April 2026

April 17th - Private Aurora Chase

• Guests / country: 3 guests from Canada.
• Weather Tromsø: Clear.
• Destination / weather: Kvalsundet strait / clear.
• Aurora activity: 6/10 (I saw a Aurora pics from Invercargill, New Zealand, which is located on 43 degrees south, and have still dark nights, and the show was great, so probably a 9/10 show)
• Aurora show: All over and towards south too, curls, spikes and little dancing curtains.
• Visible for the naked eyes: Little green.
• Tour KM: 70.
• Tour hours: 4,5.
• Wildlife: Two reindeers and several grouse around us.
• Space show: A nice and bright shooting star over the sunset sky.

Mid-April is very late for a chase, but I am here, so when I got a request for a private chase for a family with a 6 months outdoor baby, I couldn´t say no thanks, but it`s always a gamble so late in the season when we didn`t really have real dark nights, but only a bright twilight sky.

But, we was lucky since the activity was good, so we got the first spike on the NE sky which get dark first at 11.45 pm, cause the sunset sky in the west.

And then the activity was building up on the south sky with a faint ark, so we waited for that one, and 01.15 am it exploted, which gave us nice curtains and little dancing all over the sky.

So, we went back to the city at 01.45 and my guests was happy, since this was the first time they had seen real Northern Lights.

April 11th - Chase no. 2,212

• SEASON END - Welcome back at August 26th for my 21. Aurora season !
• Guests / Country: 3 guests from Japan and UK.
• Weather Tromsø: Clear.
• Destination / weather: Grøtfjord (one of my favorite spots) / clear.
• Aurora activity: 2/10.
• Aurora show: A spike on the east, an faint ark low on the bright north sky and 3-4 faint stripes across the sky ...
• Visible for the naked eyes: Just some faint white stripes.
• Tour km: 90.
• Tour hrs: 5.
• Wildlife: A couple of grouse, one capercaille and eight reindeers.
• Space show: A serie of 20 Starlink satelites passed over us on the sunset colored sky.

The Lady was shy tonight, but it was a lovely moment on my favorite rocky beach with a lovely view over the islands, surroundings mountains and the open ocean, which was decorated in sunset colors.

5 degrees plus and no wind.

Did it short and easy tonight since the sky was clear all over, and went 40 km straight west to Grøtfjord, and passed several buses who had stopped along Vågbotn fjord in "shadow" with no view to the lovely sunset horizon, which is my main view at this time of the season.

Not so much Aurora to see, but quite amazing and very special to see the Starlink`s satelites who was passed over the sunset sky on 850 km above us, which is quite close, so you see them very well ... just very pity that I didn`t thinked about my phone for film it, while I was trying to take pics of them ...

April 10th

• Guests / Country: 6 guests from Japan and Thailand.
• Weather Tromsø: Clear.
• Destination / weather: Sommarøy / clear.
• Aurora activity: 5/10.
• Aurora show: Several stripes across the sky, curls, spikes and little dancing curtains, and a couple of small coronas.
• Visible for the naked eyes: Green and little pink.
• Tour km: 110.
• Tour hrs: 5,5.
• Space show: Several shooting stars.

It was a easy chase tonight with clear sky all over, so since I had one guest who already had joined me twice I had to give him a third landscape, so he get the best overview of all the coastal environment, so we went 55 km SW towards Sommarøy, and stopped at my new great spot with the best sky view all around.

The activity started faint on the NE sky, and then we got what I love at this time of the season; Aurora on blue sky into the sunset colored sky in west ...

I set camp fire and served my guests hot drinks and snacks, and then we just relaxed in the silence and with the amazing view over the mountains and ocean.

It was a stripe on the south sky tonight too, but nothing happened with this one this night ... and the night was totally different from the night before, when it was crazy colorful ...

April 9th - Private Aurora Chase Dinner

• Guests / Country: 4 guests from USA (South Korea).
• Weather Tromsø: Cloudy.
• Destination / weather: Finnish Lapland +30 km / part clear / clear.
• Aurora activity: 9/10.
• Aurora show: All over and far south, curls, spikes and dancing curtains. And a couple of small coronas. Four colors on camera, even blue which is very rear.
• Visible for the naked eyes: Green, pink and little yellow.
• Tour km: 380.
• Tour hrs: 10.
• Wildlife: Two moose, two foxes and four snowy bunnies.

It´s little unfair for my guests last night who saw nothing, and at this night when Lady Aurora went crazy ...

