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00:00Welcome to Getaway, and to one of the most unspoiled, vast landscapes on the planet.
00:27It sits between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, and it's rich in Indigenous culture, Viking
00:33history and wildlife.
00:35Of course, I'm talking about Greenland, known to the Inupiat people as Kalalit Nanut.
00:41And if like me, you've never been here, you're really in for a big treat.
00:49Tonight we'll discover the fjords and villages of this currently topical nation, meet the
00:55welcoming locals, and wonder at the spectacular scenery of southern Greenland.
01:06But before all that, we're beginning our journey in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, just
01:11across the Denmark Strait.
01:13With a population of just 140,000 people, Reykjavik is a capital city with a small-town
01:21charm, and is renowned as one of the cleanest, greenest, safest cities on the planet.
01:28So what's life like here?
01:30Oh, I love it.
01:32Yeah?
01:33Mainly because of all the nature.
01:34I mean, two-thirds of the population live in Reykjavik city, so the rest of the country
01:38is just pure nature, glaciers, valleys, waterfalls.
01:43The oldest people on the planet are Icelanders and Japanese, because they're good fish.
01:48Yes.
01:49It's quality of life.
01:50Yeah.
01:51You have to have a certain hardiness as well to withstand the climate.
01:54Well, it is tough.
01:55I mean, this is a nice, hot summer day.
01:58Summer day.
01:59Yeah, where we go.
02:00But it's nice.
02:01I love it.
02:02It's fresh.
02:08It's a country of extreme contrast, boasting some of the world's largest glaciers and most
02:14active volcanoes.
02:16So you reckon those flames are about, what, 200 metres high?
02:22Yeah.
02:23Yeah.
02:24Straight up to the sky.
02:25200 metres.
02:26Wow.
02:27Just firewall.
02:28Seeing a volcano erupting just 30 minutes out of the city is nothing out of the ordinary
02:34for this long-time local.
02:36That's Iceland.
02:37This is life.
02:38This is a living earth.
02:40I love it.
02:42Yeah.
02:43And I love the unpredictability of it.
02:45To a point.
02:46To a point.
02:47Yeah, yeah.
02:48Like, as a local, this was no surprise to you that you just drive along and there's
02:52yet another fissure on fire.
02:55Right.
02:56Right.
02:57And all this energy is put to good use.
02:59It's incredible that all of this is powering your country.
03:04This is our power source.
03:07No oil, no coal, just geothermal power.
03:10Produce hot water, we heat all the houses.
03:13All Iceland is green.
03:15Yeah.
03:24From Reykjavik, it's all aboard scenic eclipse as we glide our way through the Atlantic Ocean
03:30towards the southeastern coast of Greenland.
03:36After just one night at sea, the scenery changes dramatically.
03:44Well, this is my view from my balcony this morning.
03:48I woke up, came out, these icebergs just floating by, whales spouting in the distance.
03:55Truly is surreal.
04:02And the scenic eclipse discovery team have their fleet of zodiacs ready to give us a
04:07closer view of this otherworldly landscape.
04:13Well, if any of you have apprehensions about getting into a zodiac, trust me, once you've
04:17got all the kit on, it's as easy as one, two, three, sailor's grip.
04:21One, two, three.
04:30This sheltered bay in the fridge of Nansen Peninsula is our first taste of the wonderful
04:36world of ice that is Greenland.
04:44I mean, they're all so individual.
04:47Absolutely.
04:48They're absolutely unique.
04:50All the icebergs, they have their own unique shape.
04:53And sometimes when we are sailing in the area like it, we have a feeling that we are sailing
04:57through the exhibition of the modern art.
05:00Modern and ancient all at once.
05:02Yes.
05:03And, of course, also here you can use all your imagination.
05:06Yeah, you can find the elephant iceberg, you can find a sheep or whale iceberg, whenever
05:11you want.
05:13The bergs are spectacular enough, but the wildlife is never far away.
05:19Wow, look at it.
05:23This is amazing.
