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Eco tourism in the wilderness
Ice Camp Eqi, a cabin camp north of Ilulissat, has grown and
its focus is on eco tourism; even the toilet flush is eco­friendly
By Christian Schultz-Lorentzen
Tourism, like everything else, is constantly evolving,
especially with regard to the eco­friendly spirit of the
times. Tourists make demands. This creed is a part of the company
profile at World of Greenland. The company owns Ice
Camp Eqi – a small cabin camp with growing pains located in
the middle of a sumptuous natural area with a view of the calving
glacier – Eqip Sermia – about 80 km north of Ilulissat.
The first of the 15 tourist cabins was built 10 years ago. The
simple standard of the cabins suited the demands of the time,
with hostel­like quarters, bunk beds and Knorr soups for supper.
A lot has happened since then. Now, Ice Camp Eqi has
moved on. Last year, in the middle of the wilderness, the company
added four comfort­cabins in a special climate design with
flush­toilets, warm baths, buffet in the café and, best of all,
they are powered entirely by solar energy.
– Developments have been rapid. Ten years ago, our guests
were happy with a bunk bed in a dormitory and Knorr soup for
supper. There was nothing wrong with this, but it is no longer
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good enough. Guests still want to experience Greenland’s fantastic
nature, but after a day filled with new experiences, they
expect a higher level of comfort, better food, accommodation
and other amenities, explains Espen Andersen, director of
World of Greenland, which is owner and operator of Ice Camp
Eqi.
Building the four new cabins was quite a task. The 56 tons
of building materials were first transported 80 kilometres by
barge and then flown ashore by helicopter in slings. There were
150 sling trips in all.
– We also had to find new solutions for providing the cabins
with heating and electricity. The technology is there, but it had
to be connected in a special way in order for it to work in the
tough conditions in Greenland. Finding the right solutions was
a lot of hard work. However, there was no way around it, when
we wanted to develop a concept, which took reduced CO 2 emissions
and the environment into account says Espen Andersen.
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