The weather forecast showed it should clear up all over east of the Lyngen Alps from around 10 pm, but when we arrived the border at this time, it was totally overcast ... so, I decided to drive all the way into the planned location; In Keinovuopio, where we set camp on the frozen border river ice between Swedish- and Finnish Lapland.

I need to have the safest clear sky before I set up my kitchen before I begin my `Theatre of Food`, where I tonight served two dishes for my guests; A reindeer stew with rice, and a Meal of Fish with vegetables.

And as always, no quick fix for me with a frozen dryed meal which you put hot water over or something similiar and boring, since you`ll get a real dinner outdoors when I serve my guests `Theatre of Food` where I make the meal from the basic over open fire.

We arrived when the sky was blue and bright, but some stars was already visible, and then we got a huge surprise, since when I checked the south sky, there was suddenly a green ark low on the south sky ...

I didn`t thought this should happens since the solar speed was very low, only 370 km/s ... but, the density was high.

I was planned to start with the dinner, but the Aurora activity was already good all over the sky, so I had to do a combo ... cooking little and shoot some pics in between ...

After the meal and the dessert, I was thinking about to leave at 1 am, but then the stripe on the south sky began to be active, and my guests didn`t gave any sign that they wanted to leave ... and I could`nt either since the Lady went crazy, and 1.30 am she began her crazy dance ... with three colors visible for the naked eye.

So, we left at 2 am when the north sky got super bright, but there was still activity on the sky ... but, my guests was more than happy after a crazy beautiful Aurora show on blue sky.

We returned back to the city in daylight at 5 am, and when I drove the last 40 km home, the sunrise with a deep red sun wished me welcome home ... at 6 am ... so, goodnight & good morning ;)

(slept to 3 pm, and have postponed tonight`s chase to 9 pm, since it`s lovely clear sky on the coast, and hopefully we get a new good one ... an duplicate from last night ?)

April 8th

• Guests / Country: 6 guests from Singapore and Hong Kong. 
• Weather Tromsø: Cloudy.
• Destination / weather: Rolla / cloudy / gaps.
• Aurora activity: 0/10.
• Aurora show: Nothing !
• Visible for the naked eyes: Nothing !
• Tour km: 510.
• Tour hrs: 10.
• Wildlife: Three foxes and +50 (!!) snowy bunnies (hare in the winter suit).

10 hours chase for nothing ... or, it was quite funny to see and explore white bunnies everywhere on the fields and in the road on the island Rolla, just across the fjord of Harstad city.

Tonight I did a huge mistake ... I trusted the weather forecast little too much, when only Windy forecasted quite clear sky from around 11 pm ... but, it was delayed with 1,5 hours ...

Just at the moment we parked and went out of the bus, the activity started with a huge drop at 10.20 pm, but ww missed it totally, since the small gaps we had gave us nothing ...

At the same moment I checked one of out private Aurora sky cameras east of the Lyngen Alps, which had 40% clear sky and little Aurora ...

So Gunnar (message to me), you`ve to forget the weather forecast when it`s so tricky conditions and just drive to the location which is knew for that teh clouds can clear up on SE wind ... for example east of the Lyngen Alps, at Hatteng or/and in Skibotn ...

Yup, lesson learned again ... just very pity for my guests ... wish that you had stayed longer, so I could give you a new chase for free on Friday, when at least the weather forecast looks perfect on the coast ... let`s see if it`s right ;)

Well back home at 5.20 am ... goodnight and good morning ;)

April 5th

• Guests / Country: 9 guests from Japan, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. 
• Weather Tromsø: Clear.
• Destination / weather: Ersfjordbotn view / Grøtfjord view / Rekvikeidet mountain plateau / clear.
• Aurora activity: 7/10.
• Aurora show: Several stripes across the sky, also towards south, spikes, curls and dancing curtains. Plus a couple of small coronas.
• Visible for the naked eyes: Green.
• Tour km: 105.
• Tour hrs: 8.
• Wildlife: One eagle, couple of grouse and 2+1 reindeers.

FJORDS SIGHTSEEING & AURORA

By starting at the normal time as through the dark deep winter, at 18.00, it gives us 3-4 hours available for sightseeing along the coast of the islands of Tromsø, but it also nice to have this early starting time, if the bad weather sets in from west and we have to drive far east into Finnish Lapland, so we`re there in time for the darkness and the activity.