05:24Like, we've just arrived, first day out, and in the first hour, deliver a humpback whale.
05:30That's magic.
05:31Yeah, it's an absolutely great location to spot a whale, so hopefully more to come.
05:36Yeah, I'm ready.
05:39Oh, oh.
05:40There's another one.
05:41Oh, there it is.
05:46Is it two?
05:47Yeah, yes.
05:56After the break, the wildlife-rich waters of Greenland deliver us the ultimate show.
06:04I mean, what a privilege.
06:06Absolutely.
06:07Absolutely.
06:24Travelling amongst the icebergs, glaciers and wildlife of eastern Greenland is an extraordinary
06:30experience for any traveller.
06:33But doing it in six-star comfort aboard the ultra-luxurious Scenic Eclipse makes it all
06:39the more mind-blowing.
06:42The distances between shore landings means downtime spent steaming, and I couldn't think
06:48of a better way to occupy myself in transit.
06:52Hello, good afternoon.
06:54Good.
06:57Scenic Eclipse is completely decked out with the kind of indulgent luxuries you would never
07:02expect in this remote part of the world, including the 550-square-metre Sensor Spa.
07:18While us guests relax, the captain and the bridge team are busy plotting out the best
07:24spot to anchor and explore for the afternoon.
07:33All right.
07:35Welcome to Bernstorffjord.
07:37This is a brand-new one for all of us.
07:39We are absolutely exploring today.
07:41This is a site that none of us have ever landed at, and it is definitely a beautiful site.
07:47There we go.
07:49Bernstorffjord wasn't originally part of the programme, but therein lies the beauty of
07:55a cruise like this.
07:58A fjord with a beach.
08:10So how often does this happen, where you have no plans and suddenly, in an impromptu decision,
08:15you come to somewhere new?
08:17It's basically, if we have the weather and it looks perfect outside, we're going to
08:22Well, why not?
08:23Let's just give it a go.
08:24That's kind of the idea of an expedition cruise, in a way.
08:27If we see good sights, beautiful weather, let's give it a crack and see what we can
08:31do.
08:32So what exactly is a fjord?
08:34What defines it?
08:35So a fjord is a valley that is being ground away by a glacier as it moves out towards
08:41the sea.
08:42And then that glacier retreats, and it's filled up by seawater.
08:45You've got a nice little valley there where you can go swimming.
08:48So it's kind of like a little finger of seawater comes in between the valley.
08:52Yeah.
08:53And we're sailing among it all.
08:55Yeah.
08:56Pretty fantastic.
09:03No sooner have we headed off for our next destination, when we spot some company of
09:08the very best kind.
09:10Oh, that's so beautiful.
09:13It's just cruising.
09:14How many do you think there are?
09:15Yeah, we've got a pod here, which is likely a family group.
09:19Uh-huh.
09:20At least seven or eight in this group, but often you'll see them as part of the bigger
09:24pod.
09:25So I wouldn't be surprised if there are other groups around.
09:27But, I mean, what a privilege.
09:29Absolutely.
09:30Oh.
09:31This is, this is really quite special.
09:36The day of highlights is made all the more fascinating as I've booked a dinner date with
09:54two of the Discovery guides onboard at Elements Restaurant.
09:59Fascinating as I've booked a dinner date with two of the discovery guides on board at elements restaurant
10:05How many guides do you have we have a team of?
