Kayaking in Greenland - Disko Bay: Circumnavigation of Arve Princess Island (page 2 of 4)

Pierre,

Great story and trip—it’s so inspiring! I was expecting it to be way more expensive, honestly. 😉

Hi Pierre, You mentioned the phone: did you buy a local SIM card or just use your usual one (roaming fees?)? Are there any freeze-dried meals in Ilulissat? Is it tough to identify the food (English or Danish on the products?) in the stores? And the flies at the start of your trip? Did they last long? Any mosquitoes? Thanks! Marie

Hi there, No, these were our regular French phones. Free and Bouygues worked all around the villages, but the rates were very high (Free rates): - 2.20 €/min for a call to France - 1 €/min for a call to Greenland - 0.27 € for a text and 9 €/MB for internet. The only freeze-dried food we found in Ilulissat was Chinese noodles and Knorr soups. Otherwise, Pisifik is huge, and you can find everything without any issues. It’s like a medium-sized French supermarket with the same brands. There’s always at least Danish on the labels... For mosquitoes, we saw very few, but the flies were really numerous at the beginning of the trip (enough to be a bit annoying). After that, we had wind and cold, and it calmed down. A head net is really essential. But since we were never in shorts or T-shirts, it was manageable.

Ok, thanks Pierre! Do you know if they also sell gas cartridges (screw valve) at this store? Cheers, Marie

Awesome story, it was so exciting to read! I’d love to do this kind of trip in Greenland, but it’s clear you need kayaking experience and endurance to take it on. After trying it for a few hours in Norway and Svalbard, I quickly realized that the stamina required for kayaking isn’t quite the same as for a trek. You had some stressful moments among the ice and whales, but you made the right calls and stayed sensible when it mattered.

For endurance, I’d say this is how beginners like us will experience it... What seems great is that there are plenty of possible bivouac spots, which lets you shorten your stages if needed. That’s exactly what we’re planning to do, anyway.

Yes, there were screw-in gas cartridges in the right section of the store. But it's enough to show up right after travelers who took 10 of them, and it gets tricky. A liquid-fuel stove still seems more reliable. We had an MSR WhisperLite Universal that works with both gas and liquid fuel (maybe a good compromise...)

For the kayaking effort, I don’t think it’s harder than a trek—there’s never any climbing, and you’re not carrying anything on your back. If you’ve got plenty of time and avoid going out on windy days, there aren’t really any major issues...

Yeah, we also have a dual-fuel stove, but it's heavier and bulkier, and I'm not comfortable with gasoline—best to avoid using it in the tent...

True, if you factor in the weather, kayaking isn’t any more tiring than trekking, but on the water, you’re still not in your element—more vulnerable—and you have to keep that in mind. The key is having enough time ahead of you so you don’t take unnecessary risks...

Hello, we’d also like to kayak around Disko Bay independently next summer in July 2019. We can’t find a kayak rental place in Ilulissat. Like you, we have a Gumotex—based on your experience, would you recommend bringing it, or is it too risky? Also, how did you handle food? Thanks for any tips. Best regards, Valérie CASAMAYOU

Hi there

No, I’d recommend going with a rigid kayak. A link for rentals was shared in the comments:

http://altai-greenland.com/en/theme/12/equipment-rental-and-logistics

For food, as mentioned in the travel journal, you can find everything on-site—the store is like a medium-sized French supermarket.

Pierre

Be aware that these rental places are in Oqaatsut, so it's not straightforward since the boats only run once a week (unless you want to depart from Oqaatsut). Plus, you have to prove you have Arctic experience, and the prices are pretty steep... 140 € per day for 2 weeks for 2 people. Just the drysuit alone costs less to buy than to rent for 2 weeks... In short, it's good to know...

Thanks Pierre. Valerie

Thanks so much, Marie! Have you ever gone kayaking in Disko Bay before? Valerie

No way, we're going there in July 2019.

Here’s a quick recap of my research for kayaking in Disko Bay. We had access to a Nautiraid-style kayak, but after looking into it, getting it there seems tricky. Even via Royal Arctic Line, it’s still really expensive. I’m waiting for the final price, but transporting the Nautiraid from Denmark to Ilulissat is already 270 € round trip. That’s actually cheap if you think about it, but since we’ll likely need to double that to get it to Denmark, we’re looking at around 600 €... And if we factor in that Diskoline might charge us extra if we’re overloaded (we’re spending a week in Saqqaq in a cabin first to get used to things), well, the conclusion is simple: invest in a Gumotex like Pierre’s. For 1350 €, it comes fully equipped with a deck, skirts, life jackets, a pump, and paddles, and we can probably resell it easily since they seem to be in high demand. Anyway, thanks Pierre for the great tip!

Hi Marie Flore, Did you look into the postal shipping option? Marie

Yeah, all of that is completely prohibitive... I checked UPS (way too expensive), and when I see that I paid 90 € to send two small packages to Indonesia, I didn’t even bother asking La Poste.

The cheapest option is this Danish royal shipping company, but even then, it costs me half the price of my kayak, which itself could be transported as normal luggage (we’ll take the bare minimum and buy food on-site instead...). Plus, I could keep it if I love it or resell it without any hassle.

Actually, the Nautiraid looks amazing, but it’s still pretty bulky (over 1.30 m long) and comes in two packages.

I’ve been searching for weeks, and nothing—it’s all too expensive... So I caved and bought the Gumotex. On top of that, I got a discounted one for a bit less—lucky break...

Hi everyone, after some research and thinking, we’ve decided to go with our GUMOTEX too. We’ve taken it to the Lofoten Islands in Norway, Corsica, and Greece. We’ve already booked our tickets and arrive in Ilulissat on the night of Tuesday, July 2nd for three weeks. We’ve also booked the youth hostel for the first two nights in Ilulissat to prepare our gear. If you’d like to get in touch, here’s our number: 06 65 39 86 79. Maybe see you soon! Valérie and André

Oh awesome! Looks like you’ve come to the same conclusions as we have. We’ll probably cross paths! We arrive in Ilulissat on the 14th and take the Diskoline ferry on the 18th to spend a week in Saqqaq (we rented an Arctic cabin). We’ll use the time to train a bit and explore. Then we’ll kayak back down for about a week. I see you already have some kayaking experience—we’ll need to train hard! 😉.

Well, that sounds amazing! Don’t hesitate to give us a call, even if our experience is more in mountaineering than kayaking! 😉 We live in Pau in the Southwest. And you?