The
idea of spending the night under soft reindeer skins in Northern Norway
with the potential of seeing the Northern lights sounded like a good idea.
And
waking up on a husky dog farm, playing with hundreds of cute huskies and doing
a dog sledding tour through the fresh snow also sounded like a dream.
The
reality, of course, turned out quite differently.
While
hubby and I really enjoyed the dog sledding part of our recent trip, the rest
of the experience at Tromsø Villmarksenter could be greatly
improved.
Raining and a Big Bus – What Could Go Wrong?
I
booked our tour through Much Better Adventures based in London because
the tour was sold as being “no more than 20 persons.” Generally, we hate large
group tours, so a small tour sounded perfect for us. But when we arrived at the
Radisson Blu Hotel in Tromsø to meet our tour, at least 40 people were on the
bus. Little did we know that those of us overnighting were joining another
large group who had booked just the evening tour at Tromsø Villmarksenter. Another
large tour bus arrived on site about an hour later.
Upon
arrival, staff showed us to our traditional, communal Sami tent – a peaked,
wooden structure that’s heated by a wood-burning stove in the middle and
furnished with warm sleeping bags and soft reindeer skins. The Lavvu-tent
sleeps up to 10-12 people. We ended up having seven people in our tent,
including one American lady who later snored like a freight train most of the
night. The other Sami tent contained about 10 people. So I guess, technically,
less than 20 people spent the night, but the fact that our group was mixed in
with at least 50 other people was annoying.
After
getting settled, we met back at the base to get fitted with warm thermal
overalls and boots. Trust me, you want the boots especially when you’re walking
around the dog yard and playing with the huskies. I’d also recommend wearing
thick wool socks, a pair of thermal tights, snow pants and at least two warm,
winter layers on top. We visited Tromsø at the end of December and temperatures
ranged between 0-7C, meaning that the frequent rain and drizzle often turned
into sleet and snow.
Before
dinner, we had the chance to meet the huskies – you’ll hear the dogs howling
before you see them. Approximately 300 Alaskan huskies – ranging from young
puppies to competition dogs – call Tromsø Villmarksenter home. The dogs
are an excited, raucous bunch and love all the attention and cuddles that you
give them. I highly recommend that you be a dog person before you do a tour
like this. Luckily, we are.
We
met some of the dogs like Sis, Snø, Termos, Avacado, Donald and Perro
(who roomed together…lol), Kiwi, Tinder, Mango and more. Since it was lightly
raining outside, many of the dogs didn’t want to leave the warmth of their dog
houses to play with us.
 |
| Husky puppies that didn't want to pose for photos. lol |
Dinner, Campfire and Bedtime with Strangers
After
our guided tour of the dog yard, we met back at the large, wooden Gamme-hut for
dinner. We ended up sitting with a friendly British couple and their two young
kids. We tried bacalao, a
traditional Norwegian fish stew made from locally sourced cod, and local brown
bread. While the stew was a great way to warm up, it was a bit too fishy for
me. For dessert, we had a rich chocolate cake and tea.
Next,
we moved on to a quieter part of the farm to have a bonfire and hear traditional
Sami stories. The Sami people are regarded as the indigenous people of Norway
with settlements in areas of Finland, Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Northern
Lights are called “Guovssahasat” in the Sami language – try saying that
three times fast.
One
of the Sami folklores is that the bright Northern lights emanate from the souls
of the dead and was therefore something to be feared. The Sami would stay
indoors if the lights were outside so the “souls” didn’t carry them away or
even cut off their heads. Other Samis believed that the lights are gas coming
up from the seas or the lakes.
We
warmed up around a bonfire and even roasted some marshmallows and drank some
hot chocolate. At this point, we were hoping to see some Northern lights, but
winds were up to 30kph and it kept raining off and on. We literally had a 1
percent chance of seeing the lights that night, and of course, we didn’t.
Now,
here’s the strange part, after the large tour groups left, those of us
overnighting were just kind of left to our own devices. Staff didn’t say
anything to us or really give us any directions about the fire, the tent or the
bathrooms. (By the way, this camping experience was nothing like the glamping we did in Australia.) In a small outhouse building, there were two female
toilets, two sinks and simply paper towels for washing your face before bed.
Since
we had zero chances of seeing the Northern Lights and were cold, hubby and I decided
to hunker down back in our wooden Lavvu-tent. While the tent was fairly warm at
first, it was quite chilly inside by the morning. Throughout the night, the
strong winds pounded on the wooden door, which didn’t quite shut all the way,
the dogs howled and the American snored. The delightful-sounding overnight
Aurora Camping is not a good experience if you are a light sleeper like we are.
Husky Dog Sledding in Norway
After
very little sleep, we woke up to have a filling hot breakfast at least. The cinnamon-sugared
pancakes were the best! Then, we finally got prepared for our dog sledding
adventure – clearly the best part of this whole trip!
 |
| MORNING VIEWS AT 930 A.M. |
Our
new guide, Julien, divided our group up to those who had selected the self-driving
option for the dog sled. Again, another large tour bus arrived at the farm, but
at least these people were more separate from us – at least until lunch. Julien
was the best guide we met on this tour and thoroughly explained how to mush
with our dogs, how to control our sled and other safety precautions.
Hubby
was my faithful driver while I sat in the sled with a rain poncho over my entire
body. It had started raining again. Luckily, we also had our own head lamps so
we could actually see the frozen tundra landscape surrounding us on Kvaløya.
We
slid through the slushy snow and even went airborne a few times as we hit a few
bumps with our five husky dogs. The dogs just know what to do and love running through
the snow! Sometimes, hubby had to give the sled a running push from behind when
we were going uphill or brake suddenly if the dogs started getting too close to
the sled in front of us.
Luckily,
my only role on the sled was to take unforgettable photos of our experience. If
you do ever go dog sledding, I’d highly recommend having a Go-pro type camera
so you can take photos and videos as you glide through the snow.
After
an hour of sledding, we returned to the base, played with the huskies again and
took more photos. For lunch, we were served Bidos, a traditional Sami
reindeer stew made vegetables. The hot soup was delicious – tasty like lamb –
and helped restore our frozen bones.
At
12:30 p.m., we said goodbye to the dogs and boarded a big tour bus bound for Tromsø.
I was ready for a hot shower and a long nap!
So
was this 500 pound tour worth it?
For
the dog sledding part – yes! For everything else – definitely not!
As
I mentioned earlier, we prefer small tours, so I feel like we were sold a lie.
This
Aurora Overnight trip was most certainly not a small group tour. If you ever visit
the Tromsø area during winter, I would recommend looking at other dog sledding
tours in the Lyngen Alps, Alta or even farther north. Even though this camp was
highly rated, I felt like it’s basically just trying to make as much money as
it can. But if you want to sleep with strangers and be surrounded by as many as
100 people, have fun!
Follow
