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WAS Aurora-watching trip to Finland - 2012
At the AGM in October last year I raised the idea of a trip to see the aurora borealis. A show of hands went up and from that point on the wheel was set in motion. I googled aurora holidays and found The Aurora Zone. At the same time an astronomy magazine published an article on the aurora and the same company was mentioned. After a bit of research and a lot of to-ing and fro-ing of emails we decided on a trip to Finland, staying at the Wilderness Hotel in Nellim, 68 degrees latitude and inside the Arctic Circle. With details of the trip and costings now in place a WAS group email was sent out to all members. What I thought would be perhaps 4 – 5 people at most being interested in coming, ended up being 14 people...a far greater response than I had anticipated.

So, on the 18th of March 2012, Jackie, Alistair, Brian, Morton and Hilary, Mike and Tom, Mike and Andrew, Steve and Alison, Don and Chrissie and myself boarded a plane to Helsinki and then onto Ivalo. Both flights were uneventful and the connections went smoothly without any hitches.

We were met at Ivalo airport and transferred to the hotel in mini buses. The journey took 50 minutes and it was already evening and dark. Although we looked out of the window to try and catch our first glimpse of the lights nothing could really be seen except for the snowy, icy roads in front of us, glistening in the headlights. The bus driver managed the roads with consummate ease and it made us wonder how they can do it and we can’t. On arrival at the hotel we were ushered into a meeting room to fill out the obligatory “passport number” paperwork and then as a group, we were given priority, and taken straight into dinner. We were given a welcome drink of Gluki, a bit like mulled wine, and then a delicious meal of soup and salad to start, salmon mashed potato and vegetables for main and then a berry tart for desert. Berries featured highly in the Nellim desserts.

After dinner and having taken our cases to our rooms we donned our thermals and took a short walk down to a local frozen lake. There were already mutterings that the aurora was beginning to show. Our first glimpse was magical. A frozen lake surrounded by pine and silver birch forests, a jetty and boat frozen in the water and then the aurora overhead. Many clicks of camera shutter release buttons could be heard along with the ooohs and ahhhrs and wows. It really was a superb display and we were all extremely pleased that we had seen it within a couple of hours of arriving.

It was on this first night that the first of Morton’s mishaps occurred. For one minute Morton was standing on the jetty and the next he had simply disappeared. After some frantic “where is he” we discovered that he had simply stepped off the edge of the jetty, camera and all, into a snow drift on the frozen (thankfully) lake. Morton was retrieved from his landing site and all was well.

Day 2

We awoke to a beautiful sunny day, white pristine scenery and blue blue skies. There was plenty of choice for breakfast including fruit, porridge, pastries and a cooked breakfast with the weirdest of scrambled egg. After breakfast we were kitted out with our warm gear – overalls, boots, balaclava and mittens, all provided by the hotel. These would stay with us for the week.

Daytime activities included husky sledging for half the group in the morning and snow mobiling for the other half in the afternoon. The husky sledging for those that went turned out to be a rather eventful trip. Huskies raring to go and charging off at speed several mishaps occurred and some 60% of the sledges flipped over at some point during the four hour trip. The huskies were taken over frozen lakes, through wooded valleys and over many mogul type bumps. Everyone was given the opportunity to “drive” the huskies and all found it an enjoyable experience.

In the afternoon those that had booked on the two hour snowmobile trip met at another (for there are many) frozen lake to undertake their driving lessons. They are actually incredibly easy and simple to drive but very powerful machines that need a bit of care when it comes to accelerating. Once the practice lap had been completed we were off motoring through the countryside and stopping at vantage points along the way. At one point Matti, our guide, stopped to point out a solar halo to us ...we had, of course, already spotted it.

Whilst Jackie and I controlled our snowmobile quite carefully the “boys” were being much more adventurous. Morton’s mishap number two... Alistair, quite skilfully, went round a 90˚ corner, nudged the bank on the right, over compensated and sent the snowmobile into a deep snow drift. Having not being instructed on where the reverse button was they then proceeded to “bounce” the snowmobile backwards. Jackie and I watched on with big grins on our faces.

After a full day of activities a reindeer steak for dinner was just what was required. It was extremely tasty and very filling...just what was needed after a day of physical exercise and fresh air.

Our evening aurora trip (booked before we left) was “aurora quest”. Taken out in a mini bus we were driven out of the cloud and off to a dark sight with clear skies. Although we were in the bus for an hour, the driver and Matti, seemed to know exactly where to go. The journey was slightly unnerving at times as the driver would turn the lights off and drive in the dark enabling us to look for the aurora. Jackie and I would both look at each other when this happened and wondered if “we would make it”. Not as good a display as the previous evening, but the aurora was present and could be seen as a green arc that banded across the sky. It was still a wonderful sight to see. For those of us with cameras we were now getting a bit better and quicker at setting up, focusing and managing the exposures in the dark. Jupiter and Venus provided us with the perfect opportunity to focus our cameras and we would often refer back to them during the course of the evening.

Day 3

For some members of the group it was a “rest day” today and they chose to take a walk around the hotel, visit a local church and also a reindeer farm. The church was not expected at all – a beautifully constructed wooden building in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by pine and silver birch trees. An ice bench was provided just outside however nobody (as far as I am aware) chose to sit on it.

Those that did the snowmobiling the previous day went husky sledging today and again, this group had a fabulous time as well. The dogs were extremely vocal whilst waiting to get going but once into their stride it was perfectly silent and nothing could be heard except for the sledges on the snow and ice. Lunch was a very tasty salmon soup and a toasted cheese sandwich around a camp fire. The dogs slept whilst we ate. Following lunch, the third of Morton’s mishaps occurred. Not quite as dramatic as the previous two; Morton was in the sledge with Alistair “driving” the huskies. Alistair lost his footing on the rung of the sledge and with the handle in his hands he had to do some frantic running behind the huskies and a jump to get back on. Thankfully he managed it but it could have been quite interesting if he hadn’t.

