This is our last day as we leave early tomorrow for home. We had an excursion booked for today but we cancelled it and decided to do our own thing. We awoke to such a glorious day. A mist was sitting low in the valley and over the lake but the sun was shining on the mountains. Tiny ice crystals floated in the air like glitter on a Christmas card. After breakfast we put on our coats and boots and set off in the same direction as our snowshoe walk. It was totally different in the daylight and the climb didn't seem half as bad, probably because we were stopping every five minutes to take photos. We headed for the aurora observation hut to give us a goal but it was so beautiful up there, we just kept walking. It was so quiet and peaceful except for the occasional rumble of snowmobiles. The scenery was breathtaking leaving us quite without words to describe the experience. I can only say it was the best mountain walk of my entire life and something I will never forget. We took so many photos to make sure our memories were preserved forever. We were collected for our trip to the Aurora Sky Station at 8.15 and informed that we would return at 12.50! What?!!!! I had checked on the aurora forecast and it said that activity was very low but the skies stayed clear so I had a little hope. After picking up some more passengers, we arrived in the car park and waited for someone to let us in. No sooner had we arrived than we saw a huge aurora in the sky. I was so thrilled, I took some photos but couldn't hold the camera steady enough so they were all blurry. Once again we donned the obligatory snowsuit for the chairlift journey up the mountain. Never had we needed one so much as it was -17! The chairlift took 25 minutes to get to the top, stopping and starting all the time as each couple took their seats. I'm so glad it was dark because that was one scary journey. My saving grace was the amazing display in the black sky. Not only did the aurora delight and amaze me but the stars were so bright and innumerable. At the top we were surprised to see so many people dotted about the hillside with tripods and cameras. It was quite a precarious situation as it was very steep and slippery. I had imagined a lovely flat verandah on which to set up my equipment. Steve saved me from falling on numerous occasions, unfortunately I couldn't do the same for him! The Aurora is an incredible light show caused by collisions between electrically charged particles released from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere and collide with gases such as oxygen and nitrogen. The lights are seen around the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. When seen in the south they are called Aurora Australis. Variations in colour are due to the type of gas particles that are colliding. The most common aurora colour which is green, is produced by oxygen molecules located about 60 miles above the earth. The rarer red auroras are produced by high-altitude oxygen, at heights of up to 200 miles. Nitrogen produces blue or purple aurora. Abisko National Park, in the middle of the auroral zone, is considered to be the best place on earth to see the Aurora Borealis. With its fresh, clear air and its practically permanent cloud-free sky the prerequisites in Abisko are optimal. More or less active northern lights can be seen almost every night. We spent such a long time taking photos of the amazing, and apparently unusual display completely surrounding us. Now I know why we were there for such a long time! We managed to tear ourselves away when we lost the feeling in our fingers and toes, to venture inside for a welcome cup of coffee. Once recovered, we went outside again. The aurora just went on and on for the whole time we were there, forever changing in intensity, shape and size. The sky was so black, apparently because the new moon was low and weakly lit, the perfect backdrop for both stars and aurora. We just didn't know where to look and I don't have the words to describe how magical an experience it was. The chairlift to the bottom was even more scary than on the way up but we were still distracted by the glorious sky. By the time we arrived, it was gone! We were back at the hotel around 1 am, our heads still buzzing from the night's events. What an incredible ending to an amazing holiday, the memories of which will stay with us forever.