The Eight-Day Aurora Bender You Didn’t Know You Needed
Northern Lights Odyssey: The Eight-Day Aurora Bender You Didn’t Know You Needed
Some travel companies will sell you the idea of “getting away from it all” and then promptly dump you at a five-star hotel where the minibar is $14.50 for a packet of chips and the neighbours are from Mosman. Arctic Kingdom, on the other hand, has taken things rather more literally. Their new trip, Northern Lights Odyssey, whisks you off to Iqaluit, Nunavut, and onwards to Blachford Lodge in the Northwest Territories. This means places where you’re more likely to run into a snowshoe hare than an influencer.
Northern Lights Odyssey in the Northwest Territories of Canada
It’s an eight-day escapade pitched at “light adventurers” which is perfect, because full adventurers tend to involve crampons, ropes and an awkward hospital bill. Instead, this itinerary is about gazing at the aurora borealis in some of the world’s best viewing spots while also getting a good dose of Inuit storytelling, art and culture along the way.
Iqaluit in Canada
Things kick off in Iqaluit which, depending on your knowledge of Canadian geography, is either a place you’ve never heard of or the spot you’ve been wanting to tick off ever since that phase in Year 8 where you thought you’d become a polar explorer. From there, it’s on to Yellowknife (gateway to the Northwest Territories, and coincidentally an excellent Scrabble word). Finally, the curtain rises at Blachford Lodge: a fly-in retreat where log cabins, a hot tub, and a lakeside sauna conspire to make you wonder why you ever put up with Sydney traffic.
The Northern Lights with Arctic Kingdom
According to Arctic Kingdom CEO Graham Dickson, this isn’t just a jolly jaunt to wave at the sky. Northern Lights Odyssey reflects Arctic Kingdom’s mission to open the door to the Arctic’s magic through authentic, comfortable, and meaningful experiences, he says. Which is corporate-speak for – you’ll be staring slack-jawed at nature’s neon disco while also eating well, sleeping warmly, and not losing any toes.
It’s not Arctic Kingdom’s first rodeo. With more than 25 years under their fur-lined belt, they’ve organised everything from wildlife photography tours to film shoots, always in cahoots with Indigenous communities and with a reassuring emphasis on safety and sustainability. In other words, if you’ve ever wanted to see the sky put on a show that makes Vivid Sydney look like a faulty light bulb, this might just be your moment.
