before dinner to gorge on delicious, freshly-made sushi accompanied by a glass or two of crisp Galician albarino wine, while admiring sienna-tinged sunsets which bathed the fjords in a golden glow.
As we headed southwards past the mountains of Prince Christian Sound, which separates the mainland from the islands of the Cape Farewell Archipelago on Greenland’s southern tip, the focus of our cruise shifted from the wilderness and fauna of the east coast – with its passing pods of orcas and colossal fin whales – to the culture of its communities on the more populated western side.
We stopped at tiny settlements tucked into the craggy shoreline, brimming with the customs and history of Inuit tribes who have survived for centuries in this unforgiving environment. There, locals welcomed us with heartwarming choral performances held in rustic wooden churches, and greeted us with “kaffemik” – a social gathering over coffee – and homemade cake in their community centres.
The complete contrast between their lives and ours was as fascinating as it was inescapable, but at the tiny settlement of Aappilattoq (population 70), we were surprised to learn that one of the local men had visited the UK for a month to improve his English, staying in Exeter – where Holly had graduated just a few weeks previously.
Who would have thought it? It was another welcome revelation to add to the many on this voyage – though one of the most memorable came as we sat in our suite one afternoon, taking a breather after another morning studded with natural wonders.
A giant iceberg had been drifting serenely by when, without warning, a vast wall along its side suddenly colsuite. lapsed, sending hundreds of tons of ice crashing into the sea and creating a mini tsunami that rolled towards our ship, gently rocking it to and fro.
We rushed to our window and watched, utterly awestruck. Apparently, Greenland’s natural spectacles don’t do intermissions.
Sara Macefield travelled as a guest of Seabourn (0843 373 2000; seabourn. com) which offers an 11-day Fjords of East Greenland cruise on Seabourn Venture from £6,299 per person based on staying in a veranda suite, or from £11,999 per person for a panorama penthouse suite. The price includes meals, drinks, gratuities and most excursions. A round-trip sailing from Reykjavik departs on August 5 2024, and includes Scoresby Sound plus Umivik Bay and Skjoldungen Fjord in Greenland, and Heimaey and the Westman Islands in Iceland.