After another tasty and filling evening meal our aurora trip that evening was “aurora camp”. Big wooden sledges towed by snowmobiles are taken off into the wilderness in search of the lights. This was an interesting experience as getting into the tumbrels (the sledges) wearing multiple layers and holding cameras etc was not exactly easy. This was the night that the aurora got away, for we could see it but the clouds came in and dampened our view. Alistair has put an animation onto the image gallery. It clearly shows the aurora moving behind the clouds and that it would have been another superb show if the cloud hadn’t been present. Still, we had seen it and that was three evenings in a row so far. During the course of the evening we could get warm in a wooden hut with a fire pit in the middle and a hot berry juice.

Morton’s next and final mishap occurred on the way back to the hotel. The snowmobile pulling the tumbrel had started to overheat and in an attempt to cool it down the driver decided to take it “off the beaten track” and into fresh snow. Unknown to him he took it into a slushy, icy rutted track and flipped it. Brian managed to leap out as it was going over. Alistair could be heard saying a few choice words and Morton and Hilary (his wife) got stuck. Both were freed quite quickly and thankfully everyone was ok. It wasn’t too long before we could see the funny side of it. The sledge was righted; we got back in and limped back to the hotel. I think we all slept well that night.

Day 4

Brian had an adventurous day snow-showing. Wearing tennis rackets on his feet for a good 7 hour walk, taking him off into some beautiful and unspoilt countryside surrounding Nellim. For others it was a day of rest and for those that had gone huskying on the first day it was their turn to go on their snowmobile trip. They had a wonderful time; first practicing on the lake and then off into the wilderness for their four hour adventure. They came back with some great stories in the afternoon of where they had been and what they had seen and done, especially young Andrew who had been allowed to have a go at driving the snowmobile once back at the frozen lake. Whilst this group were off snowmobiing the others decided to walk around the local area, up to the church etc. Alistair decided he was going to the back of beyond and aim for the Russian border. Striding off at great speed he disappeared into the distance to return a few hours later. He didn’t make it.

Another Aurora Quest followed our evening meal. By now we were getting used to going into dinner then doing a quick change back into thermals and warm gear, getting cameras and tripods and batteries ready, ready for an evening of aurora viewing.

This evening, I am sure everyone will agree, was simply awe inspiring. We were taken by minibus to Paatsjoki bridge, near Nellim. A lovely, wooden structure over a wide, flowing river; the perfect photographic location. This time we had a flat surface on which to level our tripods on which was a real help and once again, Jupiter and Venus gave us the perfect objects to focus on. The aurora didn’t take long to get going. Rising in the west, an arc of green and red/purple came over the sky above us and descended over Jupiter and Venus in a shower of purple and green “rain”. It was a beautiful display, especially with the varying colours, in a beautiful location. The aurora was also very dynamic that evening, moving over the entire sky with great swirls of green and purple, and so bright that the bridge was illuminated as though in daylight. Eventually, a thick mist rose above the river and the temperature plummeted to -15.5˚, it was time to leave this wonderful display. Not quite the end of the evening though, for on the way back we stopped off at the Russian border. All of us had our photos taken by the border control gates and Alistair was dead chuffed that he had made it. Interestingly, although at the border it wasn’t the real border. Two and a half kilometres inside this was the actual boarder and the two and half kilometres the other side was the Russian border. Effectively there was five kilometres of “no-mans-land”. Following on from the boarder gates we then visited the lovely wooden church that many of us had been to in the day time. Matti was able to illuminate it which provided yet more photographic opportunities – church, trees and aurora. Cold and tired several members of the group were taken back to the hotel whilst a few of us “diehards” decided to sit it out and see if the aurora would give us another of her spectacular displays. Sadly she didn’t but we had fun “painting” the trees with a torch and taking photographs at the same time

Day 5

We awoke to snow fall this morning which remained with us for the duration of the day. Most of the group went to Siida, a Sámi museum and culture centre. An enjoyable day was had, which started by learning about the Sámi history, culture and way of life. This was followed by a film on the aurora. After lunch we then learnt about the eight seasons and how it influences the Sámi life. The museum display was very impressive and defiantly worth a visit. Whilst we were at the museum Brian was being adventurous with an all day husky trip and Don and Chrissie were treated to a talk on the Sámi way of life by being invited to a talk at the hotel.

Once all back together at the hotel we got together to share a few drinks and photos and reminisce on the week that we had had so far. The last nights’ aurora camp had been cancelled because of the inclement weather and so after dinner we reconvened in one of the apartments to continue our get together. It wasn’t a particularly late finish as most of us still had our packing to do as we were leaving the following morning. Sure enough though, when we were all leaving, the clouds were beginning to thin out, the snow had stopped falling and the aurora had up. Five out of five nights - could we have asked for any more?

The last day

After one last delicious breakfast (with the same weird (but tasty) scrambled egg) and one last walk around the hotel to look at the dogs etc we boarded the bus back to Ivalo airport. The flights home, like those coming, were uneventful and we arrived back to a positively warm and balmy UK spring day; such a contrast to the snow covered country we had been in that morning. Goodbyes were said at the baggage collection point and we all departed to make our own way home.

I think that my fellow travellers would all agree that this was a really enjoyable and special trip. The Wildness Hotel was lovely and in a perfect location. The rooms were clean and the beds were comfortable. The food simple but plentiful and filling. The Gluki was extremely tasty, along with the hot berry juice served on the aurora watching trips. The trips were well organised and good fun. The company was great and the aurora.........?

Well the aurora were just simply magical.

Sarah Whittaker