I Dream of Aurora in Yellowknife: 三月 2012

As the chance of aurora borealis appearance in winter is higher than that in summer time, so we are planning to leave on December 23, 2012, and coming back on December 28, 2012. During this period, we had just finished our final exams and it’s time to enjoy a fantastic Christmas vacation rather than staying in London, even though the price will be higher than the other periods, that worth it!

Who

I will be travelling with my boyfriend this time. Watching the aurora borealis with him must be a sweet and romantic memory!

Why

There are several reasons to visit Yellowknife. Firstly, viewing fantastic aurora borealis was my dream when I was in middle school. Secondly, I had been living in Canada for almost 4 years as an international student, and I will graduate in December 2012. I want to end my four-year study with a perfect trip so that I will always remember my fantastic Christmas after I leave. Thirdly, located around both magnetic poles of the earth is a halo like ring called an aurora oval. The area directly beneath each aurora oval is the best place to see the aurora most often. The cities located under the northern oval include Yellowknife, Canada; Fairbanks, Alaska and Lapland, Norway. Among these places, Yellowknife has the least geographical obstructions, such as mountains, to provide a high percentage of clear weather in the winter which results in a high viewing probability.

Goal

Watch mysterious aurora borealis definitely!

Preparations

The most important thing for travelling to Yellowknife is keeping warm! It is very cold there in winter, so we have to bring enough clothes that can keep us warm. Another very important thing is camera, as a photographer, my boyfriend will never forget to bring his camera with him. We will take a lot of beautiful pictures to record the great moment!

Beautiful aurora will appear on a clear day, so watching the weather in Yellowknife is important, even though the weather is not as accurate as the forecast, it is still a necessary procedure. There is a website to forecast the aurora as well.

Costs

The day-to-day activity costs per person will be outlined in each blog entry, other costs like B&B, car rental, and flight costs will be listed below:

Airfare(per person)

London, On to Yellowknife, NT round-trip

Departure: WestJet

Return: Air Canada

Cost=$795(round-trip base fare)+$154(Taxes)=$949

B&B

We choose a B&B place called Embleton House to live for this trip to know more about the culture of Yellowknife. We will choose the “Sun Rise Suite”, which was the award winning Private Luxury Studio Suite with lots of Sunshine in the morning plus Northern Lights views by night.

Address:
5203 52nd Street, Yellowknife, NT X1A 1T8
Phone: 1 (867) 873-2892

Cost=($170 double+5%GST)*5=$892.5

5-day standard SUV rental

National Car Rental

Pick-up: Sunday, December 23, 6:00pm

Drop-off: Thursday, December 27, 8:00pm

Address: 5118 50^th street, Yellowknife, NT X1A2N2

Rate:

Car rental: 5 days@$72.95/day=$364.75

Estimated taxes&fees:

Vehicle license fee $2.00/day=$10.00

CA goods/svces tax n terr=$18.74

Gas: $100

Total car rental costs=$364.75+$10.00+$18.74+$100=$493.49

Canada Goose ‘Resolute’ Parka

In case we may still feel freeze when we arrive at Yellowknife, the winter clothing rental service will help us a lot!

Includes Winter Pants, Long Mitts, Facemask and Sorel ‘Glacier’ Boots

Costs: 4-days $100 per person

Total budget=$949*2(aircraft)+$892.5(B&B)+$493.49(car rental)+$100*2(‘resolute’ parka)+$200*2(Aurora Village)+$500(gifts and food)=$4384

Day 1 (Dec 23, 2012)

The aircraft will depart from London airport on 6:00am and after 3 stops, we will arrive at Yellowknife at 12:57pm. Then we will go to the B&B place, after a few hours rest and dinner, we will go to National Car Rental to pick up the standard SUV at 6:00pm.
(9:00pm-1:00am)We will drive to Great Slave Lake, which is one of the best visions to observe aurora!

Costs: no additional costs other than car rentals and B&B

Day 2 (Dec 24, 2012)

We will wake up around 9:00am and watch sunrise.

(12:30pm-4:30pm) Aurora Village

Dog Team Ride Experience (50mins)

After having breakfast, we will take the dog team ride experience. This is the most popular activity among the visitors to Aurora Village. The strong huskies will take you on the traditional sled for an exciting ride through wooded trails and a frozen lake. You can see the dogs in action as they are so eager to run. There are about 70 dogs in the kennel all excited to take you for a ride. We can take pictures with the puppies, too, which will take about 20 minutes. Drive

---Your Dog Team

For the more adventurous who want to drive for their own. After basic instructions from the musher, we will be in control. We will go through the wooded trails with curbs and ups and downs. We will have lunch after the dog team experience, and then rest for a while.

Snowmobile Experience (30mins)

Snowmobiles have replaced dog teams as means of transportation and carrying loads in the north. They have a fleet of Canadian-made snowmobiles, called ‘skidoos’. They will provide us with helmets, and instruction.

Snowshoeing Experience (90mins)

Aboriginal guide will take us to the back trails of Aurora Village on traditional snowshoes. He will explain about the faunas, and herbs that people of the land have used for centuries. We will also see the footprints of wild animal, and explain about trapping. He will show you how you make fire quickly.

(9:00pm-1:00am) We will go to Pilot’s Monument, one of the best visions to observe aurora.

Costs: $95 per person + GST (extra cost $60 or $90)

Day 3 (Dec 25, 2012)

Merry Christmas! As the stores will close during Christmas Day, we will stay at the B&B place and wait the night’s coming.

(8:00pm-1:00am) We will go to Ingraham Trail, one of the best visions to observe aurora.

Costs: no additional costs other than car rentals and B&B

Day 4 (Dec 26, 2012)

It’s Boxing Day! After one-day rest, we will explore the city, including the new town and old town. We will go for shopping there, these are some stores:

Earth Gallery North Soul Studio

Gallery of the Midnight Sun

Just Fur

(8:00pm-1:00am) We will go to Ice Road to observe aurora.

Costs: may vary

Day 5 (Dec 27, 2012)

Continue exploring the city today, we will go to the other stores and taste the local food. The restaurants include Bulllocks’ Bistro (4 Lessard Dr, Yellowknife, NT, X1A 2G5) and Wildcat Café (3904 Wiley Rd, Yellowknife, NT, X1A 2N6). We will mail out the postcards we get from stores and send them to our family and friends.We may go to watch aurora again, but just for a shorter time, because we are leaving the next early morning, so we have to pack up at night. When we finish the aurora viewing. We will return the car to the National Car Rental.