Saturday, February 25, 2012

Make-A-Wish Blog

you may want to check out what we said on the Hannah's Make-A-Wish blog - it is basically the same, but with a few additions. We set it up to promote the work of Make-A-Wish Australia because we are so grateful for all that they have done for us.

www.hannahs-make-a-wish-blog.tumblr.com

Finland resources

I'm putting up all the resources we found useful for this trip - so if any of you want to go and check it out for yourselves you can....

We stayed at the Aurora Chalet in Luosto - they had really comfy rooms (each with their own sauna), and our breakfast and dinner was included in the price - both meals were delicious. The hotel books out early.
www.aurorachalet.fi

We did all our activities through Snow Games - they were pricey, but it was worth it because if you do 2 or more activities with them during the week, they let you keep the snow suit, socks, boots & mittens for the week (and they are essential for any walking around town to check things out, or to go and see the Aurora in a dark spot only a few hundred metres from the hotel). Because Snow Games & the Aurora Chalet are owned by the same people, you don't have to return all the gear (which meant we got to see the most amazing Aurora sighting on our very last night in Finland) - you just leave it in your locker in the changing room in the hotel. All the staff were very friendly and incredibly laid back (we never had to sign for the gear & in fact picked it up on the Monday afternoon, even though our first activity with them wasn't until the Wednesday).
www.snowgames.fi

In Helsinki we stayed a the Hotel Arthur - very central, great food, but not the best double glazing so we woke up at 5.30 to the sound of snow clearing, but that may have had more to do with our jetlag & still being on Australian time zones.
www.hotelarthur.fi/eng

In Bangkok we stayed at the Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel - we had two rooms on the way over (and thought we had asked for interconnecting rooms, but were actually given rooms on separate floors a looooong way away from each other) and one very large room on the way home (a junior suite with an interconnecting king room). The beds were enormous and VERY comfy and the food in the breakfast buffet (which we had on both stays) we very good (although I'm glad it was included in the room, because it was pricey otherwise). We ordered room service for lunch and it was a HUGE amount of food, for fairly reasonable prices. The pool is lovely and you can have a massage if you feel like it (it looked very relaxing). One hint is to make sure they give you interconnecting rooms if you are traveling as a family (we thought we had done this in our booking, but it got overlooked - I emailed a few days before our second night there and when we arrived they had to upgrade us to a junior suite because they hadn't organised interconnecting rooms). Another hint is to ask for a room near the lifts, because with over 600 rooms on 3 floors it is a long way to the lift if you are placed on the opposite side of the hotel. The hotel has 24 hour check in (& your can check out up to 24 hours after you check in before you have to pay for another night), and there is a free shuttle bus from the airport (there is a Novotel desk in the arrivals section of the airport - ask for directions if you need it because the airport is MASSIVE - the free shuttle will also take you back to the airport - it is a 5 min drive - but you need to check out 2 hours before your flight, because it takes a long time to get through security and immigration).
http://www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-6183-novotel-bangkok-suvarnabhumi-airport/index.shtml

I hope this helps if you are planning on going to Finland to see the Northern Lights. Hannah did a lot of research before we went and found out that Luosto has the most number of sightings each year of the Aurora, and this is why the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory is only 40km away.

Homeward bound....


The lovely staff at the Aurora Chalet put an esky outside our door the night before full of food for a breakfast picnic in our room, because we had to leave sooo early to fly home. The night before the manager Katarina had come and asked us if she could give us a gift that you can't buy in the shops - her husband is Saami (from one of the Finland Indigenous tribes) & they had been touched by our story (we had really connected with Katarina, she was lovely - we really enjoyed telling her all about our day when we got back to the hotel and she enjoyed telling us all about her time living in Australia). Katarina's husband made a beautiful carving for us out of reindeer bone (and thankfully Quarantine said we could bring it into Australia) - it has Saami symbols on it for safe travel and healing, and we were so touched that they would make it for us - we felt like we arrived at the hotel as guests but left as friends.


We found a nice place in Helsinki airport to hang out during our 7 hour layover - very comfy.


Trying out beer in Helsinki airport (non-alcoholic).

With determination you really can do an IV anywhere - this is Helsinki airport.

