Tonsvik
NORWAY & DENMARK Diary : Day 5 - 04th April 2019
Tonsvik is a small town to the north of Norway, lying at a driving distance of about 25 minutes from Tromso. The town is getting popular for its deserted landscapes in winter season, making it a perfect spot to view the AURORA BOREALIS ( Northern Lights).
After a fun filled enriching experience with the Husky dogs in Kvaloya that morning ( read KVALOYA),
the second best event of the day was the Northern Lights tour with "ENJOY THE ARCTIC". The tour booked through emails with Andrei (the owner), accommodated just 8 of us. Unfortunately, Andrei, whose expertise with the lights had raving reviews, had to travel elsewhere for personal reasons. He had therefore appointed Isak, who did a good job as well. We walked up to the TOURIST OFFICE Tromso & were picked up from there around 6:50 pm. by Isak in his big car. The other 2 members were booked with ARCTIC EXPLORERS. They were picked up by the company bus at the Entercity hotel where we stayed. We drove north, crossing Tonsvik in a short while. The daylight was still on. Waiting for the skies to darken, Isak decided to drive us around the place, before returning to Tonsvik to spot the lights. We moved from village to village crossing the beautiful Vagnes & Skittenelv , till we reached Oldervik.
The clouds were slowly moving away. Isak was happy to see the sky clear out, but there were still no signs of it darkening. He kept driving us around till it got as dark as possible. Finally, around 9pm, we reached Tonsvik and drove up a hilly mound to park the car. The place looked secluded and we were given our thermal wear. We were led into Snowy wilderness where we huddled up. Isak made fire and set up two tripods, one for his own camera & one to hold ours. We handed our camera in expectation of great photographs. He had also organised a few foldable chairs. The fire aimed at keeping the chill away, but it was still nail biting cold.
We gathered around to stay warm together. Some marshmallows were roasted by him. They tasted good. Two of the group members preferred staying inside the car, while waiting for the lights to appear. At around 10:30 pm, the lights faintly appeared. We squealed with wonder and tried to take a few pictures, as we simultaneously admired it. It was a sudden gush of gas that clouded the sky, that appeared green in photographs. In matter of minutes they vanished. They appeared again in a while. They kept vanishing and appearing till they got stronger each time . By then, we had learnt to spot it.
We were happy with the few glimpses we got. Many of us could not bear the chilly weather. Whatever few pictures Isak could manage of us with the lights, is what you can see here. Our camera totally failed to do any justice as no one seemed to know how to set it up for a NORTHERN LIGHTS shoot. Therefore, a disastrous photo session, but an enjoyable evening. The tripod like wooden chairs managed to keep us a little above the rugged snow surface. But due to the flexible nature of the chairs, we kept tumbling down, each time they folded themselves out, without warning. That triggered some laughter around. Isak provided the kids with surfing boards which let them slide down snow heaps, keeping them thoroughly occupied. We were delighted, but couldn't wait till later for the stronger lights. We compromised due to extreme weather conditions and decided to head back. Isak dropped us in Tromso by 1:30 pm. We wished we had stayed longer to view the Aurora when in full blast. No regrets. It was a day well spent !