"Mrs Pete and I are planning to try and see the Northern Lights next year."
I don’t know where you plan to go to see this phenomenon…Northern Lights.
But a friend from Arvidsjaur,.in northern Sweden sent this link…see below.
There you can read a little about how often you can see the Northern Lights.
You can also choose which language you want on the page.
I don’t know if this is helpful,.but I put in this link,so can you decide that for yourself.
• These three pictures above of Northern Lights are from Arvidsjaur,.and the Arvidsjaur-lake in northern Sweden.
Arvidsjaur is about 170 km northwest from my hometown of Boden.
There you can also in winter go slalom,.ordinary skis,snowmobile,.go after reindeer in reindeer-sleigh etc,etc.
Yes,.all the winter-activities you can dream of.
The best time for this is on what we call spring-winter,.from mid-February to the end of April. Then it is absolutely wonderful here in northern Sweden…see below…
Beware of planning trips to see northern lights (aurora borealis) The weather in these northern latitudes can include a lot of cloud for weeks on end & that coupled to periods of solar inactivity means you may not get lucky.
Please plan to see everything that does not include the lights, there is for sure so much of that, then you might end up very pleased with what you see on a cold, dark & starry night.
That’s a definite the reason for choosing N Sweden, the rain shadow of the spinal mountain range of the Scandinavian peninsula gives by far the best chance of clear skies at northern latitudes.
I’ve had good viewing in most of north Scandinavia, but IME (YMMV) the further east the better, Finland has been best for me in that area.
A cautionary tale: a couple we know went on a Norwegian fiord cruise & were so excited expecting to see the northern lights. The nights were cloudy at best, fog at worst, they saw a lot of fiords, but not many of the high mountain tops.
The finest aurora show by far that I’ve seen was when I was on a training project in Prudhoe Bay, northern Alaska. I was so lucky to have about 5 continuous nights of almost clear sky, & dark night was best part of 20 hours, the only thing that limited the viewing was -30’C
A good warning. My elder daughter just had exactly that experience of going to Northern Lapland for a week and seeing nothing, but she enjoyed the reindeer, the huskys, snowmobiles and the saunas.
Hi @Peder I’m honoured, wonderful photos. I’m like IB, I can’t pick which photo I like the best either. I’ll show Mrs Pete as soon as she wakes from her beauty sleep, read the link over coffee this morning and report back.
Thank you for sharing these if we were to travel to see the Northern Lights it’d now definitely have to be Sweden, cheers.
Sweden and Norway offer higher altitudes while Finland offers real saunas;) Whichever country you choose to visit the northern lights can be seen from all of them. Just a matter of weather conditions.
I currently live in Southern Finland and every now and then we are lucky enough to see the sky dancing in colors. The arctic circle area is known for the more frequent chance to see the phenomenom though.
As an example,.the last month we have had wonderful weather,with blue skies and sun every day.
And in Arvidsjaur it has been Northern Lights two to three times a week.
See the picture below,.this was photographed last night…
• So a piece of advice,.I think it’s best to leave it to us who live here,to tell you about what the weather is like here.
• And Perttu has 100% right in what he says here.
Why I recommended our wonderful spring-winter to Mr and Mrs Pete,.it was so they could experience something they don’t have in Australia…
Namely snow…!!!
• If you want to try more exciting adventures,.you go for a snowmobile tour in the real mountain-world .
This is a powerful experience,.which you will never forget.
And let’s hope you see some Northern Lights too.
If you go to northern Sweden,.I can convey contacts with some who usually photograph the Northern Lights.
They can certainly give you some "safe advice".
Sabi is my go to place for leopard, never failed, my avatar is a young lady in a tree at a water hole on Nottens property. Off again in July, winter in Kruger is the best.
Sabi Sands is one of the best places to see leopards, but that was exceptional. There had been driving rain twenty four hours earlier, the impalas had made easy targets so many of the leopards we saw were in the open, up trees and well fed.
You are looking too far from home, according to the BBC, Mumbai has a thriving population of leopards with the highest concentration on the planet.
i watched a documentary a few weeks ago of them stealing pigs & also sitting in the darkness by a road watching people walk by.
Northern Lights…
@Pete_the_painter,…Hi 
,.You wrote this below in your Oops-thread…
"Mrs Pete and I are planning to try and see the Northern Lights next year."
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