They had to de-ice the plane before we could take off - which meant we were an hour late taking off. This was actually one of the most terrifying flights of our life. On the wing there was a loose screw that just kept unscrewing throught the flight, and as we landed in Bangkok the ceiling of the plane started leaking on us, and finally the screw flew off the wing as we landed. We mentioned it to the stewardess who was a bit freaked out - but the purser came and spoke to us (since we are always the last people to get off the plane whilst we wait for Hannah's wheelchair) and she told us that the pilot already knew about it and it was fine (that kind of freaked us out even more). The food was so bad that Hannah didn't eat for the whole flight and the rest of us just snacked - it was a looooong flight & we were so grateful to land in Bangkok.

We had about 7 hours in Bangkok & so we got a hotel room to sleep in and it was FANTASTIC (they upgraded us to a suite because they stuffed up our reservation - we had two rooms like this with a dining room and two massive bathrooms). Hannah slept for about 4 hours, Nikki got 2 hours sleep, Jacqui got 1, and Nikki & Steve even got to swim in the hotel pool. Breaking up the journey with even just a few hours in a hotel room made a HUGE difference for all of us & we'd definitely do it this way if we go to europe again.

Before we left we ordered room service - it was suprisingly cheap and REALLY delicious - it made us want to stay in Thailand longer - but Hannah wouldn't have coped with the heat.

Now we are home, recovering from the trip. We had a FANTASTIC time, and we are so very very grateful to the people at Make-A-Wish who made Hannah's dream to see the Aurora come true - thank you so much. If you are looking for a charity to donate to this year, we'd highly recommend Make-A-Wish (I believe you can give money, or frequent flyer miles)

Skiing and amazing Aurora sighting!!

We went to an amazing presentation about the Aurora with aurora scientists in Sodankylä - it was fascinating to hear all about the research they are doing, and to see photo's of some amazing aurora's.

This is the Kota that we went to the Aurora presentation in - it was cozy inside. These are quite common in Finland (usually they aren't quite so permanent & nicely fitted out inside).


The next day Hannah wasn't well, so she rested in the girls room (we moved the furniture around so she could do an IV herself).


Whilst Hannah rested, Nikki, Steve & Jacqui went skiing!!


The hotel was so close to the ski slopes, we just had to ski down the run, and then ski a short distance down the road (so much fun - no traffic in such a small town) and straight into the hotel. This is Jacqui skiing down the road.


The last night we were in Luosto Steve spent the evening putting on all the snow gear and going outside quite a few times to check on the Aurora - finally at 12.30 he got us all out of bed, and we were given the most amazing Aurora show we could have imagined - there were ribbons across the sky, dancing lights, and finally to top it all off we saw an aurora formation in the shape of a crown!!! We had just been told the night before that this is a really rare sight that many aurora researchers only see once in a lifetime - we were SO excited!! (this isn't our photo, but it gives you an idea of what it was like).


I know it is geeky - but this is the screenshot we took after we got back to the hotel room of the aurora we saw from the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory. As you can see, it was very brief, so we were VERY lucky!!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Ice Fishing & Night Skiing


We had a fairly relaxed start to the day, doing some souvenier shopping - Hannah bought herself a hat.


We were taken to the Ice Fishing (about 7km away from Luosto) in a sled pulled by a snowmobile - it was VERY BUMPY (we decided it was better than a ride at Disneyworld).


We had to dig a hole in the ice of the Lake. The Ice was 1.5m thick!!


Hannah caught the first fist of our group, and the second fish, and the third fish - all up she caught 5 fish. The staff at Snow Games (the activity organisers in Luosto) have been amazing - they knew that Hannah was going Ice Fishing today, so they put this stool on the back of one of the snow mobiles - we didn't ask them to do it, they just knew Hannah would need help. All the Snow Games staff have been so helpful and friendly - they have been amazing about accommodating Hannah and her wheelchair, which is surprising because she is the first person in a wheelchair they have worked with (they told us yesterday).


Jacqui caught two fish (& Steve & Nikki caught one each).


We couldn't resist the chance of a family snap standing on a frozen lake!


After the Ice Fishing, Jacqui & Steve went night skiing - HEAPS of fun!!


Hannah discovered we have wifi in our room, but only if your head is touching the door :-)

Friday, February 17, 2012

A quiet day with reindeer


Jacqui & Steve went skiing in the morning - they said it was amazing - very beautiful, and almost no one else around skiing. It was also incredibly cheap - which is great as well.


