I made it all the way back to Norway for two more wonderful visits in 2024, taking a heap of photos as usual. A busy life tends to get in the way of blogging, but my overdue homework is finally ready to hand in. Here it is, better late than never!
Runde via Ålesund – August
The island of Runde was the main destination for the first trip early in August. Runde has only 150 residents and is best known for its large population of sea birds. The main drawcard was the chance to see Atlantic Puffins on the island’s dramatically steep bird cliffs.
First was a flight from the capital Oslo to the picturesque port city of Ålesund for an overnight stay, before driving onwards to Runde. The harbourside setting of the old city centre and surrounding mountains is stunningly beautiful.
It was an easy two-hour drive from Ålesund to Runde, including a crossing on the Sulesund-Hareid ferry.
We had booked a three-night stay at the Runde Environmental Centre. The best decision we made was to preorder some home-made Norwegian fiskesuppe. Fresh fish and other ingredients for this creamy soup were ready in our fridge for DIY prep on arrival. Enjoying this classic local comfort food with a view out to the ocean was the best possible introduction to the island.
There’s little to do in this very quiet place except to be immersed in the nature, the stunning views, and the constantly changing weather. I really enjoyed the chance to unwind as I wandered around the harbour and surrounds, coming up with these pics below:
We had two opportunities to see puffins during some decent late afternoon weather.
Puffins spend their days at sea and are best seen from late afternoon when they return to their burrows. The spectacular hike up to the bird cliffs was a rewarding experience in itself. The start of the trail is very steep and testing on the aerobic fitness, but the fresh air and views were superb while stopping to catch our breaths. As we ascended it was a nice treat to see many of the resident Great Skuas flying low overhead.
We perched ourselves on the grassy clifftops, and it wasn’t long before we caught our first glimpses of puffins flying swiftly in the distance. Hundreds more were bobbing up and down on the ocean, appearing as little white specks way down below. Only a few were landing outside their burrows much closer to us on the cliffside.
It was a real struggle to capture any presentable puffin photos, especially in fading light. Using the 1.4x teleconverter I had the equivalent of 560mm focal length, but this wasn’t quite the reach I needed. At least this time around, to experience the puffins was best done with good binoculars or camera with a very long lens.
My best puffin photo (above) wasn’t so great, very heavily cropped in with a lot of nasty sharpening and noise reduction. Still, it’s nice to have this record of the experience.
The sun was still setting quite late, around 10:20 PM. With a long period of twilight there was plenty of time for a comfortable return hike before dark.
Maybe it was too optimistic to see the puffins up close this late in the season, but this time I couldn’t manage the trip any earlier, so no regrets. It was an unforgettable experience to admire them, albeit from a distance, in this wild Nordic environment in such beautiful calm conditions and golden light.
Sommarøy – October
The next Nordic adventure was for a week in late October, destination Sommarøy in the hope of catching the Aurora Borealis again.
Leading up to the trip I kept my usual obsessive watch on the weather forecast. The outlook wasn’t budging from cloudy, extremely windy, wet and icy. Part of me was happy about that. I subscribe to the theory that bad weather makes for good landscape photography, and I know the conditions in these parts in October-November can be very fickle. For me, that’s part of the appeal of traveling at this time of year. But I was still banking on enough clear sky to get some aurora pics.
A night was spent in Oslo to recover from the long flights, then I flew way up north to Tromsø the next morning. From there I collected a rental car and drove straight on to the quiet fishing village of Sommarøy.
I love this scenic drive, about an hour to the west across the mountainous island of Kvaløya. The route is jam packed with dramatic fjord and snow-capped mountain views, and small fishing villages.
I had five nights booked in Sommarøy, and it was becoming more apparent that the first night held the only good chance of a clear sky.
After checking in to my accommodation there was just enough time for a quick drive around town to take advantage of some weak sunshine. I managed to capture the next few pics in the fading light and icy wind:
Right on cue the clouds and sleet started to roll in, and I was giving up on the idea of clear skies for night one. I was still feeling jetlagged, it was freezing outside, and I’d convinced myself to stay in for a cosy meal and an early night.
I indulged in a hearty reindeer dish and a glass of red in the warmth of the hotel restaurant, leaving me feeling very contented and sleepier by the minute.
Back in my room about 7:30 pm, my inner voice was speaking up. It was making the very timely point that I hadn’t dragged myself all this way for nothing, and I owed it to myself at least to switch off the lights and take a skyward glance out the window. I listened to my instinct, and to my shock, stars were indeed twinkling! My eyes adjusted better to the dark, and I could see that telltale strip of bright green light in the sky.
A whirlwind few minutes ensued. The neatly packed contents of my bag were upended, and I had multiple layers of warm clothing on before I knew it. A different person was striding out the door, now wide awake and with purpose.
It was a short walk from the hotel to a clear viewpoint at the sandy Reina beach. The sky was mostly clear as the fast-moving aurora intensified and stretched directly overhead with a good range of colour.
What an unexpected spectacle this was. I felt a huge sense of relief that I had put myself in the right place just at the right time, managing to shoot for 80 minutes until the clouds rolled back in.
Like my previous aurora experience in Senja I was shooting with the Sony A7RIII and Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM lens.
As it turned out, this was to be the only aurora photography opportunity for the week as the weather turned very bleak.
Unfortunately, I was feeling miserable with the onset of a bad cold, and the weather was equally horrible. The few short hikes I had planned in the area were not possible, but I took advantage of any short breaks in the weather to make some excursions around town with the camera. Within a few days the island was covered with snow and looking stunning.
I thoroughly enjoyed my short time in Sommarøy, then it was an icy drive back to Tromsø for a final Arctic night before the long journey home. Norway, I’ll be back!