10:0916 including one videographer and they're all different
10:13Specialties. Oh, absolutely. Yes, we come from all different backgrounds and we kind of bring our experiences and our
10:21Education and our guiding knowledge to to the table and it's all kind of highly varied and incredibly valuable
10:28The team and their expertise is available around the clock
10:32We can come up to you over dinner or anywhere and ask you a question
10:37You know, you're you're kind of like part of the fabric of the cruise
10:41If I'm sitting here having a coffee in the lounge or at dinner and getting to spend time
10:46You get to know people a little bit better and you get to dive into some of those deeper questions
10:50And it's kind of those conversations that I find the most enriching usually
10:59Experience the benchmark and ultra luxury cruising on a scenic Eclipse expedition voyage
11:05Enjoy an all-inclusive journey of a lifetime through the Arctic in 2025 or 2026
11:12Secure your voyage today with scenics limited time offers save from
11:17$3,500 per person on select itineraries plus getaway viewers can save an additional
11:23$300 per person visit scenic.com. I you forward slash getaway to request your voucher for more information
11:30Call one three hundred seven nine zero three seven two or speak to your nearest travel advisor
11:39After the break a once-in-a-lifetime
11:42Arctic experience
11:44What a light show. It's quite spectacular
11:48Especially the first time you see a show like this, you know the the entire sky
11:53You
12:02Each day of our incredible scenic Eclipse cruise in Greenland, we're treated to locations as spectacular as this
12:12Skull Duggan is on Greenland's southeast coast just south of Bern store fjord
12:17And while it's surrounded by a stunning fjord, it's also home to rocky outcrops
12:23tundra and wildflowers
12:27Beautiful
12:35Greenland's known for its grandeur these big landscapes big icebergs
12:40But there's also beauty in the miniature and I'm walking through this field of grasses
12:46Flowers and lichen and blueberries and oh look at this beautiful thing
12:51This must be one of the last wildflowers for the season. It's just gorgeous
12:59With scenic Eclipse anchored offshore. We have plenty of time to explore and delight in its beauty
13:07Once or twice a day scenic planned shore landings or zodiac cruisings and every experience is completely unique
13:16And we are starting to feed this one, oh
13:22It's a very narrow one it almost looks like a waterfall frozen in time it's very good analogy like
13:29Ice fall to a glacier. It's like a waterfall to a river. It'll form exactly in this like narrow and steep areas
13:37Even if you're not a self-confessed ice nerd like my wonderful guide Zanetta
13:43Cruising among glaciers is a pretty fabulous way to spend an afternoon. So this one's much bigger much wider
13:50Yeah, that mean it's older or just going through different terrain like this one has just only narrow passage
13:56This one has more spread and it's quite high this one is like this in like 50 meters for sure
14:01But like below it would be like 200 meters something
14:06Like these little spikes up there. They're not little at all. They actually called set up. They're massive
14:12There are sizes of houses and they just seem small because everything around here is so big
14:17Well, I love that blue to these places
14:20Yeah, so the blue color is because the ice is so dense that it absorbs all the other colors of the light spectrum
14:27so we do we blue and ultraviolet and
14:31But we cannot see the ultraviolet so blue it is
14:42Oh
14:53Being a discovery cruise you never know what each day or night will bring
14:58But even in my wildest dreams, I couldn't have imagined having a front-row seat to the Northern Lights
15:09Oh
15:11Wow
15:13this
15:15Honestly, I was actually fast asleep
15:18they heard the PA go off like the loudspeaker come to the deck and I came up here and
15:27Talk about being jolted into consciousness. This is
15:31once in a lifetime
15:33seriously, this is
15:35Yeah life-changing. It's incredible
15:41Light show it's quite spectacular
15:44Especially the first time you see a show like this, you know the entire sky
15:48It's coming alive. It's really expanding. Yes, and we're seeing it getting so much brighter
15:55As the night is deepening and and it's kind of dancing across the sky, right?
15:59You can see it's actually shifting in front of our eyes right now. This is coming from all this
16:04Color like from the Sun exactly. Yeah
16:07so essentially we've got these highly charged state of matter from the Sun coming out as plasma and
16:13Interacting with the magnetic field of the earth
16:17And as it excites all of those particles that emits this light
16:21And tonight we've got we've got such a show tonight because we've got the greens
16:25We've got some reds and pinks in there and and that's all to do with
16:29Exactly, which particles that plasma is hitting. I love the idea that particles are excited
16:35Particles are excited
16:40Well, it makes you feel like a little
16:43Spec on the planet and also how how lucky we are to be in the right place at the right time with a clear
16:51sky
17:06After the break the Arctic thrills turn to chills
17:11Oh
17:35Welcome back to the magical landscapes of southern Greenland
17:38as we hug the coast of the world's largest island on board Scenic Eclipse.
