Photo Safari Jameson Land
Photo Safari on Jameson Land: musk ox , snow hare , arctic fox & ptarmigan
When: April / early May
Min. no. of participants: 2
Price per person / single sled : please contact us for price
Price per person / double sledge : please contact us for price
Included: 2 nights in local guesthouse (self-catering); 6 days dog sledge safari (incl. day of arrival) including full catering, sleeping bag, mattress, tent.
Not included: tickets to/from Ittoqqortoormiit , catering in Ittoqqortoormiit guesthouse
Length of trip: 8 days in total: 6 days dog sledge safari + 2 night in guesthouse w /self-catering.
The Route
Jameson Land is a peninsula in eastern Greenland, bounded to the southwest by Scoresby Sund, the world's biggest fjord system. The nearest town is Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund), located in the south of the peninsula. Ittoqqortoormiit is the remotest inhabited community in the western hemisphere. The Jameson Land safari mainly follows the traditional winter musk-ox hunting route, taken by hunters and their dog teams. Jameson Land has its own unique landscape with traces from early Eskimo inhabitants. It is known for its high population of musk oxen, but also for the fascinating land structure. Jameson Land mainly consists of jurassic sandstone , but in the northern end there are also rocks of triassic origin. Jameson Land contains some of the richest fossil plant deposits of the Triassic-Jurassic age in the world – but in April and May most of it will be covered with snow, making the dog sledding a pleasure.
Tour Facts
The guides attending the tour are all local mushers. They have a wealth of knowledge about the area and how to not ”just survive“ in the cold, but to thoroughly enjoy it. You will be fully equipped (Arctic sleeping bag, sleeping mat, sledge outfit of nylon, boots), so that you are only responsible for bringing a minimum of extra clothes and other equipment. On this 6-day-long sledge journey, there can be one or two guests on each sledge besides the guide who is driving the sledge. Due to safety, Nanu Travel always send a minimum two sledges together.
Most nights we will overnight in our tents and we will cook Greenlandic food for dinner in the evening. We will make stops during the day where your guide will melt snow for coffee and tea and snacks will be available all day while sledging. After the journey you will stay at the local guesthouse in Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund). The guesthouse, located in the heart of town has TV, shower, washing machine and a well-equipped, modern kitchen for you to cook your own meals. Please keep in mind that it is a self-catering guesthouse!
Itinerary
Day 1-6 :
You fly to Constable Point (CNP) airport, where your guide will be waiting with his dog team. After a first meet-and-greet, all participants will be fitted for sledge outfit and boots. All non-trip personal gear will be sent directly to town by helicopter, where it will be stored at the guesthouse until our return. As soon as the trip kit is packed and ready for storing on the sledges, we will eat a quick lunch at the airport – and then start our journey into Jameson Land.
We follow the old hunting routes, but we will decide day-to-day whitch way to go, depending on the snow condition and the latest info about where we can find the animals. We will keep an eye out for wildlife all the time – ptarmigan can be difficult to spot due to their white camouflage winterlook, but they often sit just next to the dog sledge trail and you can get very close to them with your camera. Both dogs and mushers have a trained eye for spotting musk ox and when you reach higher plateaus, everyone will eagerly grab their binoculars and look for musk ox herds. Arctic hare and fox have the same camouflage as ptarmigan, but they move around more so they are easier to spot. If you are patient you can sneak up on both with a camera. At night we will camp in tent, with the dogs surrounding us.
We follow the Jameson Land coastline on the return . We’re sledging on the frozen sea ice of the largest fjord system in the world – the Scoresby Sund Fjord system. There are very good chances of observing musk oxen along this route also – and even though polar bears are a seldom sight in the fjord system, there is a chance of meeting one. Late April the seals will start crawling up on the sea ice and sun bathe. Dressed in white clothes and with a little patience, you can come very close to a sleeping seal. Arctic hares and foxes will curiously watch us from the coast and different kinds of seabirds will show up in the sky as we approach Ittoqqortoormiit.
Along the coast of Jameson land, there are single huts we can use for cooking and socializing. Leaving Jameson land, we pass by the two huts at Kap Stewart and cross over the frozen Hurry Inlet to the deserted village, Kap Hope. If we are late, we can sleep over in houses here – otherwise, we will continue the last 12 kilometers to Ittoqqortoormiit.
Upon arrival in Ittoqqortoormiit it is time to say goodbye to your guide. All guests will be accommodated in the local guesthouse with shower/tv/washing machine and good kitchen facilities. Overnight stay in the guesthouse.
Free day in Ittoqqortoormiit: Enjoy a day in Ittoqqortoormiit, one of the last hunters' societies in the world. This day can be used to shop for souvenirs, enjoy walks in the town or in the nearby surroundings, visit the charming little church from 1928, visit the local museum, etc. If you are up for more action, you can book day trips in the Nanu Travel Tourist office. You can for instance dog sledge to Kap Tobin and visit the hot spring – the warmest in Greenland. Overnight stay in the guesthouse
Departure day :
An employee of the guesthouse will take your luggage to check in. Shortly after, the helicopter leaves for Constable Point followed by departure with the scheduled flight from CNP.
Be aware that the trip can be changed at short notice due to weather and snow conditions.
Link to tour information /multi-day trips HERE
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one of our trips. You can find the form HERE