Northern Lights | The Great Canadian Travel Co.

STAFF PICKS

March 14, 2023 | Pearl McCallum

We want to paint a picture for you.   Imagine you’re at a gathering with friends and acquaintances. It’s a fairly large group, let’s say around 15-20 people. Just as you begin to get hungry, someone brings out a large, layered cake. It’s smothered in rich, chocolate buttercream frosting – …

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June 29, 2022 | Lois Farley

Way back in 2017 I wrote a blog in recognition of Canada Day; 50 Great Things Canada Contributed to the World. Since I wrote that blog I’ve been studying about the Indigenous peoples who have lived on this land we now call Canada for millennia – the First Nations and …

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March 17, 2022 | Lois Farley

Saint Patrick’s Day brings Ireland and all things Irish to a lot of people’s minds. And, those of us lucky enough to be Irish or are of Irish descent, particularly so! My ancestors on both sides of my family emigrated to Canada from Ireland back in the mid to late …

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March 1, 2022 | Allison Silvaggio

There are so many things that we miss when it comes to travel, such as exploring new places, trying new things and meeting new people.  What I miss the most, are those extremely peaceful moments where you can just take it all in.  Whether you are enjoying a beautiful hike, …

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Top Spots for Northern Lights

January 19, 2022 | Lois Farley

When you think of Northern Lights something mysterious and wondrous comes to mind.

Have you ever wondered how those bright dancing lights are created? They are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere. In the northern hemisphere, they are called Aurora Borealis; in the southern hemisphere, Aurora Australis.

The colours can appear as green or pink, but have also appeared as shades of red, yellow, green, blue and violet. They can look like patches in the sky, scattered clouds, light streamers, arcs and rippling curtains. But, I’m sure we can all agree, no matter what colour they are or what shape they take, they will always be a magical sight!

 

We feature several Northern Lights tours on our website for you to choose from, or we can customize a tour for you if you don’t see one that suits you.

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A Dinner Invitation

December 05, 2017 | Ian Kalinowsky

Hey there! We would like to invite you for dinner!

Sounds great – when would you like to go?

What are you doing in March?

Um, I don’t know? That’s pretty far in advance.

Well, this place is pretty spectacular and reservations fill up fast.

Sure, I can mark it on my calendar so I don’t book anything else that day – when is it?

Well, that’s the thing. It’s Monday, March 5th, but you won’t be home until the 6th.

I’ve never heard of dinner taking two days…

It’s actually 1000 km North of Winnipeg. I have already made you a plane reservation on CalmAir.

I am intrigued. A thousand km north of Winnipeg? Like Churchill?

Yes, but dinner is not actually in Churchill.

We have to go somewhere else?

Yes, a tundra buggy is going to come and pick us up and head out of town.

Cool so we are going to eat sandwiches in a tundra buggy.

No, in a tent.

What? A tent – isn’t the temperature about -20C?

It’s about -21C today, but the tent will be warm because it’s inside a massive 250-year stone fort.

So let me get all this straight. We are having dinner –  in a tent –  inside a fort – reached by a truck called a Tundra Buggy – after taking a 2-hour flight north from Winnipeg. Anything else I should know?

Oh, the tent is clear so we can watch the Northern Lights dance across the sky, in a location that NASA says is the best on the planet.

This is an amazing surprise. Do I even ask what is for dinner?

Actually, it’s a surprise. Chef Mandel Hitzer, from the celebrated Winnipeg restaurant Raw: Almond, will prepare a dinner inspired by the type of ingredients that explorers, adventurers and First Nations folks would have used in their meals 250 years ago while at the Prince of Wales Fort.

Ok! I’m fired up and ready to go!

One last thing: don’t wear heels.

Nuuk Northern Lights

October 20, 2017 | Shauna Cook

 

Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis are a natural phenomenon that are generally seen in high latitude locations – Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Northern Europe, etc. They are generally spotted in the Northern Hemisphere between September and March. Depending on weather conditions, they can be seen as early as August and as late as April, however they may be faint, as you need true darkness in order to get the full effect. Read More >

The Dancing Sky at Blachford Lake Lodge – NWT

June 02, 2017 | Margot Kalinowsky

Some believe that the Northern Lights represent one’s ancestors looking down at them, keeping watch. Having seen them at Blachford Lake Lodge, I believe that now too. Nothing beats seeing these dancing ribbons of light in the sky.


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Where are the best places on earth to see the Northern Lights?

March 17, 2017 | Lois Farley

There’s a huge amount of information about Northern Lights viewing available online today.  Several different countries claim to provide the best viewing (and I must admit I’m a bit biased in Canada’s favour), and even after you’ve decided on a country, there’s normally a number of different towns within that country, all vying for your attention and your visit.

  

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Alaska, Northern Lights and More

August 19, 2016 | Oksana Szwaluk

Alaska’s tourism slogan is “Beyond Your Dreams, Within Your Reach” and my trip there was definitely both of those things! Alaska was a place I’d always had on my “wish list” to visit and I had the chance to go there on a Northern Lights tour.

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The tour I did was our Northern Lights, Alaskan Nights with Anchorage added on at the beginning.  We did a lot of interesting, fun things in Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, like visiting the Anchorage zoo and the Anchorage Museum. The zoo was really different from what people think of as a zoo – it is set amongst a forest with paths lined with wood chips and the wildlife is housed amongst the trees. We were also very lucky to be in Anchorage at the same time as the famous Iditarod Sled Dog Race – 56 teams racing over 1,000 miles from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska. That’s a lot of mushing (and barking)! Cool to see them race through the city on the start day.

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