Saturday 13th December 2025

Honningsvag to Alta

No need for early rising today as we had a late kickoff, but that didn’t stop our body clock waking us up at 600.

Packed up after deciding how many layers of clothes needed to be worn on a day predicted to be well into the minus and wind gusts up to 50kmph – a lovely Arctic Circle Day.

Took a last look out the window and snapped a shot of our view to savour.

Did a quick final lap of Honningsvag after breakfast watching life go by with locals on sleds going to market, others shovelling snow and others trying to reveal their cars.

Jane continues to battle with the tour ailment and not being able to get over the counter medication that works. Even a pleading with the Chemist didn’t help things.

Today was like reading a Demis Roussous Diet Guide with pit stops for soup, a Lights Safari with soup and soupy stuff for breakfast. The positive was Saturday is candy day in Norway so we were on a balanced diet, if not on a sugar high for most of it.

We waved goodbye to beautiful Honningsvag, after visiting a quaint church and its snow covered cemetery which at the end of WW2 were the only remnants of town after the Nazi’s left their exit present.

Groups of kids and parents were tobogganing on the slope nearby in the semi darkness.

We retraced part of yesterdays journey on our way to Alta about 6 hours away, including soup drops.

Being on the ‘mountain side’ of the coach our view was of unspoilt snow covered mountains and white deserts. The sightseeing side of the bus was enjoying views out over the ocean with its salmon farms and fish drying racks.

The poor old bus driver was getting the back end view of the snow plough clearing away last nights dump.

No farming out here with only 3% of Norway land used for agriculture. Might explain the high cost of fruit and vegetables. Good news for the Irish – the weather is ok for growing potatoes.

On the long drive we got a bit of cultural and political background about Norway.

Finland nearly all nuclear and Norway hydro power.

For a country rich in oil resources the younger generation want all oil production to stop, despite revenues being preserved for betterment of their life in the future.

The Gulf Stream is weakening and rather than warming northern oceans and seas its effect is lessening means it could lead to global cooling up there.- oh the scientific views on Climate Change.

Big problems with migrant unemployment currently, after nassive intakes. Up to 40%- most don’t speak English and Norwegian is difficult to learn so it’s an impediment to employment.

No more petrol riven cars being sold.

There endeth the update on non tour events so back to the journey, where we stopped for our soup de jour and a bit of shopping in an outlet that sold everything from snow globes to stuffed polar bears.

It was back in bus on a climb through areas you could barely see as icy winds caused snow flurries limiting drivers vision to around 40 metres. With the bus getting buffeted it was a pretty nervous 90 minutes or so.  The snow ploughs were plentiful.

Bad conditions stopped us seeing the boar, bear and moose population that supposedly inhabits the area ( or was that just a story to take our minds off the conditions- one will never know)

Not much noise on the bus and quite a few steely looks.

Finally the snowy effect lessened as we got down next to the sea and we could look across to the town of Alta, about 20 kilometres away. 

Small villages turned into bigger ones and then into suburbia, but there was a pretty common theme  – everyone loved decorating houses for Xmas. It’s not a place to sell curtains or blinds, as everyone is happy to let you peer inside through uncovered windows.

Alta at 15000 is a large tourist town with a rich history in slate mining, but carries the dark history of being one of Germany’s main sea bases where the notorious destroyer  Tirpitz ( sister ship to Bismarck) was based.

Before we got to the hotel we visited the Sorrisniva resort to view the Ice Hotel being constructed and due for opening next week.

Arrived in carpark and sidled up to what looked like a giant igloo about 10 metres high and 80 metres long.

We were ushered inside for a briefing on the construction of hotel number 27 on the site. It’s built in concert with a raft of ice sculptors. 

Full of knowledge we toured the partly completed building with its 24 rooms, chapel, gallery and bar. 

It was an amazing experience to see some finished sculptures and also watch the artisans at work.

From what we understand a stay involves laying in a sleeping bag on a raised plinth with no facilities in the room at $700 a night, plus bring your own bottle to pee in.

After being immersed in all that art we were marshalled outside to sit around a bonfire -more like a small campfire- sitting on reindeer skins sipping vodka from what else but an ice glass. Good vodka, good experience and no washing up. I’m

Back in the bus and lucky me is sitting next to the bus tour lady who suffers motion sickness. Not sure what song she was singing into a paper bag, but it didn’t sound or smell great. 

All that said she is an ex Kuwi racehorse trainer and we have had lots of good chin wags about racing.

 Got to our hotel , helped her off into the foyer , played the room key lotto game and and quickly unpacked and rugged up for the evenings Northern Lights chase.

The bus took us up over the Alta River which is legendary for its salmon – up to 30kg. It’s a haven for guided fishing tours at just A$1300 a day.

Up past the ice hotel and into the slate mountains of Paeskatun where we ended up at the Light Chaser HQ. A couple of experts talked us through myth, legend and a bit of science about the lights before we were fed a tasty curry soup, dessert and some hot drinks all topped off with some cinnamon cake.

Revved up we stood in blustery conditions at the first vantage point, this time unrewarded. It was a chase so we were soon on the bus chasing lights about 50 minutes away. Suffered our second and third strikes, but undeterred we sought another spot a bit more protected from wind,  but equally affected by the minus 10 temperature. 

The Indians were getting wrestless with the wait after 3 days of simply arriving and seeing the lights and were hatching plans for a mutiny and return to warmth of the hotel. Thankfully a few brave souls who had travelled nearly 20,000 Kms to see the lights convinced the guide to persevere. 

Perseverance was rewarded with another light showing, giving us a 4 peat. The coup de grace was snapping one just as a shooting star passed by . It’s the 6th photo below- guess that is all the luck used up.

Mainly bright green they were still stunning.

Frozen fingers, numb faces and broad smiles loaded back on the bus after 20 minutes to head back home to the warmth of the hotel, sated again in the Arctic Circle.

It was on the stroke of midnight when we got home and 5 hours of fun that will be recollected many times in the future.