A stay at Canada’s Northern Lights Resort & Spa fulfilled a long term ambition to see the Northern Lights.
During my three night stay I saw the lights every night. While they weren’t quite what I expected, it was still a magical experience.
Although the lights are a natural phenomenon, and thus no one can guarantee sightings, resort owners Wolfgang and Renata Bublitz did everything possible to ensure my fellow guests and I saw the lights when they were visible.
This included having the resort’s guide, Nico, waking us when the lights appeared. As a result I received knocks on my cabin door at 12.45 am on my first night at the resort, 1.00am and 2.00am on the second night and 1.00 am on my final night.
Nico’s `northern lights watch’ starts at 10.30pm and guests are welcome to join him in the resort’s specially built tipi, complete with warm fire, for a chat and hot chocolate. While I joined him for several hours on the first night of my stay – (the door-knock came about shortly after I left the tipi) – I relied on that knock on the second and third nights as, with temperatures reaching -20C, it was rather cold to be sitting up waiting!
Wolfgang and Nico also helped guests wanting to photograph the lights by ensuring their camera settings were correct. As I was to discover, this was essential. Indeed, had it not been for my pictures, I might not have realised I had seen the lights on the first night.
To the naked eye the lights looked a milky white colour – it’s only when I looked at my pictures did I see they were a vivid green colour. On the second night, when the nights were at their most dramatic and the colour was a little stronger, it was the movement that was most impressive. At times it looked as if the lights were dancing.
Sadly, despite Wolfgang and Nico’s tutoring, my pictures weren’t great. While the lights’ green colour was evident, they were out of focus! Fortunately, Wolfgang posts the best pictures of each night on his Flickr site. Knowing this by the third night, I was more interested in watching the lights’ movements than in taking photos.
The other joy of my stay at the resort was the quality of the accommodation. It is easy to understand why it is an all-year-round destination.
The property features four cabins – (more are currently being built) – located on 64 hectares around 20 minutes from the Yukon city of Whitehorse. All the cabins were built from Douglas fir trees by the Bublitzs. Surrounded by pine trees and with the McClintock Mountains in the background, the resort had a rural feel, yet the cabins featured all the necessities for a very comfortable stay.
Together with breakfast, dinner and airport transports, my three night Aurora and Sightseeing package also included a massage with Renata and a tour to either Carcross/Southern Lakes Area or the Yukon Wildlife Preserve. I chose the wildlife preserve. Given I had seen many of the animals in the wild such as moose, arctic foxes, bison and carribou, I wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as my fellow tour-goers who had never seen many of these creatures. They loved the tour. Those staying at the resort who did the lakes tour were equally enthusiastic.
What: Northern Lights Resort and Spa
Who: JB
When: February 19-22 2017
How Did It Rate:
For further information on the Northern Resort and Spa visit the property’s website
Jenny Burns stayed at Northern Resort and Spa at her own cost.
*Images from Northern Resort and Spa.
- review Northern Lights
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Hi JB this summary is amazing. I loved your story and in particular the photos. I’ve always heard so much about the Northern Lights but no idea of the images. I was interested to read that you could only see a milky white colour with the naked eye but then the camera is able to pick up the dancing images of the green light. What an experience that would have been. While it would be too cold for me, I am pleased to have experienced some of the Northern Lights through your visit and blog. Thank you so much, E
Thanks Elsa, it really was a wonderful experience.