Hunting the Northern Lights

Years of admiring beautiful photos of the Northern Lights (also known as the Aurora Borealis) on the Internet, it has always been my dream to witness it with my very own eyes. But you know… plan remains a plan, don’t know when to realize it.

But one day, one of my bestfriends from university brought up the idea. Ok this time, it’s game on!

Based on our readings; Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland have good chances to see these phenomena. We decided to go during Chinese New Year holiday so we started looking for flight tickets in September during Matta Fair. Found very cheap ticket with British Airways but somehow we mixed up the booking dateline so we missed the offer. *fail

So flight tickets on hold. In the meantime, we planned our routes. But we couldn’t finalize everything since we haven’t bought the flight ticket yet. Gahhhh!!! We were dragging to buy the tickets, waiting for the fares to go down. But finally we agreed for a cut off, we must buy the tickets by December to proceed with all the accommodation and transportation bookings.

Done with flight booking, we chose Tromso, a city in northern Norway for our main hunting place. On a clear night and when the aurora is very strong, you can see it from the city. Many locals can see it from their house. *jealous max*

But we didn’t want to take the risk. We want to maximize our chances. I mean, we’re travelling thousands of miles to see the aurora it’d be a pity if we couldn’t see it.

So we booked a tour from The Green Adventure AS, a company we selected from the lists available at Tromso Tourist Information Office. You can check and book the tours online as well as offline at the office. If you go to the office, the staffs might be able to give advice in case you’re unsure which tour to choose. They also have free WiFi there so it’s very convenient. *posts a photo on Instagram while booking the tour ;p

Apparently, these tours to hunt the aurora isn’t cheap. The cheapest you can get is around 900 NOK or RM450. Generally the price is based on the duration, the number of participants and what’s included in the tour such as snowsuit, drinks and snacks etc. The tour can be a minimum of 6 hours and can go up to 11 hours. Some companies commit to hunt the aurora even if they have to drive to Finland so that explains the long hours. And the number of participants can be between 2-50 person.

There’s plenty to choose from. Just go with the one that suits your budget.

The Green Adventure was not our first choice but I loved the trip with them. Initially we were looking for a cheaper tour but we were late (we booked in the afternoon on the day itself) so there weren’t many choices left. Paid 1200 NOK (~ RM600) for the tour but it was worth it.

While waiting for the tour time, we went for lunch and walked around the city after.

The Green Adventure staffs, lead guide Anna and the driver-cum-guide Karolis picked up the group in front of Scandic Ishavshotel with a minibus around 6.30pm. That night, there were only 10 participants so yeay smaller groups means you can interact more with the guides. Anna explained about what we’re going to see, what to expect and stuffs.

We drove about an hour before stopping at a site by the beach. Everyone’s out from the minibus, Anna told us, we’d stay here.. it’s coming. I scanned the dark sky but couldn’t see anything. The sky was clear Alhamdulillah. But green lights? No I didn’t see it. Anyhow, I trusted Anna cos I believed they knew the local weather patterns better.

And true to what she said, after a while, faint green lights appeared in the sky.

Everybody brought out their cameras, ready to click away. Don’t forget to bring a tripod for good photos. Anna and Karolis helped us with the camera settings and even shot portrait photos of everyone later.

Over time, the lights became stronger and stronger and moved around. It looked like the aurora, now a strong green with hints of pink hues were dancing in the sky. Oh my God! I couldn’t believe my luck. It was too beautiful especially when it danced above us! We were screaming excitedly, thrilled to see such magical phenomenon.

While we were busy with the aurora, they set up a bonfire to keep us warm. We were then served hot chocolate and salmon sandwich. We also grilled marshmallows while getting to know each other.

 * photos credit to The Green Adventure

By midnight, the aurora slowly faded. Anna asked us whether or not we still want to chase it, because we still have time. Everyone seemed happy and contented with what we saw earlier so we agreed to go back.

Tromso, Norway. February 2018

Ahhh what a night! Dream do come true