One of the things I want to see while in Canada are the Northern Lights, whether this is in Canada, nearby Greenland or across the Atlantic in Scandinavia. Can you imagine the sheer awesomeness of such a sight? Better yet, scientists believe the next few winters will be the best examples of the Northern Lights for 50 years. How fortuitous!

They also expect the following solar cycle to be very weak, which means next year could be the best chance to see the Northern Lights until around 2034 (yes, the dates don’t quite make sense. 50 years would bring it to the 2060s. Don’t ask me, I’m just repeating what I saw). Either way, next year the Northern Lights will be in the top five of my things to do.

I bumped into an acquaintance the other week who had recently been to Greenland. A total chance meeting but as soon as I heard it I jumped to find out a few things. Here’s what I learned:

• It’s expensive.
• Don’t go in June/July because the ice is too thin for dog sledding and too thick to get a boat through so the north of the country is unreachable.
• Go in March to see the Northern Lights and take a dog sled pulled by Greenland Huskies.
• You don’t need an exploration visa or anything weird to get there – just money.

So by visiting Greenland in March 2014 I can knock three things of my list: Greenland, dog sledding and Northern Lights.

And what spectacular things they will be.