Tromsø, Norway, 2015.

Firstly, happy new year! I am resolving to keep my blog up to date and to write more frequently, as there is definitely plenty going on to talk about!

I ended 2015 with an amazing trip to Norway, up inside the Arctic circle. I stayed in Tromsø and took trips out in the area including an Aurora Borealis hunt and a whale watching boat trip.

A tiny Norwegian house amongst the mountains.

Norwegians have been whaling around Tromsø from as early as the 10th century and it is an activity still carried out to this day, except exclusively hunting Minke whales in the North. These days whale watching trips are increasingly popular, and most ships out there such as the boat I was on, are shooting with cameras rather than harpoons, helping to make ecotourism a thriving industry.

The boat ride was great fun and the scenery was beautiful, but on top of this we were also lucky enough to see Humpbacks (Megaptera novaeangliae) and Orca (Orcinus orca) thanks to our knowledgeable guides from the Tromso Friluftsenter.

Orca pod. 

Orca, or Killer Whales, are the largest species in the oceanic dolphin family and can be found in all of the oceans. The population off the coast of Norway is estimated to be between 500 and 1500.

The Orca here are often following the large amounts of Herring that make their way up the coast of Norway in the winter months. As a result, November - February can be some of the best times to see them in Tromsø.

Adult and calves. 

 

Humpbacks are a species of baleen whale and are a highly migratory species that can also be found in all of the oceans. Coincidently, I also saw a Humpback mother and calf on a boat trip in South Africa back in 2012.

Humpback Whales.

Synchronised swimming!

 

Attempting to see the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, is something most tourists try to do whilst they are on a trip to northern Norway. It is not guaranteed, and the weather, such as cloud cover, can be one of the most obstructive elements when trying to view them.

The lights are the result of gas particles in the Earth's atmosphere colliding charged particles released from the Sun's atmosphere. These particles from the Sun's atmosphere are usually deflected by the magnetic field surrounding the Earth, however the magnetic field is weaker at the poles and it is when these particles make it through and collide with Earth's gas particles that the lights can be seen from the reaction. The northern lights are Aurora Borealis, and the southern lights are Aurora Australis. Aurora being Latin for the Roman Goddess of the Dawn, Borealis meaning northern and Australis meaning southern.

Credit: Arctic Guide Service

There is no definite time that you can guarantee the lights will be stronger or most visible. It has been discovered that the activity is cyclic and peaks every 11 years, but the last peak was in 2013. The best chance you have is to go to areas of low light pollution on a night with a clear sky. Our trip had pretty bad weather and was 8 hours long, and we drove around in a coach heading to the darkest areas where the clouds were seperating. We caught some glimpses of the lights with our naked eye that were bright and then faded away and managed to have a few decent pictures at the end!

Both companies I used were excellent and i'd recommend them if you are taking a trip to Tromsø, however there are numerous good and different guides offering various excursions and activities depending on what you are looking for.

Our whale watching guide: http://tromso-friluftsenter.no/
Aurora Chase: http://www.arcticguideservice.com/

    

( Please feel free to use any of my photographs, but credit would be great, thanks! )