17:49The joy of a ship this size is its intimacy with a maximum of 200 guests
17:55and the ability to manoeuvre into the most remote towns.
18:00So how do you pronounce the name of this town? It's a bit difficult, it's the best I can do,
18:15being Danish not Greenlandic. And what does it mean? It means white. And yet it's so colourful.
18:23I know. I love these houses. It's so beautiful with all the colours. So basically you can choose
18:30whatever colour you want to paint your house. There is a colour coding system. So what does
18:34each mean? Do they mean anything, the blue houses? Yes, blue houses are grocery stores,
18:40then the red houses are community buildings, so that would be the town hall or the old church.
18:47And the hospital is colour coded yellow. So you don't even need Google Maps, you just look. No,
18:53and that is actually the reason why this colour coding system is, is because it's,
18:59whenever you go up with your boat, when you're going to harbour, you're like,
19:04oh, we need to go to the hospital real quick, then you can find it, or we are really hungry,
19:09or whatever, yeah. It also just makes it look so scenic and special. By Greenland standards,
19:16Kakertork is the big smoke. Kakertork is the fifth biggest town in all of Greenland,
19:22and it is the biggest town in all of South Greenland. Right, and how many people live
19:27in the town? Well, in high summer, we live around 3,500 people here, and in low winter,
19:34it's only 2,500. One of the town's highlights is its wooden Lutheran church. It was built from 1822
19:45till 1832. Long time. Quite a while, and there is a very good reason why, because the church was
19:51shipped in from Norway, because it's a wooden church. But an hour sail from here, a big storm
19:58broke out, and the ship was wrecked on this little cliffy island. Luckily, no one was hurt,
20:04and all the wood was secure there. However, for the next 10 years, the local fishermen,
20:09when they were around that area, they would take a plank or two on their little fisher boat,
20:14and then bring it back here to Kakertork, and it took them, yeah, 10 years.
20:25Back on board, a change of weather and a quick cruise to a nearby sheltered bay
20:31has set the scene for what has become somewhat of a rite of passage in the Arctic.
20:39The polar plunge is certainly something to tick off the bucket list.
20:44It's lovely. It felt great. It'll wake you up and revive you.
20:49And there's plenty of guests lining up to do just that.
20:57Thrilling, exciting, took my breath away. That's what I was going to say. I was surprised.
21:07Well, look, with all this positive testimony about it feeling good and being exhilarating,
21:13I really have to go in.
21:22Oh, that was fabulous.
21:26Thank you. That was, yeah, took my breath away, as the landscape did. It really was
21:35extraordinary, I have to admit. A lot better than I expected. And that's the second time in my life
21:41at both ends of the poles, the Antarctic and now the Arctic. I feel very balanced.
21:49Experience the benchmark and ultra luxury cruising on a Scenic Eclipse expedition voyage. Enjoy an
21:56all-inclusive journey of a lifetime through the Arctic in 2025 or 2026. Secure your voyage today
22:03with Scenic's limited time offers. Save from $3,500 per person on select itineraries. Plus,
22:10Getaway viewers can save an additional $300 per person. Visit scenic.com.au forward slash
22:17getaway to request your voucher. For more information, call 1300 790 372 or speak to
22:24your nearest travel advisor. Well, after spending some time here, I've gone beyond an appreciation
22:39of the beauty of the landscape to a really deep appreciation and respect for the people.
22:45The people that have lived here for thousands of years and have endured the adversity of all
22:50the different climates and weather patterns and lived off the land, but always with this
22:55deep affinity. Next week, my cruise continues through the unique towns and landscapes of the
23:14southern Greenlandic coast. Wow. Look at this for a landscape, a whole
23:17flotilla of icebergs, completely different sizes, shapes. It's extraordinary. We'll meet
23:24the most adorable locals before winding it all up in Denmark's capital of Copenhagen.
23:33See you then. Good night.