Chasing "Lady Aurora" aka The Southern Lights
- birley1
- Nov 29, 2020
- 10 min read
Updated: Nov 30, 2020
The story goes a little like this……….
At the start of that week I noticed posts popping up on social media saying there was a possibility of an Aurora later in the week. Now, I don’t know that much about it all as I am relatively new to following and chasing it but even someone as inexperienced as me could see that this was a true possibility. The prediction was for later in the week leaning toward the weekend. Also, it is virtually impossible if not entirely impossible to predict an Aurora but there are apps and various other means that people in the know use to gauge and try and predict it. The gauges were all lining up for this one and as far as predictions go this one kept getting stronger as the week progressed. While keeping an eye on all the posts and vibe through the week, I toyed with the idea of doing a very impulsive dash down South after work on the Friday and spend the weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings) chasing it. As the week drew closer, as is most often the case, my enthusiasm waned, not because of the the predictions getting weaker - in fact on the contrary they were getting better and better as the weekend drew closer - but because it would cost money and I would also be away from my family which, anyone who knows me, knows I don’t like doing if I can help it. Friday came and went and no Aurora but the prediction was that it would hit Saturday night - and relatively big as far as Aurora’s go. I scoured social media all of Saturday and not one post so I knew I had not missed it. On the flip side, social media was ablaze with strong predictions and evidence it was going to hit on Saturday night and that the weather down South would be clear. Now having an Aurora show is very rare but even more rare is having it hit and you have clear skies!! So many elements need to line up - which is one of the reasons why it is so rare to capture and so special if you do.
I ummmm’d and aaaaaah’d all day, virtually driving Mands insane and every time she would say “just go, you’re going to regret it if you don’t”! I think she was just saying that to get me out the house and to stop driving her crazy!! I thought making a last minute dash would also allow me to find cheaper flights - but not in NZ!! Looking at what it would cost and the gamble, I decided it was not worth it and gave up on the idea - albeit checking the websites and social media etc. every 5 seconds to see what was being said and predicted. I must be honest, I went to bed that night just knowing in my gut I was missing a chance of a lifetime!!
The next morning, Sunday 01 September 2019 - which also happened to be Father's day in NZ - I got up early as always and head straight to my phone to check all the social media sites etc. and, as I had expected, there were already a few shots of Lady Aurora floating around. As the day went on so more and more amazing shots started filtering through!! I was bummed and so angry with myself but the predictions were still saying there was another chance for that night. So, once again the indecision started. While going through the motions I contacted someone I follow and regard highly on IG, who incidentally did the crazy trip down and caught Lady Aurora in all her glory, and asked, in his opinion, what the likelihood of her appearing again that night would be. He basically said, there are no guarantees but if it was him he would be getting down South.
So, after hours of swaying between yes and no - all the while looking at airline pricing etc. etc. - I decided to take the gamble. After all it is just money and time - oh and sleep!!
Finding cheap, last minute air tickets proved very difficult - it appeared that in NZ instead of airfare getting cheaper at the last minute it goes through the roof - and over and above that finding flights to get me down South early enough to pick up a rental car and head out as far South as I could to try get a glimpse of the light show!! After a lot of scouring I decided to go with the budget airlines Jetstar who I vowed never to fly again after a right royal mess on their part many years ago.
I also had to get a rental car which also proves logistically difficult if you go with the budget options as they are not based at the airport so you have to wait for them to collect you and take you to their depot and only then do the paperwork etc. before hitting the road!! Accommodation wasn’t a problem as I wasn’t planning on sleeping and if I did it would just be in the car!!
So the plan was fly to Christchurch, pick up a rental car and head out of town, due South, to a place called Birdlings Flats which had a clear, unobstructed view all the way South. This was around a 50km drive out of town which, on a good day, would take around 50 minutes. See if I can get some shots of the Aurora and then the rest of the night’s movements would be worked out from there with me ending up back at Christchurch airport at 5am in time to catch the first flight back to Auckland so I could be back in time for work!!
On paper it looked doable but was going to have to have all things line up for it to work seamlessly. Based on the time I would arrive in ChCh, the time I had allocated for the rental car logistics and the drive out to Birdlings Flat I would arrive just as true darkness fell. I had also never been there in my life so I did not know the layout of the land, where to set up etc. etc. so there were a lot of unknowns which, for my personality is not a good thing!!
To keep the airfare down and the reason I went with Jetstar was because I didn’t need to take a bag apart from my camera bag and a small overnight type bag which I would take on as carry on luggage. I also didn’t have time to wait for a checked in bag as the timing was too tight. I packed what I needed to and raced off to the airport. What I didn’t factor in was how strict they would be with weight - my camera bag and set up is unfortunately rather heavy and so unbeknownst to me they weigh everyone before you can board - and that was when my first hurdle arrived! Due to the weight of my camera bag and that both bags combined cannot exceed their carry on weight restriction - like really - they wanted to ping me “excess baggage” fees which, once all calculated ended up costing me more than flying Air NZ where I would’ve had no restrictions!! Let’s just say that I was not a happy chappy. I even had my laptop and books in my hands - not even in my bag - and they made me weigh those too!!
After paying and letting them know in no uncertain terms they will never see me again - apart from my flight back that is hahahahaha!!
