Chasing Northern Lights in Tromsø, Norway.

The actual planning of my journey to this part of the world was started during my school days in my geography class. When I came to know that on our earth there are some places where we have six months of daylight and six months of complete darkness. There and then, I made my mind that when I grow young, I will visit such places to experience a bit of their lifestyle and to feel how people live and survive in such an extreme climate condition.

That’s why this journey is very special to me. My journey to the Arctic Circle!!!

My Journey!!!

One cold night in Tromsø, with an aspiration to see the dancing aurora, I was getting ready for my most awaited adventure of the season. I left my apartment around 07:00 pm for Hotel Radisson Blu which was a pickup location of my tour “Northern Lights at Base Station”. I booked this tour with Tromsø Safari through Nordiva Tours.

That night, the sky was cloudy, and the visibility was very poor which was not a good sign to see the dancing aurora. I knew that night is going to be very challenging, but still with lots of hope and positive thoughts I kept walking towards the pickup location. Upon reaching there, I went straight to the Tromsø Safari desk to register my presence and after finishing all the formalities, their staff asks me to seat in the lobby.

As expected, the ambiance in the lobby was very low, all my fellow travelers looking unhappy because of the bad weather conditions outside. Unfortunately, we can’t do anything about the situation apart from motivating each other and hoping for the clement weather. It was almost an hour of waiting in the lobby, still no positive update from any of the Tromsø Safari staff.

It was a bit chaotic situation, as nothing was under human control, all of us were just praying and hoping for good weather. Many of us came from a very long distance to see the magical dancing aurora and because of the bad weather condition, many of us were disappointed.

But I must admit, the enthusiasm level in all the staff of Tromsø Safari was very high. All of them were working hard to make our tour possible. They all were very friendly and very caring about all their tourist even in that panic situation. I still remember one staff came to me and offer a cup of hot chocolate with some cookies and told me, relax and be comfortable our tour leader is checking all the possibilities to take you all for the Northern Light at Base Station tour this night. 

The outside temperature was still zero-degree Celsius and suddenly, around 08:30 pm snowfall started. Although I love snowfall very much but honestly, not that moment. I was very upset as I flew from Africa to see the Northern Lights. Also, I already had a bad experience other night with the Northern Light Cruise tour because of the same bad weather. I couldn’t see any dancing aurora, and this was my only chance before I leave from Tromsø.

Our head tour guide was continuously on the phone talking to his other colleagues in a different location to check the possibilities where he can take us to see the Northern lights. The response from all of them was negative. Some even updated that due to heavy snowfall there was a landslide, many roads are blocked, and our bus cannot go there.

This was a very sad update and after all the efforts from the Tromsø Safari staff to make our tour possible, it was now concluded to cancel the tour considering our safety on priority. After hearing this sad news, I was completely broke and was very upset. Trust me, my soul didn’t want to leave the place and still hoping for some miracles, while other fellow travelers are lining up to collect their refunds. 

While waiting for others to collect their refunds, I saw a group of seven young friends equally sad like me. I went to them and shared my disappointment. I notice among those seven, one of them talking with someone on his phone in the Norwegian language. He was smiling and somehow giving me a positive vibe.

Out of curiosity, I went to him and ask- “Any good news?” (As I can see the happiness on his face)

He replied with a smile “YES”. 

I guess that was the miracle I was looking for. The guy who was on a phone call talking to one of his friends from the Tromsø Safari who drives a minivan and know some locations where we may get a chance to see the northern lights and ready to drive us there.

Wow! We all felt alive once again heheheh. Although, he was not 100% sure, that we can able see the dancing aurora, but he was confident to get the glimpse of so-called “The Northern Lights” I guess that was more than enough for me and even if there is a 0.01% chance of seeing the lights I was ready to take that chance. Many of the travelers already collected their funds and some of them reschedule the tour for the next day.

Now, we eight adventurous souls with one excellent driver and a tour guide left Hotel Radisson Blue for their real Northern Lights hunt around 10:30 pm. I salute to the Tromsø Safari staff for their passion for their job. I have never seen the team of such a passionate individual before. The moment they came to know that there is a possibility to take their tourists in a minivan to see the Northern Lights without wasting a single second they started arranging things for it.

Oh My God!!! I will never forget their enthusiasm, and how quickly they have arranged all the things which are needed for the tour. (You guys are real heroes and you all rock’s that night!!!)

Our driver and the tour guide know the surrounding very well, they took us to three different locations in search of Northern Light. We waited for more than an hour on each of the locations. Honestly, we didn’t get lucky enough to see the dancing aurora but we all witnessed the Northern Lights under Arctic sky.

I will never forget that night in my whole life. At least, now I can say I have seen the NORTHERN LIGHTS. That night I made many new friends and have learned many new things and got inspired by many beautiful souls especially the “Never Give Up” attitude from all the Tromsø Safari Staff.

A big thanks to Tromsø Safari!!! Trust me, these people are the best in the business if you are planning any tour for Northern Lights do consult with them. Also, don’t forget to check Nordiva Tours for other Norway tours.

If you enjoy reading my journey than please like, share and comment for more support.

---

Disclaimer:- All the pictures are processed by Tromsø Safari.