After completing the crossing of Greenland, we had a few hours to wait for our pick up. I packed up all my gear except for my sleeping bag, I literally crawled inside it and fell straight to sleep. I dreamed about a blank canvas ready to be painted. My paint was made from the blood of all the creatures I had taken the lives of during my first life changing expedition around the coast of New Zealand. In this dream I painted a tribute to them all as a way of honouring them...I woke to the dull thud of big chopper approaching from the north. It was a mad rush to get the sleeping bag back inside and ready for our departing journey. The chopper came in for one wind check before touching down 3 metres in front of the team. My mind was full of emotion as we loaded our gear in, we had done it! 30 days on an ice cap in honour of Fridtjof Nansen, an opportunity to discover a side of myself I never knew and reconnect with the side I do! As the helicopter gently lifted off the snow I was filled with a sadness that this adventure was over, yet a happiness that the whole team had overcome all the challenges that we faced. I’ll say it again, we freeking did it!
We flew to Taslack, a small coastal fishing village on the west coast. Here we had our first proper meal in a month, it was oven roasted ham with rice and vegetables! Oh my goodness it was delicious, I ate mine with a can of sparkling apple juice. As you can imagine after the last 22 hour day we were all tired. I slipped off to bed excited to have a look around the town in the morning. The next day me and Keith ate breakfast then went down into the town to see what we could find! Fish being dried on racks, seal fat in big bins and what looked like the remains of a cut up minky whale were all around the small frozen harbour. The houses were painted all different colors and the people were so friendly. We headed back from the village and began our journey home from Greenland. A chopper flight to the airport then a plane that took us to Iceland. Here we enjoyed a couple of local beers with the team in celebration of our success! Bridget and Keith left the team and went off to their own final destinations. Hollie Nigel and I flew from Iceland to London to Singapore. I finally touched down in New Zealand at 10:47am with a hard thud. I’m officially home!