I landed in ChCh at around 17:20 and then had the stress of waiting for the car rental company shuttle to pick me up and take me to their depot to collect the car. Paperwork got done quick smart and eventually on the road to Birdlings Flat. GPS said 50 minutes and it was approx 50 minutes to darkness. All the while, the most incredible sunset was unfolding to my right and all the time I am wanting to stop to shoot it. I see and shoot 100's of sunrises so for it to interest me and tug on me to stop, you must know it has to be good!!
It took everything in my power not to stop but I kept saying to myself there is something bigger awaiting. I got to Birdlings Flat as it got dark. I hopped out the car and started changing into the bigger cold gear as I didn’t know how long I was going to be out. Got the gear bag sorted, tripods etc. etc. and off I went. Now remember I have never been here before and it is pitch dark out. Made my way down to the beach which turns out to be a rocky beach - no sand - so making your way along the beach isn’t as easy and takes a bit of time especially watching your step in the pitch dark under your torch light. You also have to be cognisecent of where you are shining your light as there are people shooting and the smallest amount of light ruins night shots. I find a spot next to this young fella and started setting my tripod and camera up and aim it due South. Now the young dude to my left is also setting up and pointing his camera due West or to our right so I ask him why he’s pointing that way and he says he’s trying to catch the Southern Lights!! At this point I start doubting myself too and I say to him that he is pointing West - I think - but he is adamant that he is correct and also calmly says there are clouds and a haze on the horizon in the direction I am pointing. My heart sinks but I ignore him and look out to the horizon which I believe is due South and I do see what looks like hazy clouds!! I set the camera and decide to fire a test shot exactly at 19:20:58, mucking around in my bag etc. trying to get everything in order for a night shoot. The camera clicks over but I ignore it as I am too busy messing in my bag and after about a minute I look up, hit the playback button on my camera to make sure my settings are dialled in for when and if Lady Aurora shows herself and BOOOOOOM there it is - an Aurora on the back screen of my camera!! Not very bright but there was no mistaking it!! I start shrieking and jumping up and down and then calm myself down, take a deep breath and start shooting like its nobody’s business. I have no idea why but I decide to shoot a wide panorama to try capture as much of the scene as I can - 16 shots in total. While shooting I also tried to take it all in and watch the show too otherwise I would miss out on the experience itself. I also turn to the young dude next to me and calmly say, dude you need to point your camera in my direction as that is an Aurora currently on the horizon and not CLOUD!! My last shot was at 19:59 and she was gone!!
Having never ever witnessed something like this before I had no idea what to expect. Like many of us, I expected to see it like you see it in photos - all that splendid colour, bright and bold but in reality, for me anyway, all you could see was sort of a haze - sort of greyish in colour - just dancing along the horizon!! It was a Kp 5 for the Saturday night and for this with clear skies, the Aurora was spectacular.
When you look at all the pictures on the Internet they are all so full of color but the only time you can ever witness an Aurora in so much colour is if the Geo magnetic storm is off the charts which is even more rare! The one I saw was around a Kp4 (I think the prediction was for a Kp4 or possibly 5 but I can't quite remember what it was on the night). It was a Kp 5 for the Saturday night and for those with clear skies, the Aurora was spectacular. These are a few links to public posts/articles/other photographers from that weekend - These are not mine but links I came across from that weekend. Credit goes to all these creators.
So it was not huge however it was not small either. I have nothing to compare it to as this was the first time for me to witness it in real life and in fact ever. I have only seen pictures and watched videos of it and to be honest most videos they show are the Northern Lights and not the Southern Lights that we get here. The colour spectrum of the Southern Lights is very different to the colour spectrum of the Northern Lights. After seeing that first shot on the back of the camera it didn’t matter to me what happened next or even if the photo was good or not. The fact that I had captured it and actually got to witness it was enough for me. Be that as it may I continued to shoot and unfortunately forgot to focus on any form of composition for the shots. I was in such awe and so blown away all I wanted to do was capture the Aurora and knowing that it tends to be fleeting I wanted to get as many shots purely of the Aurora colour as I could. As it turns out the Aurora was fleeting and didn’t last very long. The very broad colours only lasted for about 30 minutes and thereafter there was a little aural glow on the horizon for a brief while before it all disappeared. Once I was satisfied that Lady Aurora was gone I spent a little while on the beach shooting stars and a little Milky Way and also took a deep breath and let it all sink in. I made my way to the car and I took a drive around the area to see if the Aurora would spike again and also scope out some compositions which hopefully one day I will get another chance to come down and shoot. Once the adrenaline and excitement started wearing off and the clouds started rolling in I decided to catch 40 winks in the car which is what I did. That did not last long and eventually I decided to drive around once again head to different areas to see if I can get some more Astro shots and hoping that lady Aurora might show herself again! I did this until the wee hours of the morning and until it was time to make my way to the airport to catch that "crazy o' clock" flight back to Auckland but not before being pinged again for excess carry on luggage and as you can imagine that made me very very happy. I landed in Auckland jumped in my car head off to work a very happy man. Luckily I am able to function on a little or no sleep and as you can imagine having experienced what I did the night before it was pretty easy to get through the day. The toughest thing for me was knowing that I have the shots on the camera and not having the time to edit and look at them. Until the next time we meet Lady Aurora!
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