Whale of a time
Whether you want to watch a sea eagle dive, a whale surface or the northern lights, the Lofoten Islands are the place to be, finds Neil Geraghty
Adventures in Northern Norway’s Lofoten Islands
Childhood memories can come back to haunt you in the most unlikely places. I was in Henningsvaer, a historic fishing town of brightly coloured wooden houses in northern Norway’s beautiful Lofoten Islands. Cod fishing has always been the life-blood of these islands and on the outskirts of town lies Full Steam, a restaurant housed in an old cod processing factory which doubles up as a museum of fishing history. Vintage boats, barrels and fishing nets decorate the restaurant and from the wooden beams hang old paraffin lamps that once provided the only light that fishermen had during the long Arctic nights of the winter fishing season. The restaurant offers guests the chance to try traditional specialities and as an aperitif I was invited to try a mystery dram by Kalle, Full Steam’s guide. We walked into a room filled with vats and burners
The islands’ mountains form dizzying skylines of crenellated pinnacles
and my heart sank when I realised it was a cod liver oil production room. With a mischievous smile, Kalle handed me a shot glass filled with oil and early memories flooded back of being forced to drink teaspoons of cod liver oil in winter. Optimistically, I wondered whether, like olives, the taste improves as you get older but unfortunately it doesn’t. I downed the shot glass in one and the same nauseating taste enveloped my mouth, making me wince and shake my head exactly, as it did when I was five years old.
The Lofoten Islands and the neighbouring Vesteralen archipelago are home to some of the most beautiful landscapes in Scandinavia. Sheer cliffs rise straight out of the Norwegian Sea and the mountaintops form dizzying skylines of crenellated pinnacles. Although the islands lie well within the Arctic Circle they protrude out into the Gulf Stream and the warming ocean current means that the islands rarely fall below freezing. The nutrientrich waters endow the islands with spectacular marine life including several species of whale.
In Andenes, Vesteralen’s most northerly town, I boarded the Reine, a vintage passenger ferry built in the 1940s which has been converted into a cutting-edge whale safari vessel operated by Norwegian Whale Safaris. The ship is equipped with two hydrophones that can easily detect the whales’ echo location clicks, meaning you have a 95-99 per cent chance of encountering whales on the four-hour voyage.
The first half of the trip was a fruitless chase and no matter how warming the Gulf Stream might be in theory, in reality the Arctic winds are absolutely freezing. Fortunately, there was an urn of steaming hot coffee on deck to warm up the guests and for those really suffering from the cold, wind-proof thermal suits were also available.
After a couple of hours the crew announced that a sperm whale was about to surface and the sight of its spout billowing up into the air like a geyser drew a collective gasp of amazement. It takes a good ten minutes for whales to oxygenate their blood in this way before they are ready to dive down again and the crew members know exactly when this is about to happen. The tail-raising, or fluking, is one of the world’s great wildlife photo opportunities so when the captain announced it on the tannoy, the
excited passengers lifted up a sea of cameras and smartphones.
It seemed a shame to miss such a spectacle behind a digital screen so I put mine away and am glad I did. As the whale lifted its tail, sheets of sparkling water cascaded down glinting in the sunlight and then like a scene from Moby-dick the giant whale’s tail majestically disappeared beneath the waves.
Statistically, Vesteralen is one of the best places on earth to watch the northern lights and Andenes even has its own spaceport, the Andoya Space Centre that regularly launches rockets to study the auroras. The space centre has an excellent facility where visitors are invited to board the ‘Spaceship Aurora’ and participate in a futuristic space flight simulation to study the northern lights from orbit. It’s great fun and despite my groups’ questionable scientific skills, we survived a lethal dose of radiation and an imminent break up when we attempted to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere. In the evening, I managed to catch a glimpse of the real thing when, along a remote coastal road, the aurora started flickering above the mountaintops. The clear skies had become hazy during the day, creating a ghostly pearl-like quality to the shimmering curtains of light.
A 15-minute ferry journey separates Vesteralen from the Lofoten Islands and in Svolvaer, one of the main fishing towns, I checked into Svinoya Rorbuer, a collection of 19th century fishing cottages built on stilts around the harbour. The cottages have been converted into comfortable selfcatering cabins with under-floor heating and many have views of the Svolvaer Goat, a mountain revered by rock climbers. The summit of the mountain is shaped like a goat’s head and in displays of thrill-seeking bravado, intrepid mountaineers leap between the two horns.
A less dangerous, but equally thrilling activity is to take a RIB to Trollfjord, one of Norway’s most beautiful fjords, where a large community of sea eagles live. Trollfjord is located 15 minutes from Svolvaer and the short crossing through open seas can be a hairraising experience. Our skipper, Arnstein, warned us that it would be a bumpy crossing so I zipped up my Arctic suit, put on a pair of protective goggles and held onto the handlebars for dear life. When we left the placid waters of the harbour, Arnstein accelerated the throttle and as we began careering over the waves we gasped for breath as plumes of freezing spray splattered our faces.
The crossing couldn’t have been more exhilarating but nevertheless we were all glad to reach the calmer waters of the sheltered fjord. To tempt the eagles down from the mountain tops, the safaris go equipped with herring, and as soon as Arnstein threw one overboard a flock of squawking seagulls descended and began squabbling over the fish. Above them, a majestic adult male eagle with a two-metre wingspan appeared from a cliff face and began to glide down in rhythmic circular loops. The seagulls caught fright and dispersed and as the eagle came into the home straight, he extended his talons and snatched up the fish in a graceful swooping lunge.
Along the fjord we encountered several eagles and the scenery became ever more spectacular. Gushing waterfalls cascaded down from mountains covered in scarlet rowan trees and golden bracken. Just by one of the waterfalls Arnstein spotted his favourite eagle Petra and, with a herring poised in his hand, he tempted her down imitating an eagle’s call. As she approached the boat, he threw the herring into the air and, in a theatrical display of aeronautical skill, Petra caught it in mid-air, a dazzling climax to an unforgettable sea safari.
Flights from Edinburgh to Bodo via Oslo with Scandinavian Airlines start from £96 one way to £170 return, www.flysas.co.uk Rooms at Svinoya Rorbuer start from NK1000/£92 per night, www.svinoya.no For more on Northern Norway, visit www.nordnorge.com