Lofoten by Campervan: Watching the Northern Lights on Haukland Beach

I glanced out the van window and noticed a faint green coloured mist in the sky.

So I took a walk with my camera and came back 3 hours later with these photos…

In this post I’ll share with you my first experience with the Northern Lights. And I’ll show you a good place to watch them in the Lofoten Islands – as well as where to park your van, of course.

Also see these posts: How to photograph the Aurora and How to find the Aurora

We were camping on a beach in the Lofoten Islands, Norway

The beach is Haukland Beach on the north side of the islands: Google map link

8:30pm: there was a faint green glow in the sky, from behind the mountain

8:32pm: I ran down to the beach with my camera

9:30pm: Now I’m certain this is the Aurora Borealis

10:30pm: I stood on the beach and experienced this totally new kind of night sky

11pm: The green glow reflected on water as it got stronger and stronger

Before reducing to a focused beam in a matter of minutes

12am: And then it reappeared behind me, showering over the mountain peaks

12:30am: You might have heard me going ‘woahhhhh’

Here’s a short time lapse

This is 12 shots each having a 10 second exposure – total of 2 minutes

Back at the van the clouds were coming over quickly, defusing the alien-green light over the landscape

The van-neighbours must have slept through the whole thing

This is probably one of the coolest things I’ve seen/experienced.

After this night we spent the next week chasing the Northern Lights around the Lofoten Islands.

I might do a couple more posts about the Aurora – how to find it and how to photograph it – if you’re interested?

Also see this post: Norway by campervan: how to get to the Lofoten Islands with a van

More Aurora posts:

Lofoten by Campervan: Watching the Northern Lights on Haukland Beach

16 tips for photographing the Aurora

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