One of my non-negotiables was to hopefully see the Aurora borealis (northern lights) and is actually the whole reason we even had Norway on our itinerary. I say ‘hopefully’ because the northern lights are a natural phenomenon and there is no guarantee of actually seeing them. To increase our chances, we had done a lot of research about the best time and locations to see the lights, and ensured that we had sufficient time in those places. As we were now in the Arctic Circle, our chances of seeing them were much greater, but we still needed clear skies and a bunch of luck to actually see them.
Our next leg took us via ferry from Bodø out to the archipelago of Lofoten. Wow! What a place!
Our very first evening gave us our first taste of Aurora dancing across the sky! We weren’t in a great spot (we had arrived in the dark off the ferry) but the weather forecast was looking good so we were so excited about the potential of the next few days.
The next day would have been Dad’s birthday so we had a chill morning playing on the beach and in the rock pools, an activity he loved to do with his grandkids, reflecting on what an awesome Dad and Grandad he was to us all.
In the afternoon, we hiked up Ryten. We had left a bit late and the hiking took longer as we negotiated snow, ice and mud, so we decided not to go all the way to the summit. This is something I find very hard to do but in hindsight I’m always glad for Logan’s ability to read a situation and make the best decision for the group. Instead, we peeled off the track and had a ton of fun hurtling ourselves down through a snow field before rejoining the track and making our way carefully over a rapidly-freezing path.
That evening we parked at Uttakleiv Beach in the hope of seeing the “Green Lady”, and boy did she put on a show! It wasn’t even dark yet and it was already amazing! As I said in my Facebook post, it was beyond everything I had dreamed of seeing…hours of ever-changing beautifulness in all directions. Matariki and Jupiter joined in the show too!
Our last days on Lofoten continued to be absolutely glorious and we were so glad we had decided to take a detour out that way. I suddenly came to the realisation one day that both Logan and I have now been to all 7 continents, the Equator, the Antarctic and the Arctic! How very lucky we have been to have seen so much of the world’s beauty!
From Lofoten we made our way up to Senja, an island joined to the mainland via a bridge. It was so lovely to have the freedom of time! Along the way, we stopped at a huge frozen lake for the kids to learn how to use the drone (without fear of it crashing, sinking or disappearing!) and a spot of sledding!
We had planned to stay on Senja for a week as we knew it would be beautiful and it was also a good chance to slow down after such a long journey to get there. The stunning weather came to an end but in its place were no-less-beautiful moody, foggy, grey days.
One day the kids spent the entire day building a Poohstick race track, with loads of both naturally occurring and washed-up rubbish obstacles and features. They were so creative and worked so well together to make something they were super proud to show us. We had lots of fun racing our Poohsticks…and they had lots of fun beating us! Here are just a small sample of the obstacles and features:
Another day we tried out snow-shoeing, hiking to the peak of Sommardalen. After all the fine weather, the snow was still very deep but super soft so it was the perfect time to try it out. The clouds came in at times and then would lift for gorgeous views of Bergsfjord.
All around Norway we saw these football mini-pitches that Lucas had been wanting to try out. This one was at a school so, as it was out of school hours, it was a good chance to have a go. It was still deep with snow so we had a fun time playing 2v2 with unpredictable ball bounces and 3 out of 4 of us in snow boots!
The next day we hiked the Hesten trail to get a view of Segla and down into Mefjord. It was very steep in places and we had to be very careful at the ridge because it was a sheer drop into the fjord below. We were rewarded for our steep ascent with sledding/bum sliding almost the entire way down. 1.5 hours to the top, half an hour at the top, and 25 minutes down! So fun!
We decided it was time for us to stay a night in a campground as we needed to do some washing – 1 of only 2 nights we paid to camp in the 4 weeks we were in Norway. The campervan was so great as we were completely self-contained (thanks Logan for doing ALL of the black and grey water emptying). Supermarket shopping got faster and faster as we learnt to recognise our favourite food items, and I was thrilled with the variety of plant-based options available. Norway’s Outdoor Recreation Act, or the right to roam free, coupled with Park4Night (and it being outside the tourist season) made it so easy to find beautiful and free places to stay. However, a washing machine and dryer were great to have as laundromats were non-existent in that area…and the free wifi allowed Logan, Lucas and Zara to watch the Saudi Grand Prix race!
We visited the tiny village of Husøy, an island connected to Senja with a causeway. After days and days of sparsely populated areas, it was so funny to see this tiny island almost completely covered in housing or industry.
Our last day on Senja was saved for an activity we had been talking about for months – husky sledding! The kids bang on every day about us getting a dog (it’s a hard no from Logan) so this was such a special experience for them. The kids were in a sled together with the guide, and Logan and I took turns to be the musher and the passenger on another sled. Sledding through the trees as the sun set was wonderful, but the highlight was cuddling with the huskies, unharnessing them, and feeding them. The owner and the 2 guides clearly adore the dogs and they were so well loved and looked after. Again it was so wonderful to see Zara so comfortable with the dogs. Her favourite was blue-eyed Bella, the queen of the pack…so of course she now has her own Bella (and baby Ella) husky soft toy (her THIRD new soft toy of the trip!). Lucas was so happy snuggling with the dogs too!
A very special activity and a lovely way to wrap up our time on Senja.