We have been using all sorts of modes of transport - wheelchair, kick sled, skiing, snowmobile, minivan, car, bus, Husky Dog sled and now Reindeer Caravan (see below).

We took a ride in sleds pulled by a team of Reindeer (a Reindeer Caravan). This Reindeer's name is Karmelli. It was a lot of fun - very smooth and quiet, and most importantly, warm!


The Reindeer farmer spent quite a lot of time explaining everything to us, it was really interesting. It turns out that the Reindeer are allowed to go anywhere they want in Finland, they aren't in farms or pens - but they mainly stick to lapland in the north. Each year all the Reindeer "farmers" have to catch them, count them, tag them, and work out which ones will be allowed to roam free and have a happy peaceful life, and which ones will end up as steak (which we had for dinner - absolutely delicious!). The whole process is very much in balance with nature - it was very interesting to see how well sustainably it can be done.

After our Reindeer caravan ride, we had Tea, Coffee and bread in the Kota, which had a fire in it as well - very cosy. The Kota looks a lot like the Guide Bell tents - but with an opening at the top.

Katarina is the manager of the hotel where we are staying, and she has been incredibly helpful and friendly. It turns out she was an exchange student to Australia for a year in 1988. The poor thing travelled in January from snowy Finland ... to Cobar - I'm sure that was a culture shock and a half - it would have been a 65c change in temperature.



This snow man is across the road from where we are staying.


Thursday, February 16, 2012

Luosto - day three - BEST DAY EVER!!!!

Us all with a Husky pupply - awww


We had the best day for a VERY long time!!! We had so much fun. After lunch Nikki, Steve, Jacqui & I took turns driving snowmobiles to a Husky Centre, where we all (including Hannah) got to drive a team of Huskies for about 4km - it was SO MUCH FUN (although we now know that when the huskies run they can also relieve themselves of both solid and liquid waste that then freezes and hits you in the face if you are sitting in the sled). It was amazing fun - the huskies REALLY love to run, and get upset when you ask them to stop.

Hannah driving the dogsled team


Jacqui dogsledding

Jacqui with a Husky puppy

Hannah driving the snowmobile

Hannah then had a go driving part of the way back to the hotel on the snowmobile - it seems her perfect temperature is between -12 and -19. Inside the hotel it is 20c and Hannah needs her wheelchair, but outside in the snow she is able to do things we never thought possible (although she can't walk very far).

Jacqui driving the snowmobile

Today we also discovered that Jacqui is not only a really good car driver but really great on the snowmobile (way better than Nikki), and really great at driving the dog sled team :-) Well Done Jacqui.

Nikki driving the snowmobile

Aurora Hunting

WE SAW THE AURORA!!!! It was really looking like it wasn't going to happen, as it's been cloudy and snowing since we arrived in Finland (we were resigned to not seeing it and had decided this was an artic adventure rather than a aurora hunt), but it cleared at about 10pm tonight, and Hannah got Steve up at 1.30am (what a great Dad) to go out into the snow and check it out. He came back saying he thought he could see something - 20 mins later (it takes a while to put on all that snow gear - it is -19c tonight) we walked/sleigh pushed 400m away from the hotel, and THERE IT WAS. It was pretty faint (not bright enough to take photo's), but it is Tiffany's blue/green (much to Hannah's delight). Jacqui then spotted a few brighter aurora's for us to see in a different part of the sky (they only lasted for 3-4 seconds, but were beautiful). It was AMAZING!!!!

we couldn't take a photo of the Aurora because it was too faint (and too cold), so here is a photo from someone else, that kind of looks like what we saw - we wanted to share it with you!!

Hyped up after seeing the Aurora we wanted to see what the temperature was at 3am.

The temperature was -19c (pretty cold!!)

All the events of today & tonight made the trip all this way so worthwhile. We are so incredibly grateful to the lovely people at Make-a-wish - this has been a true adventure and they have been so incredibly lovely and helpful - we could never had done this without their help (there is no way we could have gotten travel insurance for Hannah for a start!!).

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Luosto - day two

We are staying at the Aurora Chalet in Luosto.

We discovered, that there really isn't a lot in Luosto - it is a town of 60 people, but we had a great time checking everything out anyway (we found gluten free bread in the supermarket - very impressive for such a small town!).



