

Seal Hunting One Brilliant Day in Sermilik Fjord, East Greenland
Published: 16/06/2020
Reading time: 2 minutes
Qertaulangiuaq, high up Sermilik Fjord, is a favorite place for Diilerilaaq hunters to hunt seals.

One day last mid-April, three of us – two hunters and myself, a visiting photographer – boated up the fjord to Qertaulangiuaq. There, in heavy fog, we hunted from icebergs and fast ice. The air was so thick with ice, it was hard to tell the sea from the sky.




Gert, our “seal whisperer” clucked and mewed, and scraped his gaff against the ice edge. In response, seals would pop their heads above water and swim towards the hunters.

The seals eventually grew wise to Gert’s game and retreated to the safety of the sea. The hunters then turned the sights inland. Max donned camouflage and carefully picked his way across the fast ice towards seals basking near the shore.




Success! Three fat, ringed seals.



By mid-afternoon, the fog started to lift and the sun broke out. Ice-capped mountains split cloud-mottled seas and skies along a shimmering horizon. With a clear line of sight, hunting became spectacular. Seal bodies bobbed about the water in bloody pools, near the glowing ice edge. As we boated into the bay to collect them a rib of moss-green, bedrock gneiss rose under our bow.




Do hunters, I wonder, see sublimity as well as its seals?

Read more travel blogs from Dianne Chisholm
-
Explore the Cultural site of Qilakitsoq | Boat tour | Uummannaq | North Greenland
Tour startsUummannaqDuration3 hoursFrom 1500 DKKSee more -
5.00(1)
Boat Transfer between Kulusuk and Tasiilaq | East Greenland
Tour startsKulusuk TasiilaqDuration1 hourFrom 2000 DKKSee more -
Half day Snowshoe Hike | Nuuk
Tour startsNuukDuration5 hoursFrom 2190 DKKSee more -
5.00(1)
UTV Glacier Expedition | Ilulissat – Ilimanaq | Disko Bay
Tour startsIlulissatDuration8 hoursFrom 3495 DKKSee more -
5.00(5)Wild, wonderful & vast
Kapisillit Settlement Visit | Nuuk
Tour startsNuukDuration6 hoursFrom 1995 DKKSee more -
Hike to Santas’ Cabin | Uummannaq | North Greenland
Tour startsUummannaqDuration3 hoursFrom 700 DKKSee more -
FLIGHTS FROM DENMARK INCLUDED!
Luxury Arctic Escape – Aurora Cabins & Helicopter Glacier Tour | 5-Days | Ilulissat
Tour startsFrom CopenhagenDuration5 daysFrom 30300 DKKSee more -
4.75(8)
Qoornoq Island Adventure | Nuuk
Tour startsNuukDuration4 hoursFrom 1450 DKKSee more -
1 to 6 passengers
Ilimanaq Settlement Visit | Private tour | Ilulissat | Disko Bay
Tour startsIlulissatDuration3 hoursFrom 5600 DKKSee more -
4.80(10)
Closed boat Fjord Adventure | Nuuk
Tour startsNuukDuration2 hoursFrom 850 DKKSee more -
5.00(1)
Learn to ride a Snowmobile | Sisimiut
Tour startsSisimiutDuration2 hoursFrom 1300 DKKSee more -
Price for 4 people!
Glacier Landing by Helicopter | Qaqortoq | South Greenland
Tour startsQaqortoqDuration1.5 hoursFrom 17200 DKKSee more -
4.67(3)
Guided kayak tour along the coastline | Nuuk
Tour startsNuukDuration2 hoursFrom 595 DKKSee more -
5.00(2)Flights NOT INCLUDED!
Northern Lights Tour | 3-Day Vacation Package | Nuuk | Greenland
Tour startsNuukDuration3 daysFrom 5500 DKKSee more -
New Tour!
Private Stand-Up Paddle in Ilulissat Icefjord from the boat | Ilulissat
Tour startsIlulissatDuration2 hoursFrom 1300 DKKSee more -
5.00(1)
Evening Kayaking Among Icebergs | Ilulissat | Disko Bay
Tour startsIlulissatDuration3 hoursFrom 1250 DKKSee more -
Boat tour to Qarajaq Glacier | Uummannaq | North Greenland
Tour startsUummannaqDuration8 hoursFrom 4300 DKKSee more -
Settlement Tour By Dogsled | Tasiilaq | East Greenland
Tour startsTasiilaqDuration2 daysFrom 2700 DKKSee more