So, tonight I showed my guests lovely Ersfjord viewpoint and the dramatic Grøtfjord in daylight, before the darkness was falling down, so after the third photostop on a lovely beach with surroundings mountains, an eagle left the beach when we arrived ... Then we drove to the road end to a lovely mountain plateau, where we still had one hour before the darkness arrived.

And as I hoped for; We got early Aurora activity, on blue sky and into to the sunset colored sky ...

It was lovely to be at this spot where we had totally silence ... but, that didn`t last long since a 50-seats bus arrived ... and I was very close to leave, since I really hate this number of people out in the nature ... It`s Human Pollution !!

But, for this time only I decided to just stay and try to forget they was there ... and thanks for that they choosed to set camp at the other side of the the parking spot, and they was surprisly very quiet ...

The Aurora activity was building up very good and we got several good show, and many colors on the camera, and then it went on the south sky and became quiet and weak ... but, as I told my guests around the camp fire ... it will probably give us a a good show later, but no-one knows if it will happens in 5 mins or three hours ...

And just before we was planned to leave at 1 am, then the stripe on the south sky exploted ... an nice grande finale show of a beautiful evening with a group of beautiful and very lovely and enetertaining people.

By the way, I also teached them to build a sofa of snow, so they was really eager to work with the shovel to collect snow and build it up to a half meter, before I made the finish of it.

April 4th

• Guests / Country: 7 guests from Portugal, Japan, Kenya and UK. 
• Weather Tromsø: Cloudy.
• Destination / weather: Dåfjordeidet / part clear / clear / haze.
• Aurora activity: 5/10.
• Aurora show: Several stripes across the sky, spikes, curls and little dancing Aurora. Plus a faint corona.
• Visible for the naked eyes: Faint green.
• Tour km: 130.
• Tour hrs: 5,5.
• Wildlife: Two reindeers.

After a lovely sunny day the clouds arrived in the afternoon, and the weather forecast didn`t gave us so much hope for clear sky, so I am not sure what my guests was thinking when I told them the facts, that it will be tricky and difficult tonight, but I guessed we only should get something true the haze ...

But, as we know very well; Here in the Arctic you can`t trust any weather forecast, so is no need to cancel your chase cause bad weather in the city.

And I got very surprised by myself, when we suddenly had clear sky and could see some stars when we arrived our location for tonight, 65 km north of the city, on my island, Ringvasøya.

There was still heavy clouds out on the coast, so I didn`t took the chance to drive further when we had that lovely sky above us, but my first plan was to drive out to the coast at Skogsfjord ...

Since it became a short drive tonight, then I postponed the start time with two hour to 8 pm, and that was good timing, since we got a beautiful sunset color view towards the mountain of Kvaløya island, from the west side of Tromsø island.

Please check my reel of that lovely moment on my Insta #guidegunnar

April 3rd

• Guests / Country: 5 guests from Hong Kong, UK and USA. 
• Weather Tromsø: Cloudy.
• Destination / weather: Finnish Lapland +30 km / Storfjord / clear / part clear.
• Aurora activity: 8/10.
• Aurora show: All over and far south, curls, spikes, curtains and several coronas. Massive, but faint for the eyes, but four colors on the camera; even blue.
• Visible for the naked eyes: Green and glow of pink.
• Tour km: 370.
• Tour hrs: 8,5.
• Wildlife: One snowy bunny, two foxes and two moose.

Why I love Equinox April ?

It`s simple; It´s when the Northern Lights are more colorful and more powerful ;)

It was lovely to be on the frozen border river ice in totally silence with no other guides nearby ...

Tonight I just decided to go for Finland and especially this lovely location on the frozen river between Swedish- and Finnish Lapland ... we could of course stop before, since the sky was partly clear already down in the valley up towards the border, but when the sky was 95% clear further in, it didn`t looks like a bad choice ...

But, the clouds are moving, and of course, when the good show started on the south sky, then the clouds came and destroyed part of the sky, but in between we still got a good show, and then it became better again.

It was lovely out there in 6 minus and no wind, and lovely dry snow.

On the drive out tonight we had to make a short backdrive along Storfjord since I suddenly saw a baby moose which was jumping out from the forest and close to the road ... and when we returned a few hundreds meter, her mother was close by.

On the return from Finland we had to stop along the Lyngen fjord since the south sky suddenly gave us a new show ... and we could do many more stops, since The Lady was really dancing and it was brigther than before ... but, I had a chase the next night too, so I guess my guests was happy what they already had explored.