Luosto is 115km north of Rovaniemi - when I told my brother Steve where we were going on this trip, his response was "you're driving NORTH of Rovaniemi????" There isn't a lot in Rovaniemi either, although it is a lot bigger than Luosto. We will probably just stay put here this week, as we don't want to make Hannah sick - but we have a lot planned - tomorrow we are going to a Huskie Centre, Thursday we are going to a Reindeer farm (and we already know we'll be eating Reindeer steaks for dinner - we saw the menu), Friday we are going ice fishing, and Saturday we are meeting some Aurora scientists, to hear about their work. That should keep us VERY busy.

We were kitted out in our gear - snow suits (super warm - we were walking around in t-shirts in -13), snow boots and mittens to go over our light gloves we brought from home. We also hired a "kick sleigh" which we can push Hannah along on - MUCH easier than dragging her wheelchair around in the snow!

Although it is MUCH easier to push the sleigh downhill, than back uphill to the hotel - Steve was a little weary afterwards.

Jacqui made a snow angel.

The church in town is made of ice - very cool (pardon the pun). It was beautiful- they must have an outside chapel during the summer.

Jacqui all rugged up inside the church - even the pews are ice.

OK, this isn't a very clear photo - it is of our groceries (including our ice cream) hanging out the window to keep them cold (the ice cream stayed frozen, and we managed to freeze our juice as well!!). We have amazing dinners and breakfasts provided by the hotel, but we have to either buy or provide our own lunch and snacks.

Tomorrow Nikki has to put a new needle in Hannah's port-a-cath .... wish her good luck.

Finland, Finland, Finland, the place where I want to be .. ee. ee

Hannah having an IV on the Bangkok to Helsinki leg of our trip (Steve is about to hang the spring infuser that is in the foreground).

We had a bit of an adventure getting here (Luosto). On the first leg of our journey, we got to Sydney and discovered there was a lightening storm, and we were stranded on the ground. A few people managed to get off the plane (it was an itty bitty baby plane, necessitating walking across the runway). We waited on the tarmac for a while, they opened the door and about 5 people got off before the lightning started up again - thankfully we didn't have a tight connection, so were able to laugh it off. When they finally opened up the door, the stewards were keen to get us off the plane and across the tarmac as quickly as possible - when we got to the entrance to the terminal, the lift was broken, so Steve got to carry Hannah up a fairly steep flight of stairs.

Bangkok was HOT, and the airport terminal is MASSIVE - it is way bigger than anything we've seen before. We were really glad we got a hotel room, even though it was only for 7 hours - the girls & Steve slept really well, so it was worth every penny - we will be staying there on the way back as well. (we don't really have any photo's of bangkok, mainly because we were exhausted or asleep when we were there).

When we checked in in Canberra, and Sydney and Bangkok, everyone told us our bags were checked through to Rovaniemi, but we would need to collect them in Helsinki and clear customs - it turns out there really isn't any customs in Helsinki, so our bags went straight to storage - with all our warm clothes :-) The staff were very kind about it all, but told us it would be up to 2 hours to get our bags. We settled in for some good wifi/facebook time but our bags arrived in 20 mins, which was a lovely surprise.

We had the night in Helsinki, and we didn't get to see much, apart from the school kids lining up to go to school in the snow next door.


A bear holding up a street sign in Helsinki - there is a lot of public art in Helsinki (ask Hannah her theory on public art as a barometer of the cultural health of a civilisation).


It took FOREVER to get through immigration and security at Bangkok airport (over an hour). As you can see, Helsinki airport doesn't have the same problem!


These kids were on an excursion to the airport. They were in security looking at the xray of our stuff when we went through (Steve tried to take a photo, but we soon discovered that they don't like you taking photo's in the security screening area).


Helsinki airport has free wifi, so Jacqui got to chat with her friends via facebook.


This is the sign that greeted us when we landed in Rovaniemi airport :-)


They really love Santa here.....


Johan met us with our very own sign (Hannah was particularly excited to have our name on a sign to be met at the airport!!). All the staff where we are staying are so incredibly helpful and friendly - it is wonderful.


Yes, we all went crazy taking photo's of the snow - it is so beautiful!!


We were pretty excited to have our own limo (well, it was a flash minivan, but it felt like a limo - with the table and the row of backwards facing seats).