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Icecube Of Aurora is a local adventure company which offers arctic sea excursions and adventures in Alta Fjord. The company was founded in 2011 by Øystein Volden and has been operating since 2016, but the story actually starts 30 years earlier.
The fish farming industry in Norway, which is one of the biggest industries in Norway today, originally started properly in the 1970’s and 80’s. Øystein’s father and his partner were two of the pioneers when they started up in Hammerfest in the early 70’s. As a teenager he started working for his father and immediately became interested in fishing and the ocean.
In 1984 his father moved the family to Alta in Finnmark and continued the operation there – this led to a career in the industry that lasted for 25 years. In 2008 the travel industry in Norway really started to explode, and many others, including Øystein, became aware of what was happening in the rest of the country. One day he visited the mines in Kåfjord which was built by British businessmen in 1830 and he got the idea of starting his own travel company that focused on guiding – after all, Alta has one of the richest histories in Norway that deserves to be conveyed to the masses.
He pondered for a while about how he was going to do it and looked a several options, including the mines in Kåfjord, but this proved to be too difficult because of several reasons, and the natural choice fell on what he knew best; fishing and the ocean.
After several years of planning, approvals and finding a base for the excursions, he finally found a vessel good enough for excursions and fishing, but in order to have tourists onboard, the boat needed to be specially designed and changed according to proper standards. The boat was delivered and ready by the year 2015.
The first tours started in 2016 and for the entire year he only focused on fishing. Back then, as it is today, you were able to fish cod, coalfish, haddock, redfish, atlantic halibut, salmon and trout.
The year after he started the Adventure Cruise which has a large focus on the rich history in Alta, particularly World War II, as well as wildlife, nature, fauna, and getting away from the city life and stress.
Today the company also offers Midnight Sun Cruise, Whale Watching Tour and King Crab Tour, which is three of the most special adventures one can have in Norway, and that can only be found in Northern Norway.
The company is constantly developing and in time will become larger, and offer even more products and adventures.
If you ever have been on excursions or fishing trips with large groups before, you know from experience that the excursions often becomes impersonal and stressful instead of relaxing and fun. That is why Icecube Of Aurora only works with small groups – this allows the guests to get to know the captain and ask questions, and it also allows the captain to notice whether or not the guests are enjoying themselves, so that he can take of the situation straight away.
The well-being and experience of the guests is much more important than sticking to a specific agenda at all times. If someone is feeling unwell, we will go back to the dock if needed.
Safety and security are the most important thing on our tours. In Finnmark, the weather often dictates what is possible or not, and as a policy the company will not run a tour if we cannot guarantee your safety. In such cases, we will be flexible and postpone the tour to the next day or offer another adventure that is safer.
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