Seeing the northern lights is on many a bucket list, and I am glad I managed to cross it off my list aged 34 and 2 months. For readers who wish to know more about the aurora borealis, this link is pretty useful.
It took four trips, yes, FOUR trips(!) to arctic Norway, three of them in Tromsø and one in the Lofoten Islands, before I got to see the lights in their full splendour.
Before getting to the pictures, a summary of my three failed attempts:
November 2008 - Tromsø, Norway - 1 night - camped under the stars with David, my Czech colleague, next to a sami tent (lavvu) for four hours in -20 degrees celsius temperatures - clear sky; no lights
February 2009 - Tromsø, Norway - as above, with three Singaporean girls on an university exchange program, this time in -25 degrees cold - cloudy; with some green spotted through the gaps
April 2009 - Lofoten Islands, Norway - 6 nights - My solo trip to the Lofoten Islands. Winter was ending, and I missed the final northern lights show of the season as I was on the wrong side of the mountain
Success arrived in March 2013 - Tromsø, Norway - 4 nights - This winter was said to be the best year for northern lights in 12 years. I made sure I gave myself adequate number of nights to increase my chances of catching the elusive lights.
Night 1 - Just arrived at 2200hrs. Decided to defrost and rest.
Night 2 - Booked a northern lights hunting tour (5-7 hours for NOK 950) to chase the northern lights around the islands. Efforts from Lionel and Terje, our northern lights hunters, was commendable. After 2 hours of driving as far away from the lights and clouds of the city, we made it to Hilleoya, but alas, conditions were extremely windy and cloudy, and I only managed these pictures:
Night 3 - The weather forecase was clear, with low wind and temperature of -8 degrees. I stood outside Wendy's (my hostess) apartment and looked up for the lights. Now knowing how to spot them, the moment the lights started their show, Wendy and I went down to the nearby pier, away from the city lights, and got our cameras to work. And what a show it was....
Night 4 - Again outside Wendy's apartment, but it was cloudy, and within an hour of waiting, snow began to fall...
It took four trips, yes, FOUR trips(!) to arctic Norway, three of them in Tromsø and one in the Lofoten Islands, before I got to see the lights in their full splendour.
Before getting to the pictures, a summary of my three failed attempts:
November 2008 - Tromsø, Norway - 1 night - camped under the stars with David, my Czech colleague, next to a sami tent (lavvu) for four hours in -20 degrees celsius temperatures - clear sky; no lights
February 2009 - Tromsø, Norway - as above, with three Singaporean girls on an university exchange program, this time in -25 degrees cold - cloudy; with some green spotted through the gaps
April 2009 - Lofoten Islands, Norway - 6 nights - My solo trip to the Lofoten Islands. Winter was ending, and I missed the final northern lights show of the season as I was on the wrong side of the mountain
Success arrived in March 2013 - Tromsø, Norway - 4 nights - This winter was said to be the best year for northern lights in 12 years. I made sure I gave myself adequate number of nights to increase my chances of catching the elusive lights.
Night 1 - Just arrived at 2200hrs. Decided to defrost and rest.
Night 2 - Booked a northern lights hunting tour (5-7 hours for NOK 950) to chase the northern lights around the islands. Efforts from Lionel and Terje, our northern lights hunters, was commendable. After 2 hours of driving as far away from the lights and clouds of the city, we made it to Hilleoya, but alas, conditions were extremely windy and cloudy, and I only managed these pictures:
Night 3 - The weather forecase was clear, with low wind and temperature of -8 degrees. I stood outside Wendy's (my hostess) apartment and looked up for the lights. Now knowing how to spot them, the moment the lights started their show, Wendy and I went down to the nearby pier, away from the city lights, and got our cameras to work. And what a show it was....
Night 4 - Again outside Wendy's apartment, but it was cloudy, and within an hour of waiting, snow began to fall...
