A visit to the ancient ice fields of Greenland did not disappoint, writes Wyn Barbezat.
Some bucket-list dreams refuse to fade: for us visiting Greenland had long been on our list.
The dream to see the midnight sun while sailing among giant icebergs was fulfilled in June this year. Organising travel from Dunedin to one of the most northern destinations in the world was a challenge.
The Great Canadian Travel Company was a great find on the internet. Lois, the agent who arranged our travel could not have been more helpful.
She gave us a number of independent travel itineraries within Greenland to choose from. We chose an eight-day trip starting from, and returning to Reykjavik, Iceland. Leaving Europe and Western culture behind, we flew into another world.
First stop in Greenland was the capital, Nuuk, possibly the smallest capital city in the world, with just 16,500 people.
The surrounding rocky, treeless landscape gave the impression of an abandoned film set for a Wild West movie, but with vibrantly coloured houses and very few larger buildings.
How wrong first impressions can be. In this small town there is an abundance of life and an amazing amount of history, from the earliest Inuit migrations through to later Norse and Danish settlement. We just had to find it.
Town planning seemed haphazard, possibly because there is no private land ownership in Greenland and siting of buildings may be determined by the rocky terrain. Initially it was difficult to find our way around, but with a small town centre it was difficult to get lost.
Greenlandic names are generally long and street signs were often absent. Local city maps were not much use either as they showed buildings but few road names.
Our hotel, The Hans Egede Hotel, was named after the Danish missionary who ''founded'' Nuuk. He had been sent to Greenland in 1721 by the Danish king to ensure that the settlers were still upholding the Christian faith.
He found no Europeans but stayed on and established a successful mission among the Inuit.
The hotel is well appointed and modern with a stylish restaurant on the top floor. As with most things in Greenland, it was expensive.
The Greenland National Museum provided us with comprehensive background on the life in Greenland through the ages. This was good preparation for the real adventure that was to begin on our second night in Greenland.
After dinner we boarded the coastal ferry that would take us north along the west coast into the Arctic Circle to Ilulissat, close to the largest glacier outside the Antarctic. Most of the Greenlandic population live along the western coast of the island.
We chose to sail on the Sarfaq Ittuk ferry, as this is a common form of transport for Greenlanders. There are no roads or trains between the towns, so travel is by sea or air. Usually there are more locals than tourists aboard the ferry.
Mingling with the locals and watching dockside activities at the small ports along the way allowed us to experience something unique that would not have been possible on a cruise liner.
Interestingly, it was not particularly cold when we set sail at 9pm, well rugged up on the top deck, waiting for the temperature to drop when the sun set, which of course it didn't. This is the land of the midnight sun.
We needed all our layers once the boat started moving, as the wind chill made the air bitterly cold. Within an hour the mist was down to sea level. There was nothing else to do but get to our well-appointed cabin, snuggle under our duvets and be rocked to sleep.
We awoke the next morning to stunning scenery, snow-covered mountains reaching into the sea. The ferry docked at the isolated village of Maniitsoq at 7am, where only locals embarked and disembarked.
This gave us an inkling of life in these parts - the remoteness of the villages, the people's resilience and how vulnerable they are to all the impacts of economic and political forces as well as climate change.
There is real concern about climate change. Increasing temperatures are affecting the lifestyles of many. There is less winter snow and ice, which reduces the opportunity for ice fishing. The ice cap is melting at an unprecedented rate, affecting the surrounding sea.
Reduction in ice is exposing more land, making it more accessible to gas, oil and mineral exploration and exploitation, with massive consequences for the local populace.
On the top floor of the national museum there was a display of photos of locals with their comments about climate change. They noted concerns about having rain and not snow at Christmas time and fears that grandchildren in the future might not have the excitement of dogsledding.
On the final morning of the ferry journey it was a thrill to wake up to ice floes all around the boat and to see whales spouting. As we progressed into the Arctic Circle the ice became thicker and shortly before we reached our destination we were crashing against huge chunks of ice.
Clearly the captain knew which route to take to avoid icebergs too large to argue with. The adventure had really begun.
After registering at the hotel we set off to explore the town and got lost again. Ilulissat is a town with colourful houses scattered around rocky outcrops accommodating a population of about 4000.
Our meanderings took us past many ''red zones'' marked on the map. These are dog reserves, off limits to everyone other than the dogs' owners.
It was hard to get an exact figure of the sled dog population, but there are probably as many dogs as people in the town.
We were told that in summer the dogs just lie around and get fat, all tethered close to individual kennels, no doubt longing for the winter and exercise. These are working dogs and the only evidence we saw of any pets were two cats.
The midnight cruise did not disappoint. It is hard to put into words the sheer magic of silently sailing among icebergs as tall as 10-storey buildings, glistening in the sun and changing to a red glow as the night wore on.
We did not want the night to end, but at 1am we headed back to harbour with the odd feeling of a mismatch between the time and the amount of daylight.
Another day at sea was a 12-hour trip to the Eqi Glacier, at almost 70deg north. Was this the best way to spend one whole day?
A resounding yes! After four hours sailing among increasingly large icebergs we arrived within view of the Eqi Glacier, some 4km wide.
We had to keep a safe distance as the glacier is constantly calving, an astounding sight, accompanied by the sound of ice cracking like thunder. The threat of tsunamis from calving ice is very real.
On board we were treated to a ''fishnic'', a picnic with all manner of seafood: three forms of halibut, shrimps and a rare delicacy, tiny cubes of whale skin.
The International Whaling Commission recognises that whale products play an important role in the nutritional and cultural life of the indigenous people. Greenlanders are allocated a whale quota catch each year.
This way the Inuit are able to maintain a tradition they mastered more than 1000 years ago. As whale meat may not be exported it is considered a delicacy within the country.
Our last morning was spent walking to the face of the Kangia (Ilulissat) glacier, a Unesco World Heritage Site. The path is a board walk, necessary to protect the slow-growing Arctic vegetation. Along the way there are notices warning people away from the beaches.
This glacier calves 86 tonnes of ice into the fiord every day and can create a tsunami in minutes with a giant calving.
Departure time came before we were ready to leave. Perhaps a new item needs to be added to the bucket list. A winter visit to Greenland to experience dogsledding and the Northern Lights? Maybe.
Wyn Barbezat is a retired Dunedin health professional.
