Packing for Greenland

It hasn’t fully sunk in that in just a few hours, I’ll be on my way to a destination I’ve only dreamed about. It feels surreal and stupendous that growing up in Nigeria flipping through maps in geography class that I would someday be treading upon this (still) mysterious land of the north coated with ice.

More so, I get to explore it on assignment for a few publications including one of my favorite brands where I’m a contributing photographer. I still haven’t even begun to process my emotions right now. I don’t even know how and where to start except that I am eternally grateful for this opportunity to live out my passion and calling as a professional travel writer, blogger, and photographer.

In the meantime, I did want to share some of the practicalities of packing for what will be one of my most memorable adventures to date.

I always try to travel as light as I can which means only carry-on luggage. So for this trip, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing as I am packing for Greenland. Putting my packing prowess to the test, the carry-on also includes warm weather clothing which is bulkier than spring wear because five days in Greenland in late April means unpredictable weather and cold spells. This means gloves, a warm hat, thick woolly socks, warm under leggings, waterproof pants for trekking/sledding, and my beast of a winter jacket.

Since I love exploring culture through food, tradition, and lifestyles, I will be experiencing Greenland through these themes. I’ll mostly be in Nuuk and further within the Arctic Circle in the town of Ilulissat known for its icebergs and glacier.  Activities range from snowshoeing and dog-sledding to several local food experiences including a private dinner in the home of a local artist to heading out in a boat in open water towards the glacier in the Ilulissat Icefjord (mind already blown).

Packing for Greenland: A Look Inside My Bag

Two cameras – I’ll be packing both my Nikon D750 FX camera as well as my backup Sony A7 mirrorless camera. I plan on shooting a ton of video too because I am slowly building a collection of “travel snapshots” which give you a quick taste of what it’s like to experience a certain culture, activity, or lifestyle.

360 Video – I also recently bought a small handheld 360 camera – Ricoh Theta S – so I can try out a lot more immersive video mostly for social media sharing. Really looking forward to playing with this one.

Four Nikkor lenses – My everyday go-to 24-70mm will be my primary lenses for moving around town. I also packed my wide angle 14-24mm lens, a fixed 50mm for portraits and food, as well as my 70-300mm telephoto lens for when I’m getting close to those icebergs and glacier.

Other accessories include:

• A compact Manfrotto tripod because you just never know when those Northern Lights decide to surprise us.
• My tiny bite-sized laptop I use for traveling.
• Four SD memory cards for storing the RAW images
• A heavy-duty yet very portable power bank so I can quickly recharge devices out in the field.
• Cables, batteries, and other stuff that keeps my photography running in the field.

I hope to post updates from the field and maybe do some live streaming on Facebook and Instagram so please follow along. I seriously can’t wait and I’m giving myself time to really marinate and process the awe I’m currently feeling.

Other upcoming trips: This spring and early summer will be super busy. I’ll be heading to Jordan, United Kingdom, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Nepal, Qatar, Latvia, and Ireland all by July. Will share more soon. *Amazon affiliate links are included to my gear shop on Amazon.

What are some of your dream destinations?